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Students! Thinking about your future?
Click here for a special
section of our site made just for you. Tons of career
and homework resources (without all the popups and
ads.) |
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Effect of Technology
on Society
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They're Just
Not That Into Us
Image
(not
a real alien)
is licensed from
istock.com
SETI (Search for ExtraTerrestrial Intelligence)
research projects have scanned the sky for over 40 years looking
for an intelligent signal. Could our level of intelligence be unique in
the universe?
This is one of those crucially important questions in life
that I have real difficulty grappling with, because I know
so little about the subject.
The same thing happens when I shop for my wife's
birthday, so I've opted to apply the same marginally
successful method of reaching a conclusion: Make a list of
everything relevant I can find, then take a shot in
the dark as to which one of them is right--just don't pick
the vacuum cleaner.
Why is there no scientific evidence
of extraterrestrial intelligent life?
Unfortunately, I feel the most likely reason that we have
not located an alien presence (or Eileen's presents), is
that we simply have not looked long enough. I hope there
is space at the mall.
I would like to give a shout out to the people at
The SETI Institute
for having the foresight and diligence to be listening.
Related Articles:
Nick Bostrom
Where are they?
Ray Kurzweil
The Law of Accelerating Returns.
If you have an answer to this question,
(that is not listed above), send it to FFA by entering it here. Please keep it brief,
I have a short attention span. Thank you!
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At
first glance, it would appear that futurist Raymond Kurzweil and I are not much
alike. He excelled at MIT, I achieved a GED. He
invented usable OCR¹, I invented the adjustable IOU.
Nevertheless, set aside higher education along with
any measure of success and you are left with two good
looking guys that like to think about the future. |
My point is that it doesn't take a
great mind to envision the future, just an
imagination. Choose a burgeoning technology from this
site and imagine how it could change the world in 20 years. Now go 50,
100
years ahead. Think about what the future will be like
for you, your children and for their children.
In my 2050 future, medical science has cured most
diseases, biotechnology has eliminated hunger and
Grandma is a controversial (but popular), Olympic
speed skater sporting bionic hips. Will all of
those things happen? Probably not, weak ankles run in
my family. But it is fun to think about.
By imagining what is possible, I feel better prepared
for the future.
¹Ray Kurzweil was the principal
developer of the first omni-font optical character
recognition (OCR) and many other inventions.
Ray's books include "The Age of
Intelligent Machines", "The Age of Spiritual Machines",
and "Fantastic Voyage: Live Long Enough to Live
Forever". Ray Kurzweil's new book is entitled "The Singularity is Near, When
Humans Transcend Biology".
Ray's Web site, KurzweilAI.net, is a
leading resource on artificial intelligence. 
Brain Frees
Powerful lie detection tools may
someday surpass the accuracy of the polygraph and
permanently change how suspects are
convicted -- and freed.
Future of Lie Detection
Society's not ready for personal genome mapping,
scientists warn
Many scientists are predicting that affordable
personal genome mapping will be a reality in as little
as five years, bringing with it the promise of health
care tailor-made for individuals. But are we ready as
a society?
'Technology Is at the Center'
Ronald Bailey interviews entrepreneur and
philanthropist Peter Thiel on liberty and scientific
progress.
Reason Magazine |
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Flying Friends
or Privacy Pests?
Fitted with cameras, sensors and
microphones, robot insects are flying--climbing--crawling--jumping at the
chance to assist
humans in search,
rescue and other hazardous
operations. Robotic insects could also be
used for spying.
Could our privacy get stung by robot insects?
In my opinion, it is only a matter of
time before a robotic bug is caught spying. Future technologies like flying
robot insects, that offer great benefits to
humankind, can often be
equally detrimental.
Are robotic flying insects secretly patrolling the
air right now? It has been reported
that
robotic dragonflies were seen hovering over protesters in New
York. Is it possible that the technology necessary
to enable such an event has been developed?
The flying insect in the
picture above being developed by the
Harvard
Microrobotics Lab, does not have a processor, camera
or a battery (it receives power from a wired tether).
If it had any of those items, it would be to heavy
to fly. Now add the electronics and hardware to
remotely control the craft. Then tack on some more
electronics to transmit or store video images
and the idea of a flying surveillance insect, even
one as large as the average dragonfly, seems unlikely using current
technology. How will you
know when flying robot insects have left the lab?
As a one-time flyer of remote control aircraft, (and
by one-time, I mean I flew RC planes only once), I
can tell you that sometimes the little buggers just
don't come back. Mechanical breakdowns, hungry birds
and clean sliding glass doors are just a few ways to
bring down a flying robot insect.
So keep an eye on the ground for an oversized dragonfly
with a broken wing, cameras for eyes and a
retractable antenna sticking out its backside.
Speaking of cameras, didn't any of the protestors
who witnessed these dragonspies have a cell phone?
What were they protesting, the high price of text
messaging? Considering the number of video capable
devices that are available today, if there are
flying spies buzzing around, we'll catch them on
video
eventually.
Protecting our privacy and other inalienable rights
will become increasing difficult as technology
advances. Emerging technologies like flying robotic
insects, can have a significant impact on society. We
need safeguards in place to protect our rights
before these high flying technologies are fully
debugged. Resources and Related Articles
Robot Insects
Gallery
Dragonfly or Insect Spy?
Are We Being Watched by Flying Robot Insects?
Long Island Hawk Attacks WowWee Dragonfly
Ethics in the Future
"Ethics is the
principles of conduct
governing an individual or a
group."
The power to make and
shape life, to create machines that outthink humans.
Will some scientists rush blindly into the future
without regard to the implications to society?
Here are some of the web sites I found that address
ethics and technology.
Unesco.org
Online Ethics Center
The
Institute for Business, Technology and Ethics
Center for Genome Ethics
Ethical Issues in Nanotechnology
In my opinion, the
morals of those in the scientific community will play
an increasingly important role in shaping our future.
Top scientists and researchers throughout the world
are already cloning animals, manipulating genes and
building intelligent machines.
"... unbridled scientific progress is not always ethically
acceptable. Unesco.org"
In the near future, too
many will have the knowledge to create globally
dangerous technologies. Driven by good intentions or
by greed, the race to be first will push the pace of
technology to unsafe limits. As a society, we must be
diligent in protecting our values, rights and safety,
by ensuring responsible and socially beneficial
scientific research.
Neuroethical Challenges
Advances in neuroscience accelerate the potential for
cognitive enhancement to become as ordinary and
everyday as a cup of coffee. This may benefit society
enormously—by accelerating learning, for example. But
it also raises moral and ethical concerns, such as who
has access to the benefits of the technology.
The New York Academy of Sciences
Automated
decision-making
The death of expertise
The sheer quantity of data and the computer power now
available make it possible for automated processes to
surpass human experts in fields as diverse as rating
wines, writing film dialogue and choosing titles for
books.
In Freeman Dyson's Biotech Utopia, Say Goodbye to Darwinian Evolution
Futurist extraordinaire Freeman Dyson bets that within
fifty years, biotechnology will suffuse everyday life just
as computer technology does now. [...] Dyson notes that
"genetic engineering will remain unpopular and
controversial so long as it remains a centralized activity
in the hands of large corporations."
"We must do more
thinking up front if we are not to be similarly
surprised and shocked by the consequences of our
inventions."
From "Why the future
doesn't need us.", by Bill Joy, cofounder of Sun
Microsystems, for Wired.com.
More links on
Technology and Society
A Chat With a Futurist
Center
for the Study of Technology and Society
The Human-Techno Future: How Weird? How Soon?
Quest for Synthetic Organisms Calls for New Rules, Critics Say
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