Module 12

                I've noticed an unsettling trend with the last few assignments we've had in this class. They have all somehow related to how technology will take over the human race. First we had the logic called Joe, then I did a paper about The Matrix, and now I read this article saying that it's actually possible!?! The article is called "Why the future doesn't need us" written by Bill Joy, it goes into detail about how it's all possible for technology to take over. Joy discusses GNR, the 21st-centuries technologies. GNR stands for genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics.

                I feel that genetic engineering is a very reasonable fear of Joy's. However, with the amount of lab testing and research needed to successfully engineer the genetics of anything just makes it less likely to go wrong in my own opinion. I personally feel that genetic engineering will do more good than bad. Being able to change a person's genes before they're even born to give them a better chance at life by removing any flaws they may have. Or genetically changing someone to make them immune to disease. Even the possibility to genetically engineer plants to produce bigger yields each harvest and animals that grow much larger than before to produce more food for our ever growing population. We have already seen major steps in genetic engineering, I don't think there will be many issues in the near future.

                Nanotechnology is another very reasonable fear of Joy's. I feel that nanotechnology posses a much bigger threat to our world than genetic engineering as it would undoubtedly be much easier to use as a weapon. Imagine the USMC develops suits for soldiers that use nanotechnology to enhance their abilities to kill more efficiently. Now someone decides to sell that technology to terrorist organizations just like they did have done with any other warfare technology. It could ultimately lead to some serious problems.

                Robotics have always been used in doomsday scenarios. In Terminator the Skynet computer decides logically that all humans are a threat and wipes them from the planet or the how the machines in the Matrix takeover the human race and harvest them for power. Robotics is definitely something that could be feared.

                The way I see it is that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. If these new technologies of the 21st-century do pose a threat then we will inevitably use the same technology to counteract that threat. This reminds me of a few video games I have played. For example, the Halo series; an advanced alien race poses a threat to the human race because of their superior technology. As a result, the human race uses the GNR technologies to produce genetically enhanced super soldiers that wear suits that include advanced A.I. and robotics technology to out gun the alien invasion. 

Module 11 yo

                So for this week's assignment we got to choose a movie that involves computers and write about how they incorporate computers and networks. The movie I picked was The Matrix. The Matrix is a movie about a war between the human race and computers. Watching the movie made me think about our previous assignment about the "logic" named Joe. Like I have said before, I think it's natural for us to have some sort of fear for computers and that is where the story of The Matrix came from. The plot is set near the year 2198, computer A.I. (artificial intelligence) becomes self-aware and there starts a war with the human race. After many years of war the humans decide that the computers, or as the movie calls them "machines", won't be able to survive without power so they block the sunlight in order to stop the machines from obtaining their power source. The machines counter this act by enslaving the human race and harvesting the bio-electricity and body heat to power themselves. According to the movie, a human can't just survive without the experience of life so the machines network the humans all together into a virtual world called "The Matrix". This made me laugh because in a way it has already started to happen. I recently build a gaming computer for a friend of mine so he could play The World of Warcraft. We always joke about how he's "plugged in" to the world and feeding the corporate machines his money while they provide him with a false reality. Back on topic, the movie is mostly about how a team of people aboard a ship search the matrix for "The One". They eventually find him, his name is Tom Anderson but he goes by the hacker alias Neo. According to the prophecy, Neo is the reborn form of the one who originally freed many humans from the matrix. He was granted the ability in the first version of the matrix to change things as he saw fit. Neo has the same ability so he is able the hack the matrix and beat the system.

                Now the movie does have some extremely far out concepts but overall it is probable. With advancements made every day in the computer world it's not hard to believe that computers would someday be able to think and act for themselves. As far as starting a war with humans, I'm not so sure about that one. There aren't many social issues brought up in the movie but I am watching the sequel while I am writing this. The sequel is called The Matrix Revolutions and there is a part in the movie that I found interesting. It explains how ghosts and vampires are stories made up from the system to explain the acts of rogue programs within the matrix. This was cool because it explains some cultural beliefs and sticks to the whole theme of the series of "How do you know you're not in a dream world?". Over all the movie was really interesting and I highly suggest you watch it if you have not already.

Module 10

                "Wow" is all I have to say after reading "A Logic Named Joe". I could not believe it was written way back in 1946. The first thing that came to mind was that this was to the people in 1946 what Terminator was to the people in the 1980's. I can only imagine what would go through the authors mind if we brought him to our time and introduced him to our logic named "Google". It's astonishing to me that so much of what these "logics" did in the short story, can be done here and now. It may not be as extreme as the story describes but it sure does make you think. If we're already this close to what the story describes, how much longer until we have computers that are capable of such processing power? We already to this day have super computers used to simulate epidemics and predict the outcomes of natural disasters. Just the other day I found a organization that offered extreme discounts for video cards. Their only requirement was that you run their software when your computer is not in use. What their software did was actually use your processing power in line with thousands of other computers to generate possible cures for cancer, and it only ran while you were away. That is pretty amazing, it reminds me of the "tanks" the story refers to. If we are at a point where we can outsource to Personal Computers to do the combine work of a super computers, imagine what's next! The concepts in this story must have seemed so far out and impossible at the time it was written but we can see it actually happening. Computers can literally do anything now and I think it's natural to feel afraid of it at times because we are becoming aware of just how amazing science and technology have become and just how fast it has arrived.

                The concept of Joe being self aware is interesting to me. How the logic was able to predict that it was smarter than the others so it pretended to be normal to get past inspection. That thought alone would ruin a lot of paranoid people! Could you imagine if your smart phone was secretly plotting your demise by pretending to be normal only to get your information and stab you in the back. Like I stated earlier, this story is much like Terminator. Instead of "Joe" you have "Skynet" they're both computers that became self aware and acted on it logically because that is all they know.

                I believe in the future of technology and I'm extremely excited to see just how it evolves. Who knows, maybe one day it will be the end of us. Mankind, brought down by its own creation. It surely would be an epic way to go! Thank you for reading, have a great night.