It was quite disturbing reading this article on the ideas scientists have, pertaining to technology as a form of aiding our lives. Advances have been made very rapidly but the hidden significance is that there is the possibility of humans becoming obsolete. That is a frightening thought to behold and I hope I am merely being paranoid. The reason for this possibility to come to birth is because computers can now do originally human abilities like think, listen, speak, see, reason and learn. The only consolation that I cling to is that humans are still needed to programme the computers to do these things.
The even more frightening thing to note is that our younger generations find it natural to communicate with machines that understand them. Our communication with technology should be limited to giving out commands, and I don't mean it in terms of programming. True communication and understanding should be mutually exclusive between two humans, where each person communicates sincere feelings to and understands the true inner state of the other. I realise that I sound rather idealistic here and courage plus humility is needed to make this happen, but this is what makes a real relationship. The understanding of machines towards humans should thus also be limited to the academic aspect.
The chances of computers teaching students in school was mentioned. I am not worried about my rice bowl here, since I don't teach in schools. I am of the opinion that teachers should be humans because only they can truly minister to students under them. It takes a heart to know another heart. Computers are merely machines. The day no more human teachers are needed is one I would not want to live to see. At the most, the role of computers is to challenge the students' potential and help them learn to the fullest.
A disadvantage was thought of though, that of isolation. It was related to the area of authority however. I have a different interpretation of this. Should machines dominate the world, humans will live in their own bubbles and merely communicate with machines. There will be no more social interaction between their own kind. Yes, some may say that humans will still be able to communicate while using machines, but I am referring to that of personal contact. Machines will be third parties and get in the way of human relationships.
A robot that does housework has been developed by local scientists too. It will make our lives easier but if it is also able to cook, there is a fear that the food will be bland due to lack of love. It may follow the recipes and the steps needed, but with no love, the food will not be the same as those cooked by a human.
