I wasn't a huge fan of this week's writing assignment, but gave it my best. I had a hard time finally getting through the whole thing given that a lot of it seemed way over my head. A big part of it may've been that I didn't really understand, or follow, a lot of what Bill Joy was talking about the first time around. Aside from that after finally finishing up I have to say that the future has always worried me, but it worries me even more now. Humans obviously play a big part of our future, but there are many discoveries that are making it even less so.
The basis of this article is about GNR technologies. GNR stands for genetics, nanotechnology and robotics. Each area has an obvious place in our future. Also, each can be used to do great things or very destructive things. Let's start with genetics. Genetic engineering has been around for thousands of years, but just since the 1970s has been practiced on humans. This is the modifications of genes in our bodies to reengineer us. A lot of the discussion in Joy's article refers to the modification of food or plants, which make many people nervous. Any time that you are modifying so important to our existence scares me to death. The discovery of cloning also seems like it could come back to bite us in one way or another if it gets into the wrong hands.
Nanotechnology was a new one that I've never heard about. Since reading this article I have enjoyed reading about the advantages that there could be if this technology can be polished and perfected. The health side of having a nano-sized robot performing surgical work on us leaves some hope for us. The big concern would be that if there's a "bug" in the system it could take the life of the person. I get that doctors also have that same power, but with software these days the bugs could become widespread. The spreading a doctors messing up surgeries would be much less likely, in my opinion. The possibilities for nanotechnology are endless, and they could most definitely be the answer for the removal of cancer without radiation therapy.
Robotics are things that we see in our everyday lives today. Maybe not out in the open, but robotic machines continue to make our lives easier. Just recently I read about a warehouse that used floor-level robots to move boxes from one end of the warehouse to another. The commands were coming from their shipping system, and all orders were sent with all of the robots in mind. This process replaced several employees, and prevented a lot of injuries from occurring. Robots will continue to replace us as the decision technology becomes smarter. Currently robots can make decisions, but our brains are much more powerful at adapting in tough situations.
As I look at these GNR technologies it really is our future. Each one has had it's time to develop and grow into a great tool for the future of our civilization. While they are all exciting, there is definitely something to be said for keeping any research in the right hands. All of these technologies could be a weapon of mass destruction if it got into the wrong hands. With the use of the Internet the information is out there, and will continue to be that way.
I do see how these technologies will impact our future. For good or bad we will see these technologies grow and develop. They will affect our everyday lives, and hopefully will allow us to be more productive rather than making us lazy, or destroying us. With robotics I can see how it could replace manual labor jobs that could be beneficial to some dealing with weight problems. I don't think we will see a direct impact like that quickly, but most definitely overtime. My hope is that as these technologies develop we, as humans, find our way to keep perfecting them and making them that much better.
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