Question:
Answer each of the following questions on the promise and peril of technological advancement. Your answer should be approximately 800 words in length. (With a typical font and spacing, this comes to between 1½ and 3 pages.) It is recommended that you refer to outside sources as you consider these issues. Be sure to document your sources correctly.
In your own words, briefly explain each of the following topics, and describe one way that the subject impacts your community, region, or state:
- exponential growth and Moore's law
- genetic modification
- nanotechnology
- transhumanism and the singularity
From the content introduced in this lesson, one thing that has become clear is that technology is changing at a rate never experienced by humans before. According to Ray Kurzweil, American author, inventor, and futurist, the rate of change will only increase in the next 30 years. Our genetic code, our physiology, even our very consciousness will not only be understood with greater detail but will be alterable through science and the interface with technology.
In regard to the technological innovations that you have learned about in this lesson, address at least two of the following critical thinking questions related to this topic:
What changes in what it means to be a human do you foresee in the next 100 years?
How will these changes be both good and bad for the individual, community, country, and world?
What changes do you think you would be willing to make? (Consider changed both for yourself and for your family members.) For example, would you be willing to get an artificial hip, retinal implant, genetically compatible pig heart, disease-killing nanobots, or enhanced memory?
How much of a machine do you want to be? Where would you draw the line? Fully explain your answer to the last question.
How will economic conditions affect the availability and feasibility of these modifications?
How should we regulate acceptable modifications to human beings?
Note: Be careful that your discussion of these problems does not fall into wild speculations and science fiction (e.g., The Matrix, Terminator, X-men or attack of evil clones), but rather base your arguments on the best estimations of the future. Will these even be problems or just a seamless next step in human evolution?
Consider the following quotation by Albert Einstein as you complete this assignment: "It has become appallingly clear that our technology has surpassed our humanity. I hope that someday our humanity might yet surpass our technology."