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As the years progress, technology keeps on improving and is reaching to the point of artificial intelligence. Throughout the history, many inventors came up with innovative ideas to improve technology. However, these advancements have led to few ethical, environmental and moral issues which have affected the way the society behaves and what values it holds. This correlates to these short stories, I, Robot by Isaac Asimov, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury, and “Harrison Bergeron” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. These short stories show how advancements in technology lead to a reduction in our ability to think critically, and make us feel lonely in a world full of machines with no sense of humanity. Technological advancements may …show more content…
be helpful, but they gradually overtake the lives of people, begin to control their minds and gain the sense of superiority. In particular, the automated house in “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains” states, “Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is...” (Bradbury 26). Here, the house repeats this quote even after it has been burned. In this case, Bradbury shows how an automated machine continues to execute its pre-programmed tasks. Also, Bradbury is telling the society that automated things may overtake humanity as their ability to perform tasks is not easily destructible. Furthermore, Bradbury wrote this story in terms of how the modern society views and acknowledges its surroundings. Bradbury states, “… the silhouette in paint of a man mowing a lawn … a photograph, a woman bent to pick flowers … a small boy, hands flung into the air....” (23). Clearly, this quote shows how the modern society devalues humanity and objectifies it by stating that they were just “… five spots of paint.” In contrast, Bradbury gives the automated house more characteristics than the humans mentioned in this short story. The house was personified and given the ability to express its feelings during its demise. Furthermore, the devaluing of humanity causes the modern society to use technology as a way to gain power. This leads to the destruction of humanity and the surroundings. However, in the end when the house burned down, there was still a wall standing. The wall repeated, “Today is August 5, 2026, today is August 5, 2026, today is...” (Bradbury 26). The wall shows superiority here by being the last thing remaining in the ruins. Considering this, technology can outlast humanity. Clearly, this shows how machines can act like humans by being programmed to learn human traits and thrive even during destruction. In addition, the author of “Harrison Bergeron” shows how the usage of advanced technology limits our ability to think for ourselves.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr. states, “Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains.” (1224). Here, the author is showing how a “transmitter” is controlling the minds of smart people. George is the father of Harrison Bergeron and he tries to think about his son, but his memories are blocked. His son, Harrison Bergeron, was arrested due to being considered as a smart individual with analytical thinking. In this case, the transmitter represents an advanced controlling device which sends sharp noises to those who think critically. In this story, these transmitters are used to promote equality between smart and unintelligent people. Above all, they disable people from thinking for themselves. Furthermore, Kurt Vonnegut Jr. states, “…[h]is thoughts fled in panic, like bandits from a burglar alarm.” (1224). This quote shows how the transmitters makes the person quickly forget what he was thinking. He was not able to recall what he was watching on the T.V and how he felt about it. His feelings were erased from his mind through the sharp noises from the transmitter. These transmitters were designed to promote equality; however, they are trying to control the minds of the people. Clearly, this shows how technology overtakes our life and limits us from doing other …show more content…
things or partaking in activities that do not involve the usage of technology. Furthermore, the author of I, Robot, Isaac Asimov shows the reader how developing advanced robots can result in the destruction of humanity. The book, I, Robot, has a series of short stories which show how the robots develop the ability to think and perform the tasks for the humans. The robots, however, have laws which they cannot break. The laws are, “A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm … A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law … A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.” (Asimov 26). These laws seem promising and allows the reader to think that these robots must be harmless. They establish a sense of peace and limit the power of the robots. However, the robots start to think for themselves as the story progresses. The robots begin to get irritated by the human commands. A robot named Cutie argues with Dr. Powell, Look at you … The material you are made of is soft and flabby, lacking endurance and strength, depending for energy upon the inefficient oxidation of organic material. I … am a finished product. I absorb electrical energy directly and utilize it with an almost one hundred percent efficiency. I am composed of strong metal, am continuously conscious, and can stand extremes of environment easily. (Asimov 34). Here, we can see how the robots begin to question the capabilities of humans and provoke the apprehension of overtaking humanity. Also, the robot gains human abilities, such as thinking and speaking. Cutie the robot does not want to follow the orders of the humans as he thinks that they are weak and inferior. Moreover, in the book, I, Robot, the robots were helping the humans perform certain tasks. In this period of time, the robots were able to study human behavior and develop the ability to critically think for themselves, which led to them to question the physical and mental capabilities of the humans. Consequently, this shows that machines may gain the skills of humans and gradually become better than them. Furthermore, in the literary critic, "How Machines Become Human: Process and Attribute”, Robert Reilly argues, “Asimov oscillates between the programmatic standpoint emphasized by the title, which suggests individuality and identity on the side of the robots…” (Reilly 17). I agree with this statement as the title itself is indicating the human characteristics of the robot. Just simply stating “I” shows that this robot will eventually become predominant in the society. The robots in the short story, I, Robot, progressively earn their ability to become prime figures in the society. This shows that technology can easily be corrupted and will eventually rise up against humanity. Technological advancements may help our life become easier, but they can also be destructive to our morals, ethics and the environment.
The short stories, “August 2026: There Will Come Soft Rains”, I, Robot, and “Harrison Bergeron” show how the machines begin to control the lives of the humans and gradually become predominant figures in the society. Our over-usage of technology limits our ability to think critically for ourselves. Robert Reilly argues, “… you cannot construct thinking machines on the one side and laws which forbid certain fields of thinking on the other …” (18). I agree with this argument as it applies to most technological inventions which include setting certain limits to programs. These limits of certain fields of thinking include the ability to partake in activities without the instructions of a human, or being capable of disobeying certain commands, or having the ability to criticize other machines or humans without a set of instructions entered. Consequently, these programs or machines tend to always surpass these limits by either hacking or having bugs in their systems. These short stories demonstrate how the modern society considers technology to hold greater value than human life and lets technology rule its life. By letting machines do most of our working and thinking, we limit our minds from being creative and having proficiency in presenting new
ideas.
One similarity between “Harrison Bergeron” 2081 is that George had a mental handicap. This is important to the story because since the transmitter sent a sharp noise “to keep people like George from taking unfair advantage of their brains”, neither he or Hazel could think about Harrison for very long or even remember that he had been killed seconds after it happened. This was also important to the film because it showed us pieces of what happened the night Harrison was taken away and gives the audience an idea what the handicaps feel like for the characters.
Ilya Varshavsky’s “Perpetual Motion” is the story of humanity’s relationship with technology. During a human council meeting, where humans superficially decide how their world will function, Class A robots demand equality with humanity. The human council is initially appalled, but after these robots explain they will supplement their labor with the labor of a new race of robots humanity grants their wish. Twenty years later, during a Class A robot council meeting, the topic of equality for Class B robots is introduced in a similar manner to the way Class A freedom was discussed. In order to grant equality to Class B robots, the Class A robots discuss the need to teach humans how to survive without them. They resolve to teach humans how
People all around agree that technology is changing how we think, but is it changing us for the better? Clive Thompson definitely thinks so and this book is his collection of why that is. As an avid fiction reader I wasn’t sure this book would captivate me, but the 352 pages seemingly flew past me. The book is a whirlwind of interesting ideas, captivating people, and fascinating thoughts on how technology is changing how we work and think.
This idea of a computer doing the ‘technical’ work can be useful to us, due to living in an age of technology which is something that can be useful to us, as our own brains are our ‘built in computer. It is also crucial in processing our thoughts about each of our own moral decisions of what is right and wrong.
Carr captures his audience's attention by using an allusion from “Stanley Kubrick’s movie 2001, A Space Odyssey”. He stated the essay with “Dave, stop will you?” and the Supercomputer HAL plead. Any reader who has watch A Space Odyssey or interested in supercomputers to read his article. He highlights the fact that a computer could think for you. The states, “I’ve had an uncomfortable sense that someone, or something, has been tinkering with my brain(Is google making us stupid? By Carr page 2)”. He made a point that the more people are found of the internet the more we lose ability to deep think.
The important similarity in 2081 and “Harrison Bergeron” is the fact that Harrison’s actions were broadcast on national television. This greatly impacts the story and movie because of this small detail. You can tell Harrison is very serious about telling everyone the message he trying to convey. If it weren’t broadcasted nationally his actions would have no meaning because only a small amount of people would have heard his speech. A quote proving this is, “Cries of consternation came from the television set”… “I am Emperor! Cried Harrison” (Pg3). This shows that he went non stage so that many people watching television could see him and hear what Harrison head to say. That is why it’s very important
Today’s world is full of robots that vacuum the floor and cars that talk to their drivers. People can ask their phones to send a text or play a song and a cheerful voice will oblige. Machines are taking over more and more tasks that are traditionally left to people, such as cleaning, navigating, and even scheduling meetings. In a world where technology is becoming increasingly human, questions arise about whether machines will eventually replace humankind altogether. In Ray Bradbury’s short stories, “The Veldt” and “August 2026,” he presents themes that technology will not only further replace the jobs of humans, but it will also outlast humankind as a whole. Although this is a plausible future, computers just cannot do certain human jobs.
“Harrison Bergeron” is a short fiction written by Kurt Vonnegut, the story is set in the year 2081, and it talks about a futuristic society where all individuals are equal. No one is cleverer, beautiful or stronger than the other, and if somebody is better than the others, they find themselves compelled by The United States Handicapper General to put on what they call “handicaps” to bring down their abilities to the most basic levels as the others. Throughout the story, Vonnegut expresses a bold and vigorous political and social criticism of some historical events in the US during the 1960s such as the Cold War and Communism, television and American Culture and Civil Rights Movement.
Technology turns into something new everyday. From computers to smartphones, technology comes in all shapes and sizes. Most people hope to receive new advancements from technology to do more activities for them. This is not in the best interest for mankind. In Ray Bradbury’s three short stories The Veldt, The Pedestrian, and August 2026, Bradbury describes three different worlds, where he shows the possible outcome of the world if technology advances too far. Each story leads to negative effects on humans and the worlds that they live in. Technology does not have all of the solutions to present day solutions.
When talking about the future of technology, one can only imagine what it will be down the road. The future of technology evokes many questions about the preservation of human existence, human advancement and intelligence. Some writers even discuss their positions on the future of technology and human kind. Writers such as James J. Bell, who explains the theory of the ‘Singularity’. In summary, he states that the rate of technological advancement, compared to human intelligence, will one day reach the ‘singularity’ were it will surpass the human mind (pg. 52). We may never know if technology will ever have the power to surpass the human intellect or what the consequences will be if it does attain these capabilities. Will humans still maintain control over them, or will they control us? Theses eight articles illustrate the implicit and explicit control that technology holds over humans in the future.
“It was tragic, all right, but George and Hazel couldn't think about it very hard” (Vonnegut 3). Written in 1961, the classic “Harrison Bergeron” includes a meaningful story about society in the real world. The dystopian short story addresses how society might seem perfect, but deep down it has many issues that need to be solved. The story takes place in 2081, and 14 year old Harrison Bergeron is in jail for resisting the government. His parents, George and Hazel are controlled by the government with advanced technology. As shown in the quote, their thoughts are even restricted, along with the rest of the population as well. Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” critiques an illusion of a perfect society
Humans have been creating tools that allow us to be do things that would be otherwise impossible since the beginning of our existence. The ability to use and develop new tools is what sets us apart from all other animals. Yet it seems that ever since these tools started being created there were also people that feared these new tools and claimed that they are bad for the human race. The present fear of new technology is illustrated in the essay “Is Google Making us Stupid?” by Nicholas Carr. In this essay Carr argues that the internet and other new technologies are changing the way we think in a negative way. Carr claims that new technology is making our generation stupid. In opposition the article “Smarter Than You Think” by Clive Thompson
In The Matrix, technology dominates society. The push to automate and link the world is a perpetual theme of modern society. As technology rapidly advances, implementation of computer-driven robotic devices and software programming has inundated the world and changed human perspective. There is a cost to pay when redefining the population with AI technology. This cost is identified in Barlett and Byer’s, “Back To The Future: The Humanistic Matrix” “The Matrix metaphorizes our willingness to fantasize that the ‘freedom’ rhetoric of e-capitalism accurately reflects our
...e over every aspect of human life, meanwhile, people are forcibly stopped doing stuffs by themselves. Finally robots dominated human race, not in the way of military forces but in lifestyle behaviors. The story was interesting yet it also hilarious. Human’s intelligence created technology, and they are created to serve human. No matter how smart the technology will be, they are still the intelligence of humans. I wonder why sometimes people are afraid of their intelligence. Don’t imagine your life without technology because the progression of technology will never stop, and it will continue to benefit us.
Our minds have created many remarkable things, however the best invention we ever created is the computer. The computer has helped us in many ways by saving time, giving accurate and precise results, also in many other things. but that does not mean that we should rely on the computer to do everything we can work with the computer to help us improve and at the same time improve the computer too. A lot of people believe that robots will behave like humans someday and will be walking on the earth just like us. There should be a limit for everything so that our world would remain peaceful and stable. At the end, we control the computers and they should not control us.