Slavery of the Machine

1127 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: An essay about modern slavery

For as long as civilization has existed so has slavery in its various forms. These downtrodden segments of society can be found throughout the annals of history; and some, like Oscar Wilde above, claim it was a necessary evil of civilization. Only in these modern times has much of the world found a reprieve from slavery. And finally mankind recognizes that in fact we all are equal, and all deserve certain immutable rights. Maybe not inconsequentially this change of heart has occurred because man has found the perfect slave; a slave that never sleeps, never eats, never complains; a slave totally incapable of open rebellion. It is as Oscar Wilde said, "the slavery of the machine."

The 21st century depends on machines, or to be more specific, computers, to run the backbone of society, and as our understanding of technology grows so does their processing power and relative intelligence. Moore's Law, a prediction made back in 1965, states the processing power of computers will double every two years (Moore). This prediction turned law has come to be frightfully true. If this trend continues, some scientists estimate that the processing power of a computer will equal that of the human brain by 2030 (Botezatu). With inroads being made into how our brains work, and significant advances in artificial intelligence; we must now start asking ourselves the questions that may very well rise tomorrow. Does a machine programmed to possess some of those inherent qualities of humanity deserve the same rights and liberties?

Bicentennial Man is a short story written by Isaac Asimov about a robot named Andrew that is little more than a machine servant. But through some fluke in the design of Andrew's positronic brain he gains sentience. His initia...

... middle of paper ...

...ost dearly. Clearly, man may not always be the strongest species.

Throughout history, time and time again mankind has rebelled against its oppressors, never content to lie quietly under the boot heel of another. How can anything we may create in our image react different to slavery? Whether it be flesh or circuitry, blood or electricity, sentient beings will fight for their rights. Our own history has proven this notion. In the courtroom battle that took place in Bicentennial Man, Andrew Martin stated this: "It has been said in this courtroom that only a human being can be free. It seems to me that only someone who wishes for freedom can be free. I wish for freedom" (qtd. in Short). Once an intelligent being has recognized its chains, and sees that freedom is something worth fighting for, it has reached a point where it deserves its rights, it deserves its liberty.

Show More
Related

  • White Man's Burden Summary

    1766 Words  | 4 Pages

    Slavery is the idea and practice that one person is inferior to another. What made the institution of slavery in America significantly different from previous institutions was that “slavery developed as an institution based upon race.” Slavery based upon race is what made slavery an issue within the United States, in fact, it was a race issue. In addition, “to know whether certain men possessed natural rights one had only to inquire whether they were human beings.” Slaves were not even viewed as human beings; instead, they were dehumanized and were viewed as property or animals. During this era of slavery in the New World, many African slaves would prefer to die than live a life of forced servitude to the white man. Moreover, the problem of slavery was that an African born in the United States never knew what freedom was. According to Winthrop D. Jordan, “the concept of Negro slavery there was neither borrowed from foreigners, nor extracted from books, nor invented out of whole cloth, nor extrapolated from servitude, nor generated by English reaction to Negroes as such, nor necessitated by the exigencies of the New World. Not any one of these made the Negro a slave, but all.” American colonists fought a long and bloody war for independence that both white men and black men fought together, but it only seemed to serve the white man’s independence to continue their complete dominance over the African slave. The white man must carry a heavy

    Read More

  • Views on Computationalism: Clark vs. Searle

    1315 Words  | 3 Pages

    Andy Clark strongly argues for the theory that computers have the potential for being intelligent beings in his work “Mindware: Meat Machines.” The support Clark uses to defend his claims states the similar comparison of humans and machines using an array of symbols to perform functions. The main argument of his work can be interpreted as follows:

    Read More

  • Dredd Scott Decision

    1762 Words  | 4 Pages

    "Slavery is founded on the selfishness of man's nature--opposition to it on his love of justice. These principles are in eternal antagonism; and when brought into collision so fiercely as slavery extension brings them, shocks and throes and convulsions must ceaselessly follow." (Abraham Lincoln)[1]

    Read More

  • Racial Domination, Racial Progress By Matthew Desmond And Mustafa Emirbayer

    1425 Words  | 3 Pages

    For more than two hundred years, a certain group of people lived in misery; conditions so inhumane that the only simile that can compare to such, would be the image of a caged animal dying to live, yet whose live is perished by the awful chains that dragged him back into a dark world of torture and misfortune. Yes, I am referring to African Americans, whose beautiful heritage, one which is full of cultural beauty and extraordinary people, was stained by the privilege given to white men at one point in the history of the United States. Though slavery has been “abolished” for quite some years; or perhaps it is the ideal driven to us by our modern society and the lines that make up our constitution, there is a new kind of slavery. One which in

    Read More

  • Slavery in American Society: Impact and Evolution

    1631 Words  | 4 Pages

    The controversies surrounding slavery have been established in many societies worldwide for centuries. In past generations, although slavery did exists and was tolerated, it was certainly very questionable,” ethically“. Today, the morality of such an act would not only be unimaginable, but would also be morally wrong. As things change over the course of history we seek to not only explain why things happen, but as well to understand why they do. For this reason, we will look further into how slavery has evolved throughout History in American society, as well as the impacts that it has had.

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Slavery: Fredrick Douglass

    1037 Words  | 3 Pages

    As everything else in life, not all of us can agree on one thing. Surprisingly, one of those things is slavery. You’d think that everyone with a beating heart would oppose enslaving a living thing, let alone an actual human being. However, the reality is different. There are two sides to this argument, the heartless and the human. Slavery was first institutionalized in Virginia between 1640 to 1662. Not a lot is has been recorded about slavery in that particular period. Due to the lack of information, many misconceptions have been said. One of them is that the slave owners ' best interest was to protect the slaves ' lives. Obviously, this wasn’t the case.

    Read More

  • Frederick Douglass

    992 Words  | 2 Pages

    I found that, to make a contented slave it is necessary to make a thoughtless one. It is necessary to darken his moral and mental vision,and, as far as possible, to annihilate the power of reason. He must be able to detect no inconsistencies in slavery; he must be made to feel that slavery is right, and he can be brought to that only when he ceases to be a man.* (315)

    Read More

  • Totalitarian Society In Society

    1023 Words  | 3 Pages

    Has it ever occurred to you that it is reversible? Slavery is a freedom. Alone—free—the human being is always defeated. It must be so, because every human being is doomed to die, which is the greatest of all failures. But if he can make complete, utter submission, if he can escape from his identity, if he can merge himself in the Party so that he IS the Party, then he is all-powerful and immortal.

    Read More

  • Persuasive Essay On Slavery

    1001 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery can devour the mind and lead to extreme action. We know of Nat Turner, whose mind was twisted to the point of believing that the murder of another race would lead to him receiving justice for the inactions against him. Slavery has a way of twisting the mind…Of corrupting the human spirit, or of damaging what might otherwise be a benefit – not a detriment – to society! The very idea of slavery is an impairment of free will. Enslaved people are given no choice over how they want to live. Attempting to escape is tantamount to one’s own destruction. The punishments are gruesome beyond measure, and trial by jury is practically irrelevant to enslaved people. Furthermore, slaves are often punished for crimes as miniscule as looking at their masters improperly. If a slave appears dissatisfied, he must surely have the devil within him…Such are the presumptions made to the expense of enslaved people. We find that the punishments extend far beyond what might normally come to mind with the idea of “cruel or unusual” punishments. We find that some enslaved people have been tied to smoke houses…Before being set back to work, newfound injuries and

    Read More

  • Slavery and the Anti-slavery Movement

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Anytime we hear the word “slavery”, we tend to think of the Southern United States during the Pre-Civil War era. What many people don’t know, is that this horrible act has occurred worldwide! The term “slavery” has many different definitions, and has occurred all throughout our world history. It wasn’t until the early 18th century that the thought of anti-slavery came about. Many economic, social, and technological forces have played a part in the decline of slavery around the globe.

    Read More

  • The Consequences of Slavery

    2031 Words  | 5 Pages

    Slavery, like many ill-fated and evil inventions reached epidemic levels in early Europe and the American colonies. The history of slavery is documented most acutely during the period when slaves first arrived to the new land and when the colonies had first developed into the fledging United States of America. This would lead us to believe that slavery had not existed before this period or that the consequences and relevance of it had little historical, social, or economical importance. While some of this might be true, the act of enslaving other human being has existed for hundreds of before the Europeans ever reached and explored the continent of Africa. Proponents of slavery could argue that it is just a natural step in the evolution and development of civilized man. Historic data revealed that the African people form of enslavement on one another was drastically different then European and American way. Although slavery as we know it has been abolished, the consequences have had and will surely have everlasting effects on you, me and the future of every child

    Read More

  • The Pros And Cons Of Abolishing Slavery

    407 Words  | 1 Pages

    All things considered, slavery had been going on too long. “How long must rebellion rage?” said Fredrick Douglass. No one has the right to force people to wait for something that determines life

    Read More

  • Modern Day Slavery Essay

    1371 Words  | 3 Pages

    Slavery has been a part of human practices for centuries and dates back to the world’s ancient civilizations. In order for us to recognize modern day slavery we must take a look and understand slavery in the American south before the 1860’s, also known as antebellum slavery. Bouvier’s Law Dictionary defines a slave as, “a man who is by law deprived of his liberty for life, and becomes the property of another” (B.J.R, pg. 479). In the period of antebellum slavery, African Americans were enslaved on small farms, large plantations, in cities and towns, homes, out on fields, industries and transportation. By law, slaves were the perso...

    Read More

  • Artificial Intelligence and its Effects on Business

    1711 Words  | 4 Pages

    When most people think of artificial intelligence they might think of a scene from I, Robot or from 2001: A Space Odyssey. They might think of robots that highly resemble humans start a revolution against humanity and suddenly, because of man’s creation, man is no longer the pinnacle of earth’s hierarchy of creatures. For this reason, it might scare people when I say that we already utilize artificial intelligence in every day society. While it might not be robots fighting to win their freedom to live, or a defense system that decides humanity is the greatest threat to the world, artificial intelligence already plays a big role in how business is conducted today.

    Read More

  • Human and Inventions: The Computer Evolution

    700 Words  | 2 Pages

    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.

    Read More

More about Slavery of the Machine

Open Document