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Luddites
Let me first preface myself by saying that I don’t believe the conditions are right
to support a cultural revolution like the one we saw in the 60’s. Since that time, we have
become a society of comfortable conformists, counting on our televisions to tell us what
to do and how to think. My generation literally grew up on the tube. Why would this fact
deter a cultural uprising? While I don’t believe the government or large corporations are
anywhere near smart enough to go so far as attempt some form of mind control, I think
that the very nature of television, and advertising in general, have two main sideeffects
that would hinder support for any possible revolution: isolation and conformity. A
revolution like that of the 60’s requires both originality and a sense of community.
But while technology has served to prevent a traditional movement, I think it is
the advancement of technology itself will lead us to the next upheaval. Every revolution
requires a spark. In the 60’s, it took many sparks firing at the same time to light the fire
and organize a cause: the assassination of JFK and MLK, the war and the draft.... The list
goes on. So, what spark might be required to ignite another fire of social change in the
near future? The discovery of artificial intelligence.
Today we live in a world that is everchanging. With each passing month we
witness the birth of yet another new technology. The speed with which our current
technology becomes outdated is almost ridiculous. Never before have you had to buy
something that costs almost a full month’s salary, which will only be worth a tenth of that
a year later. With this constant change, and the struggle to keep up, comes frustration.
Frustration at the amount of money that is required to stay in the game, frustration at the
impossible task of staying intellectually current on the use all this technology, and the
frustration that while all this new technology is marketed as being able to make our lives
easier, in fact, seems to do just the opposite. And the pace of technology keeps speeding
up.
Most estimates put the evolution of computing systems capable of achieving
humanlike thought at about 2020. With this, and everimproving robotic technology,
computers will begin to replace more and more advanced humanhelp jobs. Factory
workers, checkout clerks, bank tellers, pilots… The list goes on. And as artificial
intelligence surpasses human intelligence, there will really be no reason for human labor
at all. At least, that’s the thinking that will lead to the next revolution. That our jobs and
our livelihoods will be replaced by thinking (but not feeling) machines. And then there’s
movies like The Matrix and A.I. that show a world postAI, a ghostly world where
humans are extinct, or have at least taken a back seat to the new machines.
Today there is what’s called the Luddite movement. One of the move famous
supporters of this movement was Theodore Kaczynski, the socalled Unabomber. In
general, they believe that the advancement of technology is the path toward destruction.
Ever since the introduction of mechanical devices, there has been one movement or
another supporting the cause of antitechnology. Most of their ideas, however, have little
merit in the ears today’s society. Destruction? Isolation? Are you saying my computer’s is
one day going to open up its CD drive and bite my leg off? I don’t think so. But when
artificial intelligence rolls around? People will start listening, and the movement will
grow. In the 60’s people were feeling uneasiness over the inequality of the haves and
havenots. Those in power and those who had no say. In this neoLuddite movement of
tomorrow, people will begin to feel as if they are being replaced by computers. There will
be a big fear that there will be no reason for the lower or middle classes, as all labor can
and will be performed by machines that don’t work for a wage.
Every revolution spark requires a fire starter who works to make the spark into a
fire. In the 60’s these leaders came from all walks of life, but were mostly part of the
younger generation, the generation who was revolting. They had no special experience in
lighting revolutions or organizing rallies. They just somehow got lifted into such a
position. This new revolution will be different. I think people will be looking for answers.
They will be scared by what they see around them: factories being shut down, their
friends and family being laid off... They will be looking for experience. I think the leaders
of this movement then, will be both those who have been and are now in the leadership
positions of the current Luddite movement. I also think that disillusioned computer
scientists will likely join in as spokespersons. Ironically enough, it will likely be the
internet and other media technology that will be used to spread the ideology of the
movement.
It’s hard to say what this new revolution will look like. In the movie A.I., by
Stephan Spielberg, such a movement was depicted through a rally where humans
destroyed robots they captured in an arena as a spectator event. While this might occur,
and certainly would work to ease the frustration of the day, I don’t think it would have the
impact necessary to accomplish the goals of the movement. Instead, I think any sort of
revolution that might take place would be in the form of boycotts – such as refusing to
shop at any store that employs robots – and also in the form of violence against
corporations that produce them.
So where does this leave me? My chosen major is Cognitive Science, the field that
is focused on understanding intelligence and how it might be recreated in computers.
Thus, I plan to play a hand in the creation of machines that have the potential to create
such unrest. My vision and hope however, is that AI will be used to extend the capabilities
of mankind, rather than necessarily replace it. So will I join the movement if corporations
think differently than I? Perhaps. Heck, when I said “disillusioned computer scientists”, I
was leaving room for myself.