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The recent blockbuster film, The Matrix, has inspired many an amateur philosopher and zealous science fiction fan to speculate on how our society could advance. Some think that the future will be a cold place, where communicative human presence will be a rare occurrence, and others suppose that we will be able to harness whatever future developments may come along properly and continue to develop as a well functioning, human society. Still, these are only two theories, among many others.
In today’s rapidly advancing human race, it is imperative that technology can be used by all. However, to achieve this goal, the end-user world of computing is rapidly being dumbed down. Companies are striving to reach the top, but only a select few are industry leaders. I believe that this is a very threatening combination.
Currently, a very large percentage of computer users think (or might as well) that the computer handles functions “automagically.” If this percentage holds fast, or even grows in size, many of the aforementioned computer conglomerates could get away with the equivalent of murder, in computing terms. I would not put it past fate to have our government develop into a massive technological oligarchy, in which only a few have any perception as to what is really going on, and all others are held captive in a happy pseudo-reality. This could be similar to the matrix of human bodies in the movie The Matrix, but created for entirely other motives, and executed in any number of fashions.
As mentioned, this is one of an exorbitantly large number of possibilities, but I see it as a plausible path. In this case, we should not fear robots as our impending leaders. As has happened in the past, we have only been slaves to our selves, and history will most likely repeat itself.
One of the greatest problems interrupting the development of new technology today is computer phobia. New trends in business and technology are directed by consumer support, and if the consumer is frightened and confused by a product, it almost certainly won’t achieve it’s greatest potential. In order for computers to flourish and grow in today’s societies and economies, this fear must be conquered.
There are several different reasons why this fear exists in the first place. The main reason, however, is located in the most basic fear of change. By nature, humans do not like fundamental changes in the way day-to-day life is handled. If some new way of conducting business is to arise, it is by instinct to be avoided in favor of the traditional method of doing things. However, this mind set can potentially be overcome.
Children must be taught at a young age not to totally ignore new concepts and be open-minded. Only once this has been accomplished, can we delve deeper into the specifics of current technology, by including computers in classrooms and doing research and other activities through them.
It will be harder to convert the old and weary to these new ways, as they have been doing things the same way for years and years, and life, in a way, has become routine. The best approach would be to ease them slowly into the new currents of change. This could be handled by having hands-on seminars in their work places, explaining that the horror stories surrounding computers do not have to come true, if they have enough knowledge to handle them properly.
If anything, people cannot be expected to know everything there is to know about new technology. This will breed hatred towards computers and is counterproductive. To stop this from occurring, it needs to be reinforced that there will almost always be a helping hand, and that it is normal to be afraid at first. With this in mind, maybe the future of computing won’t look as bleak to the average person with computer phobia as it does now.
This document is Copyright © Nathan Melehan 2001. All rights reserved. Reproduction strictly prohibited without express permission of the author. To submit questions, comments or corrections to the author, e-mail Nathan Melehan at cosmic_f@hotmail.com.
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