How much is science fiction to blame for the fear of technology? It’s a question that all of us interested in this subject have asked ourselves at some point, and it requires more social reflection than people often ask about it.
In countless books, movies and series, we have seen experiments go wrong and they fail to fulfill their main function and threaten humanity in many ways. From the monster Frankenstein up to Yo robotScientifically brought to life beyond the dinosaurs Jurassic ParkExamples abound.
A special topic, of course, relates to AI. A technology that has been used for years, but it has taken huge leaps in recent years. On the one hand, it seems to have the potential to improve our lives; On the other hand, many warn about the danger it poses. A real danger or an impact Matrix2001 A Space Odyssey and many similar works?
If you think carefully, all of mankind’s greatest inventions, from the television to the telephone to the Internet, have created similar doubts, and some have given rise to fear of new technologies. Is artificial intelligence a similar thing or is there really cause for panic?
Inventions that „charged life” or worked in an unusual way
It appears that artificial intelligence can help in many aspects, which are important on a human level and in our daily lives. But in reality, some „experiments” or inventions have gone wrong many times, and have even fueled the suspicion of their own creators, thus justifying people’s fear of technology.
In 2016, Facebook had to ditch its robots Bob and Alice because of one of the clear cases. They created their own language, which their own creators did not understand. A simulated experience that both „come alive”.
Sometimes, strange behaviors of robots are going viral. In 2013, before the current artificial intelligence revolutions, a cleaning robot „wired itself” and set itself on fire. According to the investigation, due to the error in his behavior, but also gave the impression that he came alive to take it.
Americans are also betting on K5 robots, with a kind and friendly appearance (in fact RoboCop), attracted everyone’s attention when one jumped into the fountain. Many people talked about „suicide”, which caused a stir on social networks.
But this tech fear isn’t just related to robots. The drones, without going any further, also left footage straight out of a sci-fi production. In addition to spectacular accidents, they have been involved in more dramatic experiences.
An autonomous military drone (operated by AI) last summer attacked his director Confuse it in a strange way „forbidden”.
Of course, the most obvious explanations for all these phenomena are related to specific failures in its operation, but there is no doubt that these types of phenomena, at least, explain the increasingly widespread fear of technology. And that brings us back to the original question: Are there real reasons to be afraid? Perhaps only time will tell…or not.