Technology Vs. Human Nature

This is something I have had on my mind for quite some time. We as humans, as animals have many obvious traits. We have positives, cultures, easy communication, knowledge seemingly above other species (at least at the moment). We also have negatives, we are all aware of these, mass scale wars, pollution of the ecosystem with harmful gases etc.

However I think technology is very much a double edged sword. It has many positives, mainly for the human race however it also has applications in the military industry which often pushes technology forward(with an agenda ofcourse).

So my question is will the human race cope with such vast progression in technology. Electronic devices for example are pretty much doubling in power with years, now look at the human race. We as animals evolve within millennia; we still have those animal tendencies to fight over territory, over greed etc when in reality we are probably intelligent enough at this stage to provide for most of the human race equally.

Look at the speed at which technology is evolving, what implication does this have on animal species that grows at such a slower pace? Can a world where people kill over religion, money and so on work when in a hundred years the technology we have will be so powerful. I don’t think it is much of a stretch to imagine humans being able to assemble weapons from phones or bug electrical systems to cause fires. Those are just ideas but can we as animals cope with such advanced tech, I think we are foolish to think so, in the right hands it could be one of the greatest achievements of the human race but providing it starts off and ends in the right hands. How often does this happen in today’s world where money and the government rule?

Just some thoughts really, tech does evolve and we evolve at such a slower pace. This is not some fear mongering thread about robots taking over, however I question our maturity as a race to handle such advances in our technology.

Yeah a valid point, and one that I think lots of people have considered. I think that unless we as a species do something to resolve all conflicts in this world we are destined for desaster. Wether that be at the hands of ourselves or something natural (earthquakes etc). We are still very young in the universe and are that little 5 year old child, pointing guns and running around breaking stuff, not by accident but because we can.
I think an adult needs to step in and give us a bloody good slap!
Advancment in tech only really comes from the military machine, and most of it does more bad than good. As you say.... with and agenda!
Good post.... might make people think. Love your work!

No. We are not coping, all you must do is look at the state of our planet and its inhabitants. We are freaking out. Countries are being left in proverbial dust while other country's shoot ahead years at a time. Money, a man made entity, is now at the ends of its run. Human behavior has gone from sports to endless TV. We learn so much at our schools, but feel so little towards one another. We've wasted all of our potential for resource driven wars against lesser powered country's, servant type civilians that are happy with their 3 hours a night of friends and of course, people so detached from the world that they try and control a large majority of the human population.

Yes, i would say we havent coped well at all.

Too much change/advancement to quickly.

reply to post by OwenGP185


it will be out of our hands once we invent an AI system that is smarter than a human.

"a machine that is smarter than a man will be the last invention mankind need make"

reply to post by OwenGP185


My main concern is that as we are right now, we are capable of making very impressive machines, components, chips and computers, and are getting better at it every day. Our minds are expanding further now, than the hippies of the sixties THOUGHT they were, while they were destroying thier synaptic interface capabilities with '___' and other dangerous chemicals.

But with all our modern comforts, as provided for by our increasing grasp of technology, our capacity for hardihood, for manning up and getting on with it diminish. In days gone by , people would think nothing of walking six or seven miles in the snow here in the UK. Now, no one can get to work if more than two inches come down, unless they have a four by four, or a set of ice chains on thier tyres, which most dont, unless they live up a mountain.

People can be chased inside by a mere rainfall for goodness sake, and yet years ago, you had to keep going , no matter what. Stiff upper lip used to conquer all ills, but now people look at you like you are some sort of insane person for going out in the rain, and carrying on about your business in the midst of gale force winds, or snow fall.

As our technology increases in its potency , those who benifit most from it become weak, spineless. They let themselves order online , rather than manning up, going out doors, and handing over some cold hard currency to a human being in a store. They phone for a pizza rather than getting up off thier lazy behinds and cooking for themselves. They get fat, and when they do THEY GO TO THE GYM!! They actually pay someone else, to fix thier problems for them, usually using a computer assisted work out program with a spread sheet showing the results after a month! Are you for real? GET THE HELL OUT AND CUT SOME LOGS! Sweep your garden clear of leaves, make a damned patio with your bare hands and will power!!! THAT is a legitimate way to go about things.

Reliance on any one aspect of existance, to carry one through , is a foolish way to pass a life time. Empires have fallen based on just this sort of focused concentration. I realise that technology is responsible for some incredible breakthroughs in some very important fields, including medicine and energy production. However, mankind must learn to use his tools in moderation.

Sometimes it is better for a person to use a handsaw than an electric or petrol powered one, and not just because of the finish, but because it gets the blood flowing. Using a computer aided cutting tool is very impressive, and the results unquestionably superior, assuming a certain level of competance in the person programming the device. But hand crafting metal work is far more physically exhausting, and therefore more physically rewarding, than using a machine to make a machine!

Driving to work may be faster, but walking is BETTER. You have time to think, time to consider, to contemplate, to meditate on the world around you, and the world inside you, and catch the little things in life, that are nothing but a blur in the window of a car or bus. Plus it is great excersize, and unlike the brakes on those dodgy Prius from a couple of years ago, that failed to activate when a car was approaching a junction, you choose when you stop,and nothing can argue with you. Not unless the microchip has entered your shoes also!

I love stuff like Star Trek, the clean, surgical, futuristic lines of the ships, the amazing interconnectivity of all tech on board, the scope of the tech candy on display... but I also know that if such a future awaits mankind, it does not lay at the end of a path paved with wobbling lard butted things, who have sacrificed all thier hunter gatherer skill and instinct at the alter of technology to recieve the terror gift of the following prayer to the tech god:

"Press button one for nutrient paste, press button two for waste removal, press button three for entertainment, press button four for stimulants, press button five for....."

reply to post by TrueBrit


well said!!

reply to post by OwenGP185


Boiling it down to this:

So my question is will the human race cope with such vast progression in technology.

I believe that technology is progressing so fast right now that there is absolutely nothing we can do ( short of shutting off all the electricity... ) n o t h i n g we can do to stop it.

My opinion is that there is a, I call it, a cycle of eminence. Mankind and machines are always in a relationship together. It need not be a perfect relationship!

Personally I'd like to see the military forget the infatuation with unmanned drones and go back to the good old days of real battles, not virtual ones. For example 300, Braveheart or the western front in WW1.

It seems like all the nations are using technology for the basis of power. I wonder what nation will build the first all robotic land army?

If you think about it, were actually catching up with our technology. You know what with the dark ages, the burning of the Alexandra Library, the Crusades that decimated the Arabic one of the more advances cultures at the time what with their numbers and stuff, Not sure if it was the crusades that sent them back though. Hmm, anyways I believe the better technology get the better we will get.

How can we as a species advance, with you know actually advancing??? The whole people are animals things that you are preaching on you're soapbox right now about wars and pollution sounds noble(and conceding) at first glance(conceding at second glance too), but its a lot more complicated than that. Yes the world has issues, we will get over them. Poverty and war are a lot less frequent now then they were. Not everyone is greedy and not every religious person is some zealot killing people.

The Hobbits were at a balance with Nature and Technology. I just wonder what they did with all the Hobbit poop.
You know when you get a about 100 Hobbits together living in a sedentary Shire they are going to be producing a lot of waste.

Are the Hobbits an example of the way to go? They don't have internet. Maybe lot's of rats.