Technology and Humans - Essay Example

Technology and humans Computers in the modern day are intellectually sophisticated. They challenge the norm by which humans operate in the most basic ways. Human beings invented computers and as time has passed the need for computers to pass off as being “wholesomely human” has grown. As time has progressed, the versions of computer systems that have come up have been ultimately “more human” than the previous ones. This is to say that the sole purpose of this creation is to capture human nature in its full essence. However, computers are programmed to take up the glories of human beings and be devoid of the failures. The more human a computer is, the more successful the inventors are at technological innovation. However, up until this moment the Turing test has determined that no computer has completely fulfilled the mark of being “completely human.” This brings forth the question of what exactly humanity is. There are certain aspects that define humanity; aspects which of all creation, only a human being could bear (Colatrella ,11). Before the invention of computers, there were certain elements that were defined as being human. Outside the world of technology, there are certain attributes that are acknowledged as human nature. For instance, it is common knowledge that human beings are prone to error. It is also common knowledge that human beings are defined by and constantly display their emotions; the heart overrides the mind. Computers have redefined this. The technological world has its own idea of what it means to be human. Seeing this as a technological era, human beings are now being challenged out of humanity as they see it into humanity, as the technological world perceives it. Computers have become so sophisticated and intellectual that one would be forgiven for thinking that they are human. This is a great achievement for humanity, but the important factor is what exactly it illustrates about the human race. It appears that human beings are being beaten at being human by the machines that they have invented. Recently, computers missed a win in the Turing test, which is held annually, by one vote. Computers have become so great at mimicking attributes and conversation techniques that they are now much better humans than actual human beings (Crocker, 25). Brian Christian has gone an extra mile to try to understand what it is that defines humanity in the 21st century. He studied the artificial mannerisms that have been taken up to understand the upgrading of human nature by computer systems. He successfully illustrates that human beings are still much better at being human than modern day computer systems. His enrollment into the Turing test was the eventual illustration of the greatness of human capabilities. Christian is able to use the achievements of computer programs just as well as their flaws to illustrate the magnitude of uniqueness and intellect that humans have. It is not quite clear whether in the coming times computers will emerge victorious in the Turing test. The focal point at the moment is that they have succeeded in challenging the notion of being human. The manner in which the technological innovation has illustrated the notion of humanity is in a much more upgraded way. This perception has become so engraved in human minds that human beings are now trying to live up to this new version of humanity. The experiences that human beings live through define their personalities. These experiences have shaped the way in which the view life. They define their approaches towards the wins and losses that life throws their way. The places that human beings begin and nurture their lives also define them. A person that grew up in a harsh and unsupportive environment is likely to become equally harsh and unreceptive. A person that grew up in a supportive and loving environment is likely to become warm and receptive. The people that one grows up around define their interaction with other people. All these are factors that cannot be overlooked when carrying out an analysis of the character of a person. This is because they are the most basic factors upon which their humanity is based. They differentiate one person from the next. Computers have changed this perception. People are no longer identified from this perspective, but rather from a technological perspective. For instance, one would have to ask people when they were born in order to establish their age. Today, if the other person is a public figure, this information can be found on Wikipedia and therefore this line of questioning is no longer necessary. One only needs to Google them or looks them up on their social media accounts to know their most intimate details. The world has become a place where people’s most important details are their pins, social security numbers, and passwords. One can monitor people’s movements and transactions simply with these lesser details. In actual sense, people can damage other people’s lives if they got hold of their security details and were able to manipulate them. Human beings are funny. Humor differs from one person to the next. One may think a joke is funny and the person next to them may find it much to the opposite effect. This explains why in comedy shows, while everyone else is cracking up at a joke there is always that one person with a very solemn face. Humor is meant to be light or else the entire concept does not make sense. Jokes are meant to be funny because they are not to be thought about in depth. Hence the concept of stale jokes; once a joke is not understood within the first few minutes of being stated, then it is a fail. This is the concept of humor from a human perceptive; an aura or quality of a comic nature. At least this was the perception before computers redefined it. In the computer era, it is correct to assume that humor is no longer light. According to the computer version of humor, humor must be free of loopholes and should be accurate. A good illustration is a conversation between a human being and the program Cleverbot; User: You know why they call it an Xbox 360? Cleverbot: No. Why do they call it an Xbox 360? User: Because when you see it, you turn 360 degrees and walk away. Cleverbot: No. because then you would be facing it and that would be unfunny (Christian, 99) If this were human-to-human conversation then the joke would have been funny prior to the correction. The conversation illustrated in the above started out with a light aura before it was enveloped with a somber mood, completely killing the intended sense of humor. Technology has constricted human sense of curiosity. Human beings are generally very curious individuals. For instance, if a human being is at a crossroads where they are aware of where one path leads and are unaware about the other, they explore the unknown. Safety does not occur to the human mind with ease. They are more inclined to a sense of adventure rather than to personal safety and protection. This is what in the human world defines humanity. The untamed feeling that one gets when they are about to experience something new is exhilarating to the human spirit. Many a times, the sense of adventure may lead to a few consequences here and there. However, human beings are more content just knowing that they have learnt something knew or that they have been exposed to sensations that were previously unknown to them. The world of technology has curtailed all these adventures. Technology exposes human beings to so many different ventures. For instance, they can find out about places they were previously unaware of or have conversations with people they have never met. One would think that technology is in essence encouraging curiosity and adventure, but that is far from the case. Before the onset of the computer and a social media era, hacking was not a known concept in the human mind. In actuality hacking, although illegal cannot quite be defined. One may be harmlessly trying to explore a site and end up hacking into authenticated sites. In Christian’s text, the young man that hacked into Sarah Pailin’s account may have been doing so out of boredom. In an attempt to fuel his sense of adventure, he could end up spending quite a portion of his life behind bars (Christian, 95). It is part of human nature to desire company. More often than not, human desire to share the daily occurrences of their lives with someone other than themselves. There is a burning need to be able to relate their emotions and feelings to other parties. It is because of this desire for companionship that the concept of relationships and marriage originate. Prior to the onset of the computer era, this process was more conventional. Human beings met (most likely in completely random occurrences), took a liking to each other, talked, created a bond and then committed into relationships. Before the issue of settling down with each other came up, human beings were well aware of each other’s strengths and flaws. In totality, one would be aware of what situation they were likely to face. The computer era has brought about online dating. Through online dating all the informal protocols that were previously associated with dating have been set aside, it is as though the desire for any form of companionship has completely overridden the desire for sustainable companionship. Through online dating, people get to know each other without putting in any effort. This kills the suspense and romance that comes with normal dating where one is unaware of how a date is going to be. It kills the effort that people put into looking good for each other, with normal dating. With online dating, by the time people set eyes on each other for the very first time, they know too much about their counterparts. Some may argue that this is the advantage of modernity, but truth be told, the conventional way bear more fruit in terms of sustainability. Humanity is not as complex as computers attempt to define it. There is no basic strategy to being human, other than just going about it. The very attempt into to being human is what takes one away from being human. This is because human beings are human beings and rather than just be human beings, in the 21st century, they are trying to be “more human.” Since the beginning of time, humanity has done just fine without the complications it is now facing. In the 18th century, the issue of trying to be “more human” never arose. People were content with the lives they led, the people they were and the people those around them were. This was what being human was to them and this is what it should be in the 21st century person. The thought that one could possibly improve their humanity from the computer system perspective is ludicrous. This is because human beings invented computer systems and they therefore cannot have an opinion of their own. The one very easily observable element is that computers have only served to confuse human minds. They have made human beings question whether their virtues and qualities are enough to qualify as total humanity. The bottom line is the world is human centered; everything revolves around human existence. Every invention is created by the human mind validating its intellectual capacity. Therefore, only a human being would know and illustrate what it means to be truly human. This paper’s focal point is the illustration of how technology has distorted human beings into perceiving a false notion of what humanity entails. Works Cited Christian, B. The most human human : what talking with computers teaches us about what it means to be alive. New York: Doubleday, 2011. Colatrella, C. Technology and humanity. Ipswich: Salem Press, 2013. Crocker, G. A managerial philosophy of technology : technology and humanity in symbiosis. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Read More