Do We Need Humans?
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There is a lot of speculation on the technological singularity - the point at which artificial intelligence has progressed beyond human intelligence. Between AI and advanced engineering, humans could quickly become extraneous to modern society, especially from the viewpoint of those who own the robots and see extra humans as needful beings who return little to the planet.
That's a very dystopian view, but a possible outcome all the same. The February 28, 2014 episode of NPR's Ted Radio Hour offers four viewpoints on the future of humanity.
 | Sherry Turkle of MIT begins by explaining her concern that we humans are becoming too enamored of our technology and losing our humanity, and our ability to relate with each other, as we focus too much on the technology. Our love of technology and belief that technology can cure all of our ills is causing a disconnect in society that may plague us in the future. Her full TED talk is here. |
 | Cynthia Breazeal, also of MIT and founder/director of the Personal Robotics Group, "brings robots to life" in order to create interactive elements such as you might have with Star War's C3PO and R2-D2. Her view is that social robots might help humans in a variety of ways. Her full TED talk is here. |
 | Andrew McAfee, from - you guessed it - MIT, discusses his research on how robots may take our jobs in the present and future. Since the latest recession, McAfee points out how many companies are investing in robotics in place of hiring more humans. This session provides examples of jobs machine intelligence, whether software or robotics, are already doing as good or even a better job than humans. His full TED talk is here. |
 | Finishing up the hour, Abraham Verghese, of Stanford for a change, presents that the human hand is THE most important and valuable technology ever developed. His session focuses on the need for compassion and sympathy in our medical care - something robots and machine intelligence may not be able to provide. BTW - At around 8:30 of his session, there is an amazing story about the connection between a doctor and his patient. His full TED talk is here. |
If you're looking for an informative way to spend an hour on the road, jogging, or doing chores, this hour offers several excellent points.
Interested in the social impact of our future advancements, Daryl developed and built Regarding Tomorrow as a platform to share and discuss our collective hopes and fears of the future. Daryl's background is in education, including graduate studies in special needs and a masters in instructional technology from UVA's Curry School of Education. He has worked as a high school teacher and has over 10 years of university experience in the US and Canada.