Davos, Switzerland
At the January World Economic Forum Annual Meeting (Davos 2020), Yuval Harari, the historian, philosopher, and best-selling author of Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Category Archives: Futurism – Warnings
Survival of the Richest
Robots revolt in R.U.R., a 1920 play.
Professor and media theorist Douglas Rushkoff recently penned an article that went viral,
“Survival of the Richest.” It outlines how the super-wealthy are preparing for doomsday. Here is a recap followed by a brief commentary.
Rushkoff was recently invited to deliver a speech for an unusually large fee, about half his academic salary, on “the future of technology.” He expected a large audience but, upon arrival, he was ushered into a small room with a table surrounded by five wealthy men. But they weren’t interested in the future of technological innovation. Continue reading Survival of the Richest
What Are Slaughterbots?
The above video was produced by BAN LETHAL AUTONOMOUS WEAPONS.
While lethal, fully autonomous weapons systems, or killer robots, aren’t yet able to select and attack targets without human control, a number of countries are developing such devices. And a number of organizations including The Future of Life Institute, Human Rights Watch, and the International Committee for Robot Arms Control, have all warned against their development. Continue reading What Are Slaughterbots?
Summary of Bill Joy’s, “Why the future doesn’t need us,”
Bill Joy (1954 – ) is an American computer scientist who co-founded Sun Microsystems in 1982 and served as chief scientist at the company until 2003. His now famous Wired magazine essay, “Why the future doesn’t need us,” (2000) sets forth his deep concerns over the development of modern technologies Continue reading Summary of Bill Joy’s, “Why the future doesn’t need us,”
Summary of Jaron Lanier’s, “One Half A Manifesto”
Jaron Lanier (1960 – ) is a pioneer in the field of virtual reality who left Atari in 1985 to found VPL Research, Inc., the first company to sell VR goggles and gloves. Continue reading Summary of Jaron Lanier’s, “One Half A Manifesto”