Are You Afraid Of The Future?

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@wwf had an interesting post today that really got me thinking. It is something I was mulling over before this but his post really kicked my thoughts into overdrive.

https://steempeak.com/ungrip/@wwf/my-concern-about-ai-is-not-about-intelligence

The question I have is are you afraid of the future? The follow up to this, if so, is why?

We all know the dystopian view of technology that is presented to us by Hollywood. "The Terminator" is fresh in everyone's mind even though that film is 30 years old. Who does not know the name "Skynet"?

My question is why would anyone believe anything Hollywood proposes as true? Most of us are aware how the television and film industry are all part of the propaganda campaign. The goal is to do whatever it takes to keep humanity enslaved. Spreading lies is what they do.

Would anyone say the Internet was a bad thing for humanity? Sure, the likes of Facebook are akin to demons but we must be mindful of throwing the baby out with the bathwater as they say.

The truth is technology serves to help humanity unless humanity uses it against itself. Human evolution is upward, just look at the last 100 years. We came a long way with many important stats dropping through the floor. Poverty rates, violent deaths, and infant mortality rates all dropped. We also saw the life expectancy explode in the past century.

Yet people still fear the future. They believe that the next "Terminator" is around the corner. Truthfully, this can either be summed up in fear or ideology. Either way, it blinds one to what is taking place.

Think of it this way: there was a time when everyone believed Walter Cronkite was delivering the "news". Of course, there was no choice but to believe him since there was no way to verify anything.

Today, because of the Internet, people are able to investigate and post differing views. It is why so many are aware of the deception provided by the mainstream media outlets.

Our advancement is only due to technology.

And this is something that will continue.

There is a world of ignorance out there. Here is a comment that was left on one of my posts a few days ago.

Wow. Smart = Surveillance in this person's mind.

Is that done? Yes it is. But Smart is also for monitoring.

It is a good thing my buddy's wife does not agree with that and uses her diabetes monitoring testing kit and pump. Oh screw it,she should just stick needles in her fingers repeatedly and accept that twice a year diabetic seizures are normal.

Or perhaps my dad should have forgone that defibrillator since it is a smart device and hope emergency services personnel get there in time to kick start his heart.

Remember the debate over stem cell research. The religious block went nuts in the United States over using stem cells for research. Guess what? It saves lives. Of course, in hindsight we realize how absurd the debate was yet we failed to learn from the past.

Have you seen what is happening with CRISPR and gene editing? What do you hear about it? Designer babies and we are playing God. Once again, absurd claims.

Yes, let us forgo the technology and instead of rewriting a bit of code to get rid of a fatal disease, lets keep hacking up the body with scalpels.

Seriously, we should never have invented fire since we were able to burn down towns and torch people at the stake.

If the media, politicians, or Hollywood is sounding the alarm, bet the ranch it is not an issue. They do not forewarn of stuff that will harm humanity. Instead, they ring the bell to scare people into agreeing to give up more rights and money. Yet people fall for it again and again.

Technology is a great equalizer. Those who have access to it are the ones who get further ahead. Look at countries with smart phone technology. Anyone on the Internet has more information in a small device than the President of the United States had 30 years ago. Countries with reliable energy are light years ahead of those without. Laptops are creating more millionaires than all the computing put together did in the 1960s.

Yet we still fear it.

I am speaking to the cryptocurrency choir on here but how absurd is the fear surrounding this and blockchain? We know it is foolishness yet tens of millions are believing it. They listen to the likes of CNBC and Warren Buffet which is astounding. Buffet knows as much about technology as I do about the physics behind black holes. Nevertheless, he is listened to by millions.

Each time I hear anyone mention the dangers of self driving cars, I laugh. To me, this is another absurdity without any basis in reality. Have you seen how people drive? To think a computer cannot do better is complete foolishness. Sure there needs to be testing and refinements made but there will come a day when automated vehicles are a God send to humanity.

As I posted in my comment to @wwf, think back to the days when planes were flown by humans. You took your life in your hands boarding a plane in the 1940s, 50s, and 60s. Today, air travel is one of the safest ways to go. It is also one of the most computerized.

The issue is not with the technology. What is really the problem is us projecting out human characteristics on it. We did this for thousands of years with the Gods and now we are doing it with technology. Even the parallels we draw are based upon our contemporary knowledge.

During the industrial revolution, man was compared to machines. It was the inner workings of the body and mind that made us "human machines". What are we now compared to? Computers. Even the universe is now a computer simulation according to many.

The truth is the future is less fearful than it was because of technology. Humanity is the real terror. We have thousands of years of violence, greed, insecurity, and anger problems. It seems much of our existence is creating and devising better and more efficient ways to kill each other.

It is not the future or technology that anyone should fear. Do I fear AI? Leaving aside the fact that AI is a general term like the law, the answer is no. I fear Presidents wearing red ties a lot more than what "AI" will do.

Once again, AI is scary if we believe Hollywood and cast our fears upon it. However, why would we believe anything they toss out is beyond me. We know the lies and deception they are issuing.

It all comes down to control. One of the reasons I am a huge proponent of blockchain and decentralized systems is because individuals proved they will use technological advancement against others. This is a humanity problem, not a technological one. SingularityNet is one of my favorite projects since it is decentralizing AI and creating a platform where anyone in the world can use it. In other words, keeping it out of the control of a few.

On Steem, we are creating an ecosystem that is going to give people an option from what they presently are enduring. I foresee a day when millions, if not billions, are making their livings off blockchains like this one. Cryptocurrency is going to offer people an alternative to the system that presently has them enslaved.

And that is a very good thing.

Relax, the future is bright. Ignore the alarmist attitudes of the media and politicians. They are misleading you for their own benefit.

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