I think in some ways it was prescient, and in other ways badly off. But for a high school student with no plans to become a nerd, and the internet not even existing outside of Bell Labs, it's not too far off -- remember ....this was more than 40 years ago....
This is Ray Bradbury's view of futuristic life: robot mice and robot men. And even though our journey to such a society may not be completed, we are certainly well on our way. For you see, the age of the computer is upon us.
We have advanced from the 50's when computers filled an entire room, to the 80's whey anyone can hold a computer in our own hand, from computers which only trained technicians could communicate with through complicated binary codes to computers we can converse with in our own language. Indeed, over the past 30 years there has been a tremendous technological advancement for the computer, and today computers have circuits that can do 50 million logic functions in a single second.
In "How You Can Learn to Live with Computers," Harry Kleinburg explains that the computer is the culmination -- possibly even the peak -- of the "age of reason." But what exactly have we created? A cartoon in the "Atlantic Monthly" addresses this very question. It shows a group of the world's greatest scientists who have gathered together to create the "mega computer." Finally, they ask it what they feel is the ultimate question: "Is there a God?" The computer's reply? .... "There is...now!"
Yes, the computer has tremendous power and potential, but it is not a god, or for that matter, a monster. It is merely a magnificent mass of circuitry and wiring -- a logic machine. But it has created some serious fears expressed even by its own inventors -- some questions we need to examine. Like -- how will we deal with computer error and malfunction? What about the erosion of our personal privacy? And, too, what about the loss of personal identity in an age where numbers seem to nullify personality?
These are questions all of us are going to have to answer. Oh, you might think you won't, but, as Dr. R. M. Coulter of M.I.T. points out, "the computer is already affecting every aspect of our lives." And in the future, it may dictate our very existence. The robots are moving in! Therefore, to protect ourselves, we need to examine some of the imperfections of our masterpiece so that eventually we can eliminate them.
First, let's look at the problem of computer error and computer malfunction. What about the man who received a $17,000 electric bill for his two room apartment? A computer error, but it happened. And have you ever received a phone bill for calls you never made? Say, two or three to Taiwan last week? Well, you guessed it, Ma Bell's computers make mistakes too. And what about the man who received a computerized bill for zero dollars and zero cents? The first time he got it, he laughed. The second time, he was beginning to wonder. The third time he received the bill, it was accompanied by a computerized letter that said that the matter was being turned over to the company's lawyers. Frustrated, the man contacted the company, and they agreed that the computer was in error, but that he could assist in the situation by mailing a check for zero dollars. Sounds easy. But a funny thing happened. The check he sent was returned from the bank. You see, the bank's computers weren't programmed to accept it.
I'll admit these mistakes may not be fatal, but what about the malfunction of our national defense computers in the NORAD military complex last June? According to the computer, we were under attack. A 50 cent micro-circuit malfunctioned and potentially pushed us to the edge of conflict. Maybe you weren't aware of it when it happened, but we might have all paid the price for that small mistake.
Just as there is a problem with computer error and malfunction, so too, is the problem with ever increasing erosion of our personal privacy. Already, over 2,000 independent credit bureaus in the U.S. form a computer-connected network where our private financial affairs are available at the touch of the right person's finger. U.S News and World Report estimates that the federal government buys over 1,500 computers a year, soon to be filled with information concerning the activities of its citizens. Optical scanners, aided by computer, can now read personal handwriting and thus trace our mail, and can see to whom we write and who writes to us. The robots are taking control...
As Arthur R. Miller explains in Liberty and Law, "...within five hours, a computer operator with less than one month's training can break the more elaborate encoding procedures now being used in large data banks." We are at the mercy of the computer. Our records can be inaccurate, falsified, or manipulated. Blackmail and fraud become a reality in a computer age when personal information is so readily accessible. And it's not just the ruthless mind that can harm us. As Miller goes on to suggest, information can be lost or accidentally disseminated to the wrong people because an operator is "inept, negligent, thoughtless, or even downright stupid."
But perhaps the greatest fear generated over the computer concerns its effect on the individual and his identity. Emphasis has been placed on standardization and automation. Already, IBM uses a computer answering service. Instead of the traditional receptionist sitting at a desk, you now find a square box with a sexy voice. As Joseph Weisenbaum explains in Computer Power and Human Reason, "in the world of the computer, there is no room for human personality." We become facts instead of faces -- magnetic charges on reels of plastic tape. In order for the computer to function, it reduces people to numbers, for the robot mind is more comfortable in an impersonal environment.
Now please, don't think I'm against advancement. The computer has been and can continue to be a tremendous aid to society. The danger is that we will transfer our high esteem for logic from the mind, to the machine. Instead, so solve these basic problems caused by the computer, we must learn to rely on ourselves. We must maintain control rather than being controlled.
Now, with the problem of computer error and malfunction, we need to invest more money into research and development. David C. McClellan, a computer expert, tells us that someday we may be able to create a computer that is virtually infallible -- human proof. But even then, he warns, a technologically perfect computer still has limitations. For you see, it is in a sense a robot servant. The individual operator -- you and I -- must have the final judgment. For a robot computer doesn't think. It merely responds to our thought process.
The second problem -- the erosion of personal privacy -- demands even more severe action. We need strong and specific laws governing the access of information to both federal and non-federal computer organizations. Without these laws, we remain vulnerable, allowing ourselves to become victims of computer crime and abuse. At the present time, though, congressional action is fragmented and inadequate. Consequently, it remains our responsibility to make lawmakers aware that we demand a uniform policy for our own protection, for once we have lost our privacy, it cannot be reclaimed.
And just as we must move to protect our privacy, so must we also take steps to preserve our identity. We can't become complacent with the convenience of numbers. A person is not a statistic. He's a human personality. True, standardization is here to stay, but we can't allow individuality to go out of style. As Harry Kleinberg emphasizes, "the greatest danger that we face is not that we will see the computer as a model of the way people do think, which it isn't, but that we will come to see it as a model of the way people should think, which we must never allow it to become."
Yes, the computer can help us. That is what it was designed for. But we must never allow it to replace us. Someday, we may own a mega computer of our very own. But God help us if one ever owns us. If that ever happens, we may very well find ourselves in that sterile world of steel and concrete; the world of robot mice and robot men.
~~~ finis ~~~
That was the speech. How would I change it now?
Of Robot Mice and Robot Men
Enter the world of sterile steel and concrete, programmed people in impersonal cubicles where life is recorded on plastic tape, where "robot mice and robot men run about in robot towns."This is Ray Bradbury's view of futuristic life: robot mice and robot men. And even though our journey to such a society may not be completed, we are certainly well on our way. For you see, the age of the computer is upon us.
We have advanced from the 50's when computers filled an entire room, to the 80's whey anyone can hold a computer in our own hand, from computers which only trained technicians could communicate with through complicated binary codes to computers we can converse with in our own language. Indeed, over the past 30 years there has been a tremendous technological advancement for the computer, and today computers have circuits that can do 50 million logic functions in a single second.
In "How You Can Learn to Live with Computers," Harry Kleinburg explains that the computer is the culmination -- possibly even the peak -- of the "age of reason." But what exactly have we created? A cartoon in the "Atlantic Monthly" addresses this very question. It shows a group of the world's greatest scientists who have gathered together to create the "mega computer." Finally, they ask it what they feel is the ultimate question: "Is there a God?" The computer's reply? .... "There is...now!"
Yes, the computer has tremendous power and potential, but it is not a god, or for that matter, a monster. It is merely a magnificent mass of circuitry and wiring -- a logic machine. But it has created some serious fears expressed even by its own inventors -- some questions we need to examine. Like -- how will we deal with computer error and malfunction? What about the erosion of our personal privacy? And, too, what about the loss of personal identity in an age where numbers seem to nullify personality?
These are questions all of us are going to have to answer. Oh, you might think you won't, but, as Dr. R. M. Coulter of M.I.T. points out, "the computer is already affecting every aspect of our lives." And in the future, it may dictate our very existence. The robots are moving in! Therefore, to protect ourselves, we need to examine some of the imperfections of our masterpiece so that eventually we can eliminate them.
First, let's look at the problem of computer error and computer malfunction. What about the man who received a $17,000 electric bill for his two room apartment? A computer error, but it happened. And have you ever received a phone bill for calls you never made? Say, two or three to Taiwan last week? Well, you guessed it, Ma Bell's computers make mistakes too. And what about the man who received a computerized bill for zero dollars and zero cents? The first time he got it, he laughed. The second time, he was beginning to wonder. The third time he received the bill, it was accompanied by a computerized letter that said that the matter was being turned over to the company's lawyers. Frustrated, the man contacted the company, and they agreed that the computer was in error, but that he could assist in the situation by mailing a check for zero dollars. Sounds easy. But a funny thing happened. The check he sent was returned from the bank. You see, the bank's computers weren't programmed to accept it.
I'll admit these mistakes may not be fatal, but what about the malfunction of our national defense computers in the NORAD military complex last June? According to the computer, we were under attack. A 50 cent micro-circuit malfunctioned and potentially pushed us to the edge of conflict. Maybe you weren't aware of it when it happened, but we might have all paid the price for that small mistake.
Just as there is a problem with computer error and malfunction, so too, is the problem with ever increasing erosion of our personal privacy. Already, over 2,000 independent credit bureaus in the U.S. form a computer-connected network where our private financial affairs are available at the touch of the right person's finger. U.S News and World Report estimates that the federal government buys over 1,500 computers a year, soon to be filled with information concerning the activities of its citizens. Optical scanners, aided by computer, can now read personal handwriting and thus trace our mail, and can see to whom we write and who writes to us. The robots are taking control...
As Arthur R. Miller explains in Liberty and Law, "...within five hours, a computer operator with less than one month's training can break the more elaborate encoding procedures now being used in large data banks." We are at the mercy of the computer. Our records can be inaccurate, falsified, or manipulated. Blackmail and fraud become a reality in a computer age when personal information is so readily accessible. And it's not just the ruthless mind that can harm us. As Miller goes on to suggest, information can be lost or accidentally disseminated to the wrong people because an operator is "inept, negligent, thoughtless, or even downright stupid."
But perhaps the greatest fear generated over the computer concerns its effect on the individual and his identity. Emphasis has been placed on standardization and automation. Already, IBM uses a computer answering service. Instead of the traditional receptionist sitting at a desk, you now find a square box with a sexy voice. As Joseph Weisenbaum explains in Computer Power and Human Reason, "in the world of the computer, there is no room for human personality." We become facts instead of faces -- magnetic charges on reels of plastic tape. In order for the computer to function, it reduces people to numbers, for the robot mind is more comfortable in an impersonal environment.
Now please, don't think I'm against advancement. The computer has been and can continue to be a tremendous aid to society. The danger is that we will transfer our high esteem for logic from the mind, to the machine. Instead, so solve these basic problems caused by the computer, we must learn to rely on ourselves. We must maintain control rather than being controlled.
Now, with the problem of computer error and malfunction, we need to invest more money into research and development. David C. McClellan, a computer expert, tells us that someday we may be able to create a computer that is virtually infallible -- human proof. But even then, he warns, a technologically perfect computer still has limitations. For you see, it is in a sense a robot servant. The individual operator -- you and I -- must have the final judgment. For a robot computer doesn't think. It merely responds to our thought process.
The second problem -- the erosion of personal privacy -- demands even more severe action. We need strong and specific laws governing the access of information to both federal and non-federal computer organizations. Without these laws, we remain vulnerable, allowing ourselves to become victims of computer crime and abuse. At the present time, though, congressional action is fragmented and inadequate. Consequently, it remains our responsibility to make lawmakers aware that we demand a uniform policy for our own protection, for once we have lost our privacy, it cannot be reclaimed.
And just as we must move to protect our privacy, so must we also take steps to preserve our identity. We can't become complacent with the convenience of numbers. A person is not a statistic. He's a human personality. True, standardization is here to stay, but we can't allow individuality to go out of style. As Harry Kleinberg emphasizes, "the greatest danger that we face is not that we will see the computer as a model of the way people do think, which it isn't, but that we will come to see it as a model of the way people should think, which we must never allow it to become."
Yes, the computer can help us. That is what it was designed for. But we must never allow it to replace us. Someday, we may own a mega computer of our very own. But God help us if one ever owns us. If that ever happens, we may very well find ourselves in that sterile world of steel and concrete; the world of robot mice and robot men.
~~~ finis ~~~
That was the speech. How would I change it now?
No one really knew what the future would bring back in 1980, but now we have AI, viruses, the internet of things being hacked, identity theft, ransom ware, and immense loneliness among millions of people starving for real relationships and honest dialog -- hiding behind mean texts and pointless facebook pages.
Takeaways
I would emphasize more about how we have already ceded decision making to globally networked systems. The computers own us now.Think: Credit Score. You and your family's entire financial history and composition summarized in one number. And it has SERIOUS impacts if it is wrong. Your entire financial life is tied to an impersonal algorithm that isn't even published by multi-national corporations that bear no responsibility to you for due process to change it.
What about "no fly" lists?
Privacy? You're kidding right?
Then there is the combination of errors and crime that impact your privacy. Know anyone who was a victim of Identity theft? I've heard of situations where people are arrested because someone was engaging in crimes in their name. How do you get a false arrest record expunged from your personal history? How do you get around that if your employer requires background checks to stay in your job?
What about all the attacks on your finances? How do you get competitor trolls off your company website that give false testimonials? How do you fend off the dozens of scams, worms, viruses, and the inevitable involuntary operating system upgrade that literally wipes out our computer settings - or worse - loses your digital photographs?
The Internet of everything has made us dependent on computers for everything. We have become servants of our own tools.
I can't do my job without one. And in my leisure time, just to post this blog required me to go through a seven phase authentication process involving my cell phone, email, and resetting PINs to recover my google password, which mysteriously, seems to expire every 72 hours. Oh I miss the good old days of rotary dial phones sometimes!
1 comment:
Brilliant!
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