Future Full-Circle
Introduction
Something I find amazing is the cyclical nature of Sci-Fi. For decades and decades we have dreamed the future to be inhuman, silicon and chrome-clad. We believed the true future times to be that of stars, machines, and incomprehensible convenience. Today, we can look around and see that we indeed live in a time of silicon, and convenience, yet sci-fi and its visions of a distant tomorrow have come full-circle.
We're desperately trying to make our machines more human. Through the paradoxical integration of connotatively negative things such as chaos, scientists today believe that we can ascend our computational efforts to that of bionic power. Truly, it seems in all of our technological innovation, we defer to the human brain as a blueprint of miraculous efficiency and strength; whereas mere decades before it was tossed aside in favor of machines that we could only hope of matching.
Alongside this scientific effort, indicators of this shift are constantly appearing in pop-culture. In cinema, it seems that these very machines that once sparked wonder and intrigue in generations past are now depicted as villains; harbingers of a bleak and sterile dystopia which strips us of our humanity for the sake of uniform productivity. On the other hand, very human things such as love and the arts themselves are presented as the solution to toppling these empires of silicon, smoke, and steel. Banding together with your fellow humans and collectively agreeing that the illusory convenience just isn't worth it.
Convenience as a Vehicle
This isn't the first time I've been reminded of the double-edgedness of convenience. As it is so often a trojan horse for its purveyors to take what they want from you. For example, these ever-gracious gifters of convenience will often have you sign away on all forms of privacy for the simple convenience of enhanced sociability, only to use this information to bombard you with ads they believe you want to see. I suspect society is starting to dissect convenience through these increasingly frequent artistic critiques.
Yet, in some ways, it already has been for centuries! The only thing that seems to change is what the conveniences are. I think of luddites, and their protest of automation which to most would provide a great convenience. No doubt, automation enabled the mass production of goods in a myriad of industries. However, can we say that this convenience is without flaw? Do the ends justify the means? I believe that society has always asked this question of itself at every turn of innovation.
Consumerism and Conquest
The one thing that seems consistent, however, is the continuation of these technologies regardless of criticism. Why? Because it is convenient for most people. Regardless of ethical, or quality concerns, most people still equate their well-being based on a function of how much they can consume. We might say to ourselves "I have finally paid off my debts!", only to allow ourselves to accumulate more. Or, "I can finally afford to go on that trip I've been talking about for years". And even, "I want to buy my dream sports car. I've earned it with all these extra shifts I've been picking up.". With each of these goals which I do believe should be applauded, after all, we do deserve to live a happy life. We have to admit, that much of our happiness is manifested in the things that we inevitably have to purchase. Which, purchasing power itself, being derived from some complex interaction with the technologies of today and how they generate convenience.
This can be observed at national and global scales even. I'll remind us of a sobering example, being nuclear weapons. In the second world war, mass innocent casualties perished at the hands of a single, devastating weapon. A weapon which was proposed by military leaders to be that of convenience. Something that would require no boots on the ground, or drawn out sieges, just a simple delivery. The world saw this, and unanimously agreed that it was a terrible and horrible manifestation of war. Yet, much of these same countries still have and continue to develop these weapons. Sure, some of it is attributed to the prisoner's dilemma, with nobody wanting to be the odd-one-out that lacks this weapon. But, there is an industry acting alongside this that touts convenience and power to a small group of very wealthy and powerful consumers.
I've given a very extreme example, I know. But, I think that some of these new-founded technologies that indeed grant us extreme power and convenience could follow this same pattern of adoption, vilification, and selective and subtle continuation. Regardless, while these technologies and purveyors of convenience themselves may be new, don't think for a second that the process they are beholden to is novel.