Are machines becoming too intelligent? Are we becoming to reliant on machines to do the dirty work for us? What is the future looking like for the human race?

These were some of the questions being tossed around today.

In today’s lecture Dan talked about the way in which machines and technology to that end, is developing at such a rate that it’s becoming increasingly evident in everyday life. Referencing movies such as I Robot and others, Dan also articulated the Hollywood take on this situation, expressing the fear whereby machines grow so intelligent they surpass humans, and are hellbent on taking over the world.

Now while I do feel that might be a bit far fetched, I certainly can relate to what Dan is referring to. Technological advances really have made the way we did things previously seem so behind today. I can relate to this due to the fact that the place where I work, a newsagency on Glenferrie Road, cut down my hours because they aren’t doing well.

The newsagency, in it’s prime, was one of the main places that sold newspapers. Over the last 10 years, due to the advent of technology, newspapers have become less and less popular. No longer do people bother spending $2.50 for a copy of the day’s Age when they can go on the internet and find the same information for free. In fact, in the last 10 years, The Age has shrunk to a third of its size, and is not nearly as packed full of content as it was.

This is only one example of the many ways technology is changing the world. This is just the reality of what technology is doing. So while I don’t agree that machines are going to take over as is suggested by Hollywood, I do believe technology will take over the traditional ways of doing things that we always did.