Will Computers Control Humans In The Future

? Essay, Research Paper

Will Computers Control Humans In The Future?

People always tend to seek the easy way out looking for something that

would make their lives easier. Machines and tools have given us the ability to

do more in less time giving us, at the same time, more comfort. As the

technology advances, computers become faster and more powerful. These new

machines are enabling us to do more in less time making our lives easier. The

increased use of computers in the future, however, might have negative results

and impact on our lives. In the novel Nine Tomorrows Isaac Asimov often

criticizes our reliance on computers by portraying a futuristic world where

computers control humans.

One of the images which Asimov describes in the book is that humans might

become too dependent on computers. In one of the stories, Profession, Asimov

writes about people being educated by computer programs designed to educate

effortlessly a person. According to the Profession story people would no longer

read books to learn and improve their knowledge. People would rely on the

computers rather than “try to memorize enough to match someone else who knows”

(Nine Tomorrows, Profession 55). People would not chose to study, they would

only want to be educated by computer tapes. Putting in knowledge would take

less time than reading books and memorizing something that would take almost no

time using a computer in the futuristic world that Asimov describes. Humans

might began to rely on computers and allow them to control themselves by letting

computers educate people. Computers would start teaching humans what computers

tell them without having any choice of creativity. Computers would start to

control humans’ lives and make humans become too dependent on the computers.

Another point that is criticized by Asimov is the fact that people might

take their knowledge for granted allowing computers to take over and control

their lives. In a story called The Feeling of Power, Asimov portrays how people

started using computers to do even simple mathematical calculations. Over a

long period of time people became so reliable on computers that they forgot the

simplest multiplication and division rules. If someone wanted to calculate an

answer they would simply use their pocket computer to do that (The Feeling of

Power 77). People became too independent from the start making them forget what

they have learned in the past. People in the story The Feeling of Power would

take for granted what they have learned over centuries of learning and chose

computers because of their ability to do their work faster. The lack of manual