I, Robot

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A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm. A robot must obey any orders given to it by human beings, except where such orders would conflict with the First Law. A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Law.

”

- Isaac Asimov

A few days ago, after a hard day's work at the gym, my friends and I decided it was time to head back home. After collecting our stuff from the locker room, all of them whipped out their Blackberries and where soon oblivious to everything around them. I, ofcourse started my usual rantings about how their lives were controlled by those cursed machines. But my friends, tired of my gospel, didn't listen to a word I said. So, I decided to come to my own personal bit of cyberspace and rant about one of my favourite topics: technology and its control over us!

Remeber those days when you had to wait atleast 24 hours to get ur pictures developed? Remeber when they reduced the wait time to one hour? Do you remember how exciting it was to rip open the envelope containing your prized memories? Remeber those really humiliating photos of you that could not be deleted? Well all of that is gone. We have digital cameras now. You see the product as soon as it is taken. Do not get me wrong, I have no qualms with digital cameras, especially for someone like me whose photography skills are - at best - poor. I'm just saying, don't u long for those days when cameras were so easy to use (just point and click).

When I talk about how I think technology is ruinig our lives, people think I am anti-technology. Far from it. I love technology, as long as it serves a purpose, and does not lead to over dependence. Think about it, if your Blackberry, went off for one week, how well do you think you will fare? People have become so dependent on technology, it's scary. Why is it that something so small, controls every single aspect of your life. Wouldn't you rather have several different machines that are best suited to one particular need? That way, you would have a camera with as many mega-pixels as possible, a phone with enough juice to last a day or two, and a laptop/pc with unlimited speed and power. Wouldn't that be something?

I am NOT against technology. Far from it. All I want is a world where we are not so dependent on it. The threat of robots rising up and conquering humanity, as depicted in the 2004 movie "I, Robot", may seem far-fetched to most people. But to me, it may soon become very real. Not in the way described in the movie ofcourse, but in a far more subtle way. Infact, it may already be happening. Think about it, how many of you out there are slaves to the vibrations/ringtones of your smartphones?

I will definately return to this topic in the future, but for now think about this: how long do u think you will last without any type of electronic equipment, like an ipod or a smartphone? When was the last time you put them down and read a book?