February 13, 2025

Will we have a Utopian or Dystopian Future in relation to ST

     As the science, technology and society within our world continue to evolve and progress, a question that we will always ask ourselves is what’s next? There are numerous, perhaps endless possibilities that our technology today could take us. The one thing that is known for sure is that our future society will depend heavily upon technology and its capabilities to make our lives simpler, easier and more pleasurable. However, with this exceptional potential that technology has to change our world for the better, there comes the danger of not only our capability to create new and improved technologies reaching a limit, but for such technological advancements to have a very negative effect on human life. Humans are inherently imperfect. Yet, technology and its potential capabilities can help us reach an almost utopian future. But at the same time, can also lead us to a dystopian one as well. 

      There are many signs and examples of early stages of technology that could push society into a new area of efficiency and productivity. First, an example of which we discussed in class was the use of electric cars and the potential for it to reshape energy and conservation. Electric cars, specifically those from the booming car manufacturer, TESLA, have created new waves within the industry at the potential future for cars. Automobiles have been historically powered by gas (or diesel) that is refined from oil and is burned up in the engine to create energy that allows the car to run. Yet, the byproducts of this are quite harmful for the environment and the widespread use of millions of cars for decades has taken a potentially irreversible toll on the environment. Elon Musk’s innovation and popularity of his Lithium Ions battery powered cars is changing the way at which we see sustainability within the car industry. This could also be an early stepping stone at how we use energy and mark the shift away from the environmentally harmful use of fossil fuels to renewable energy, which could reverse the centuries of atmospheric degradation. Another very potential vision of technology pushing humanity into a positive future is the ongoing advancements of space travel. Ironically also spearheaded by Elon Musk, SpaceX in collaboration with NASA have been testing new advanced rockets with one of the most recent achievements being a rocket that is able to take-off as well as land instead of traditionally splashing down somewhere in the ocean. The ultimate goal of such tests is to land people on Mars and potentially start a colony. With the amount of success that SpaceX has had along with Elon Musk’s determination and support from other very influential and wealthy individuals, space exploration and trans-galactic travel is becoming less fantastical. Another current available vision of the future in relation to ST that we discussed in class is that of Artificial Intelligence. Artificial Intelligence is still in the early stages of development due to lack of capability of programming empathy and a code of ethics, but has potential to make our lives easier, both physical and digital. There are a multitude of different forms AI can come in, from small tasks such as SIRI, which we already have, to slightly more larger jobs like self-driving cars. The peak of this technology seems to be potentially becoming sentient and having a conscience, at which point it is arguable that it is alive. Thus, there are many different avenues that current technology can lead us. Some may overlap but regardless, there is a lot of potential for them to launch us into a highly efficient and productive future.

      Although these technologies have the potential to do a lot of good for humanity, they have almost as much potential to do much harm. First, electric cars have the potential to take us away from our dependency on oil and fossil fuels. However, fossil fuels have been ingrained into society, especially into American identity, for decades. This means that it may not be widely accepted, which would almost defeat the purpose of trying to reverse the current issues we have with climate change. The main obstacle for electric cars to potentially change our outlook and use on energy is less so the lack of technological understanding, but of human attachment to the past. Next, the limits and problems with that of space exploration is the lack of both understanding of space due to it being the most hostile environment to experience, but also the lack of technological understanding to make it occur. Although there have been various moon missions as well as many trips to the International Space Station, there seems to be a hard limit to the distance we are able to travel, both due to our lifespans and current propulsion technology, which is why this vision is much more far fetched.  Lastly, there pose many dangers with Artificial Intelligence. The basis of many of these fears is the possibility of Human intelligence and existence becoming obsolete and less evolved than the AI created, at which point, we would really have no purpose to exist. Another issue with AI currently is the problem with programming empathy and ethics. Due to people’s own nuanced emotions and code of ethics, this becomes a grey area in what are good ethics and what are bad, which is purely objective based on time-period and current circumstances, both of which are constantly changing.  Thus, these technologies have great potential for good and evil. Their potential to change the world are almost as large as the amount of issues and obstacles they have to overcome to have a positive impact on our future in relation to ST.

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