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Post by juju on Apr 24, 2013 12:04:13 GMT
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-22002530I wonder what Gregory Iceson would make of this? He has a pretty optimistic point of view when it comes to technology as the saviour of mankind, but this article seems pretty gloomy.
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Post by tangent on Apr 24, 2013 12:11:34 GMT
Yes, I read that and smiled
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 24, 2013 13:11:59 GMT
I don't think it's so gloomy. Just cautioning us that we should think of the consequences of what we develop. And journalists, especially when it comes to science and technology, love to be sensationalist. It would help if more funding went into science and technology. I read an article not long ago that about 4% of the US budget is spent of R&D - including in business. Imagine what we could be finding out if we put in a little more effort? There would be plenty of opportunity for researchers to look at consequences and not just trying to find the latest thing to create more money for the government.
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Post by juju on Apr 24, 2013 13:34:03 GMT
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Post by JoeP on Apr 24, 2013 20:45:11 GMT
The article talks about a whole bunch of different threats ... on the journalistic basis that lots of bad news makes for a better article.
I believe the real threats to humanity will come from things we haven't predicted, because despite all the bad things we create we're remarkably good at doing something about them - eventually - with quite a lot of damage having occurred, admittedly.
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Post by tangent on Apr 24, 2013 22:16:57 GMT
I believe the real threats to humanity will come from things we haven't predicted, because despite all the bad things we create we're remarkably good at doing something about them - eventually - with quite a lot of damage having occurred, admittedly. Although it will take something like a billion years for the earth to recover from some of the effects of both global warming and nuclear waste.
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 25, 2013 6:24:12 GMT
I just don't see much point in the doom and gloom. As JoeP says, it's no doubt just to make headlines. Journalists aren't known for actually reporting the truth and facts in a reasonable, unbiased way. It's not like we're going to stick our heads in the sand and never come up again because in the future we might become extinct, is it now? Besides, considering the previous species that have become extinct, I see no reason why we won't follow the same path eventually. It may be that we evolve into something new or that we die out completely. But that won't change our lives right now. I'm not saying we shouldn't keep an eye on what is going on and speaking up and using our voices and our votes to try to make change. But if we are going to have the attitude of "the earth is doomed" well then it already is, isn't it?
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Post by Alvamiga on Apr 25, 2013 7:28:24 GMT
I was thinking a similar thing with this whole North Korea thing recently. No matter how insane his ideas were, I am pretty unsure he'd have made the decision to attack anything as I expect a rather massive percentage of everyone would have gone back against him. To read the press, you'd think the missiles were on their way!
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Post by tangent on Apr 25, 2013 9:31:38 GMT
It may be that we evolve into something new or that we die out completely. The Permian–Triassic extinction event occurred 251 million years ago and destroyed 90% to 96% of all species. Had it been just a little bit worse only microbes would have been left on the planet.
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Post by Alvamiga on Apr 25, 2013 19:09:09 GMT
Yes, and we'd not be here making microbicides!
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Post by Shake on May 1, 2013 4:10:09 GMT
Recently, I shared this link to a TED talk of a few years ago given by Ray Kurzweil because it got me very excited to think about what we might accomplish in the next few decades. When I think of all of the Star Trek technology which is now available, it really gets you thinking about what will come next. Yes, as RB said, we need to be wary of the consequences of the things we create, of course. But with online education starting to take off, who knows where the next Einstein may come from or what he/she will come up with!
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