MODULE 8

110

Why the Future Doesn’t Need

Us?

HOW TO LEARN FROM THIS MODULE

Here’s a simple guide for you in going about the module:
1. Read and follow the instructions carefully.
2. Read each lesson and do all the activities provided for you.
3. Perform all the activities diligently to help and guide you in understanding the topic. 4.
Take the Learning Activity after each lesson to determine how well you understood the
topic.
5. Answer the Assessment Task at the end of the module to measure how much you have
gained from the lessons. You may answer it via the online link provided or write your
answers on a sheet of paper that you can physically submit, or you may take a picture
of your answers and send it via messaging platforms with which you agreed with your
instructor during the class orientation.

INTRODUCTION
In April of 2000, Bill Joy ignited a heated discussion concerning the role of
technology in modern society. His article in Wired magazine entitled “Why the Future
Doesn’t Need Us” became the focus of a growing concern that technological
advances are coming so quickly and are so dramatic that they threaten the future
existence of humanity itself. He argues that the 21st century technologies such as
genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics (GNR) are a great threat that they
might wipe out the human race from face of the Earth.
In this module, we will focus in discussing the article of Bill Joy on “Why the
Future Doesn’t Need Us” and dig deeper on the concept of Artificial Intelligences
through watching a documentary film. After completing the module, you should be
able to answer the following:
⮚ What are the strongest reasons of Bill Joy for expressing optimism in his
article?
⮚ How far the world has gone into artificial intelligence and its further advances
in the future?
 ⮚
⮚
LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At the end of this module, the learner should be able to:

o Identify moral issues and standards in using modern technologies; o Discuss

the effects of the interplay between technology and humanity through the
dilemma(s) they face;
o Evaluate contemporary human experience in order to strengthen and enlighten
the human person functioning in society.

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LEARNING CONTENT
In the Philippines, modern technology has gradually flourished. It is something
that we use in our everyday lives because it makes the tasks we come across in our
daily activities much easier. Without a doubt, technology can help to make a society
more productive, and growing productivity is a major predictor for future increases in
standards of living. However, technology can likewise lead to large impact on a
person’s physical, mental, psychological aspect if abused thoroughly. It can cause
harm to both the environment and individuals.

LESSON 1. An Argument on Dangers of Technology to Humanity

Bill Joy argues that humanity is in danger from technologies that he believes
are just around the corner. His concern is that robotics, genetic engineering, and
nanotechnology present risks unlike anything we have created in the past. The key
to understanding these new risks is the fact that these technologies share one
remarkable potential; that is, self-replication.
Recently, some people have expressed concerns about the effects of
technology. The most dominant concern these days is artificial technology (AI) that
would replace people in jobs. Some people worry that robots and the internet might
eventually replace people in the work field. Joy believes that we will have intelligent
robots by 2030, nano replicators by 2020, and that the genetic revolution is already
upon us. We all have a picture of what an intelligent robot might look like. Hollywood
has given us many stories of that kind of technology gone wrong; the Terminator
series for example. Surprisingly, Bill Joy concludes “The only realistic alternative I
see is relinquishment: to limit development of the technologies that are too
dangerous by limiting our pursuit of certain kinds of knowledge.”

Please click/ visit the link below:

Read the article of Need Us"

Bill Joy’s
"Why the Future READ
Doesn't https://www.wired.com/2000/ 04/joy-2/

LEARNING ACTIVITY 1. Let’s dig deeper!

(Lesson Check – Up)
 After reading the article by Bill Joy on “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us”,
make an outline using the format below and answer the given questions. Write your
output in word format and submit via ______________________.

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Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us

1. Main Ideas (What are the main ideas that have you gained in the
article?) i.
ii.
iii.
2. Insights (What new insights or learning did you gain in discussion/activity?) i. Before
reading the article/understanding the lesson, I thought…
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
ii. However, reading the article/understanding the lesson, I now think/realize …
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________

3. Short Answer Question

i. The article is titled “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us?” Do you agree that the future
won’t indeed need us? Explain your answer.
__________________________________________________________________________
__________________________________________________________________________
Rubric for Short Answer Question
5 points 4 points 3 points

The response indicates The response indicates The response indicates

that the student has a that the student has a that the student does
complete understanding partial understanding of not demonstrate an
of the concept. The the concept. The understanding of
student has provided a student has provided a concept. The student
response that answers response that includes has provided a
the question accurately information that is response that is
and completely. essentially correct, but inaccurate and
Necessary support the information is too incomplete.
and/or examples are general or too
included. simplistic. Some of the
support
and/or examples may
be incomplete or
omitted.

LESSON 2. On Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence (AI) is wide-ranging branch of computer science

concerned with building smart machines capable of performing tasks that typically
require human intelligence. AI is an interdisciplinary science with multiple
approaches, but advancements in machine learning and deep learning are creating a
paradigm shift in virtually every sector of the tech industry ( https://builtin.com/artificial
intelligence).
In the paper published in the internet society organization, although artificial
intelligence evokes thoughts of science fiction, artificial intelligence already has
many uses today, for example:

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∙ Email filtering: Email services use artificial intelligence to filter incoming

emails. Users can train their spam filters by marking emails as “spam”. ∙
Personalization: Online services use artificial intelligence to personalize your
experience. Services, like Amazon or Netflix, “learn” from your previous
purchases and the purchases of other users in order to recommend relevant
content for you.
∙ Fraud detection: Banks use artificial intelligence to determine if there is
strange activity on your account. Unexpected activity, such as foreign
transactions, could be flagged by the algorithm.
∙ Speech recognition: Applications use artificial intelligence to optimize speech
recognition functions. Examples include intelligent personal assistants, e.g.
Amazon’s “Alexa” or Apple’s “Siri”.

The advancement of artificial intelligence and robotics poses challenges on its

socio-economic impacts, transparency, bias and accountability, new uses of data,
security and safety, ethics and new ecosystems. With this, adoption of ethical
standard is needed to promote ethical considerations in innovation policies

Watch a entitled
documentary film “How Artificial Intelligence is
Changing our Please click/ visit the link below:
Society”
https://www.youtube.com/wat ch?v=-ePZ7OdY-Dw
READ

LEARNING ACTIVITY 2. Let’s Watch and

Learn!
(Lesson Check – Up)

After watching the documentary film on Artificial Intelligence (AI), work on the
following:

1. Identify the positive and negative impacts of AI by filling the table below:
Positive Impact Negative Impact Possible Issues

2. Write your own reflection about the documentary film. (300-500 words)

Note: Write your output in word or PDF format and submit via
______________________.

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Rubric for Reflection Writing

Criteria Superior Sufficient Minimal Unacceptable
(5 points) (4points) (3 points) (2 points)

Depth of Response Response Response Response

Reflection demonstrates demonstrates a demonstrat demonstrates a
an in-depth general es a lack of reflection
reflection reflection or minimal or internalization
or internalization reflection of
internalization of the or the concepts.
of the concepts. internalizati Viewpoints and
concepts. Viewpoints and on of the interpretations
Viewpoints interpretations concepts. are missing,
and are supported. Viewpoints inappropriate,
interpretations Appropriate and and/or
are insightful examples are interpretatio unsupported.
and well provided, as ns are Examples, when
supported. applicable. unsupport applicable, are
Clear, detailed ed or not provided.
examples are supported
provided, as with flawed
applicable. arguments.
Examples,
 when
applicable,
are not
provided or
are
irrelevant to
the
assignment.

Organiza Writing is clear, Writing is Writing is Writing is

tio n concise, and mostly clear, unclear unclear and
well organized concise, and/or disorganized.
with excellent and well disorganized Thoughts
sentence/para organized with . Thoughts ramble and
gra ph good are not make little
construction. sentence/para expressed sense. There are
Thoughts are gra ph in a logical numerous
expressed in construction. manner. spelling,
a coherent Thoughts are There are grammar, or
and expressed in a more than syntax errors
logical coherent and five spelling, throughout the
manner. logical grammar, or response.
There are no manner. syntax
more than There are no errors per
three more than five page of
spelling, spelling, writing.
grammar, or grammar, or
syntax errors syntax errors
per page of per page of
writing. writing.

Mechanics No/almost no A few Many All constructed

grammatical, grammatical, grammatic sentences/paragr
spelling or spelling or al, spelling ap hs contain
punctuation punctuation or grammatical,
errors. errors.
punctuation spelling or
errors. punctuation errors.

Adopted from: https://web.uri.edu/assessment/files/reflection_rubric.doc

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❖ ASSESSMENT TASK
Directions: Choose the item that best suited each number. Submit it on
__________________ at _______________ or email at _____________________.

1. Bill Joy in his article uses the novel The White Plague to demonstrate...
a. An imminent future in which humans lose their sense of freedom and
willingness
b. How the writings of Ted Kaczynski influenced an entire generation of youth
c. Potential dangers found in the use of nanotechnology to treat illnesses d.
The ease with which GNR technologies can be exploited once developed e.
The validity of Luddite ideology

2. Compared to the development of nuclear technology in 1945, the issue of

developing genetic engineering, nanotechnology and robotics (GNR) technology is
substantially more complex because of…
a. Public outcry due to growing concerns about terrorism
b. An increasing difficulty in separating commercial from military uses c. Debate in
the scientific community over the controversial “grey goo problem” d. The tragic
loss of Carl Sagan, a proponent of nuclear research e. Proposals such as the
Baruch Plan that effectively blocked any further attempts at improving genetic
engineering

3. In what way are genetic engineering, nanotechnology and AI

similar? a. They are being used by corporations to exploit consumers
b. Their self-replicating nature amplifies their danger
c. They harm the environment by polluting the air and water
d. They will make nuclear, biological and chemical weapons obsolete
e. They will solve all material human problems

4. Why does Bill Joy believe that the benefits of GNR technologies aren’t necessarily
worthwhile?
a. The benefits will mainly go to the rich, increasing the already massive problem
of inequality
b. It's highly unlikely that we will find applications for the technologies in our daily
lives
c. The financial costs are extremely high, so putting those funds into other fields
would be more fruitful
d. Strong evidence suggests that material advancements and power do not make
people happier
e. The technology is too complex for us to properly utilize it

5. Overall, which of the following best describes the author’s attitude towards the
subject matter presented in the article, “Why does the future doesn’t need us”? a.
Large-scale discussion of issues with GNR technologies in a neutral light is the
best step to take moving forward
b. GNR technologies are an immediate threat to civilization, and the necessity of
preventing its more controversial branches is non-negotiable

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c. Despite controversy on the development of GNR technologies, the pursuit of

knowledge and quality of life it allows outweighs potential drawbacks d. Integration
of humanity with robotics is inevitable and beneficial, and because it will occur
gradually, we will not even notice the changes
e. The volume of dystopian forecasts overstates the truth of GNR research;
nevertheless, it is advisable that scientists and intellectuals create a manifesto to
ensure the safety of future developments
 Bill Joy’s article “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us” provides an
extensive analysis of the new technologies’ development in terms of their
ethical dimensions. Examining the nature of NGR technologies, the author
defines their destructive power as self-replication, which complicates or
even makes impossible keeping them under control. This power creates the
weapon of knowledge-enabled mass destruction (KMD), which is
dangerous enough to assume the extinction of humanity in the coming
years.
Joy suggests the establishment of new ethics as the possible
prevention of this threat. However, his belief in this is not convincing. As
NGR technologies have mostly commercial uses (Joy, 2009, p.294), they
would be developed with lucrative purposes even if the scientific
community accepts the common ethical rules regarding this researches.
Their extreme destructive power makes me rather pessimistic regarding the
future of the Earth.

❖ REFERENCES:
∙ ”How artificial intelligence is changing our society | DW Documentary” accessed
8, July 2020 at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ePZ7OdY-Dw ∙ Artificial
Intelligence and Machine Learning: Policy Paper (April 18, 2017).
Internet Society Organization, accessed 8, July 2020 at
https://www.internetsociety.org/resources/doc/2017/artificial-intelligence-and
machine-learning-policy
paper/?
gclid=Cj0KCQjwvb75BRD1ARIsAP6LcqtS4QFhJFYJ4S5BeLcTtks6o FY93-
kLnGGk8tH8AEGl44sQG2buapYaAgwNEALw_wcB
∙ Artificial Intelligence. What is Artificial Intelligence and How Does it Work?,
accessed 8, July 2020 at https://builtin.com/artificial-intelligence
∙ Does the Future Need Us? The Future of Humanity and Technology. (May 27,
2001), accessed 2 July 2020 at https://probe.org/does-the-future-need us-the-
future-of-humanity-and-technology/ /
∙ Joy, Bill. "Why the Future Doesn't Need Us", Wired 8.04 (April 2000), accessed
2 July 2020 at https://www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2/
∙ Reflection Evaluation Criteria (the rubric), accessed 17, July 2020 at
https://web.uri.edu/assessment/files/reflection_rubric.doc
∙ Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us Analysis Summary, accessed 2 July 2020 at
https://exclusive-paper.com/essays/review/bill-joy-s-why-the-future-doesn t-
need-us-the.php

Science,Technology and Society (STS-

GEC 6) Isabela State University