Author: Greg Estrella

During this week of class, we had discussed themes of slavery, parallels between human and robot and briefly discussed metaethics. What was most interesting about the topics of slavery were the ways in which slaves had originally try to be on par with their richer, whiter masters. They had either dressed and looked like them, begged for their freedom, or were ready to take to violence for it. A lot of these ways in which former slaves desired freedom and to be equal to white people are similar to the way Andrew fights for his freedom in The Bicentennial Man. Asimov has themes in both The Bicentennial Man and The Caves of Steel that are very similar to themes of slavery and judging others based on appearance. One interesting aspect contrast between both stories to me was that both Andrew Martin and Elijah feel some sort of fear from the other coexisting form of life; Elijah fears he will lose his job to Daneel, a robot, and Andrew fears he will never be on par with humans.

Another interesting aspect of this week’s classes was the Metaethics article, more specifically the idea of speciesism. Over the past few hundred years, humans have come a long in way in learning to be more socially accepting towards others. For example, people began to see the error in their ways when discriminating against others simply based on their race, gender, and now currently, their sexual orientation. We are in an era where we are judging each other more on each other’s character and morals than we are any sort of physical characteristic, although outdated ideologies tend to surface here and there. But perhaps the new “social barrier” to break is to start thinking about how we deem sentient life, and do we allow it rights simply based on respect of consciousness, or do we base it on how similar to humans that form of life would be? The discussion on Thursday of the argument of whether or not we should allow robots into society now was very intriguing. The knee-jerk reaction is probably no, as our greatest sci-fi fears of robot revolution or creepily identical human A.I. seeps into our minds at the thought. However, if we compare our ways of thinking now to just a few years ago, the people of 1817 would be completely estranged. We are more tolerant than ever of race, gender, sexual orientation, etc.;most of us base our judgement on character of another fellow human in our species. In the next few hundred years, perhaps we will have to extend those means of acceptance to behavior that isn’t simply just “human” or like us. We may have to be open to even stranger ways of thinking that will give the respect that conscious life may deserve. So, as for now, most of us are probably hesitant to accept androids/robots into society. As we grow more and more comfortable with the pace of technology however, we may be ready to address the subject of what constitutes life outside of speciesism and human boundaries, which could be in the very distant future.

Upon reading The Bicentennial Man, I was immediately reminded why I love science fiction and Asimov’s style of writing. The pace he sets connects well with the story, and he very clearly understands his character’s motives and actions. There is almost a biblical parallel to a Jesus-like figure that Andrew Martin portrays; an immortal being that has chosen to live with and understand humans and ultimately experiences all that makes one human, flaws and all. That being said, the character of Andrew Martin could not have been crafted without at least a basic understanding of morals and ethics, especially Kantianism. Andrew suffers from elements of the second maxim of Kantianism, not manipulating another being, at the beginning of the story when he is ordered to dismember himself by two other humans. Andrew is also not very comfortable with his case against the Smythe-Robertson firm as Paul Martin essentially asks Andrew if he agrees with the rule-bending decree of pushing for the firm to create android parts. There many other examples of Kantianism throughout the story, and Andrew himself may be categorized as a Kant-follower given the emphasis he stresses on himself and what he can do for himself to be more human. Andrew is ingrained with following the Three Laws, but gradually bends and sheds those laws, especially towards the end when he unknowingly gives an order to a human. It is in these small moments throughout the story where Andrew forms small opinions like his thoughts on Paul Martin’s makeup, his choice to agree with Paul Martin’s somewhat manipulative dealing, and in his choice not to give up in the face of defeat to achieve his human status he so desperately craves that Andrew becomes human.

Sure, we are human based on phylogeny, taxonomy, biological and genetic makeup, etc., but what truly makes us human beings? Is it our emotion? Perhaps not, as we know many of the emotions we experience daily can be deduced to a set of neurotransmitters fired out through a sequence of neurons. Things such as happiness, sadness, even love. Is it our seemingly unique intelligence? Perhaps. After all, our current state of evolved brains can be linked back to the moment in time where man discovered fire, cooked raw meat and thus unlocked many nutritious elements that helped our brain develop and become capable of such complex thought. So what does make us human? What defines the line between a form of life arising from a single cell over eons ago and developing into a multicellular, sentient being and an artificial creation of circuitry and robotics that are both capable of the same level of thought? We may never have a concrete answer, only possible explanations, one of which may be how we perceive ethics and morals in our life. It is our distinguished, unique perception of right and wrong, no matter how distorted or virtuous given the context, that ultimately makes each human being different, each man and woman, human. Andrew over time, realizes that it is through flaws that makes him more and more human. Andrew gives up his strong, steel body, adds emotion to his face, and ultimately solidifies a point in time in which he would die and experience mortality. In these ways, yes. Andrew becomes almost identical to a regular human on a physical level. However, it is in his thinking and judgement, which become nonbinary as the story progresses, that he truly becomes human. Andrew begins to truly think for himself, how to obtain his own personal goals. He distances his thinking from the Three Laws, adopts Kantianistic-like thinking, and achieves what he truly desires. He may have seen planning his death as his penultimate release from being a robot, but I think he achieved human status much earlier in the story, through small moments of change in his morality and ethics.

On Tuesday of this past week, a walk was conducted by Prof. Drexler in protest of the immigration ban President Trump had ordered on 7 Middle Eastern nations. The effects of this executive order had global ripple effects; people around the world marching, gathering in groups, coming together in a moment of solidarity in the face of yet another widely questionable Trump act. I am once again, immensely grateful to have been able to have access to a college education and the many benefits that come with it both inside and outside the classroom. What is happening in the highest of political positions in our country right now is not normal, and in a large majority of the decisions made by Trump’s cabinet, just not right. After almost a decade of remarkable social and economic progress, we seem to have reverted back to old, conservative ways. Forward thinking and empathy are the two main components I hope to always see in men that hold high power and position in this world. Currently, one of the most powerful men on the earth possesses no neither quality, but perhaps Trump’s election was a sort of awakening snap to the people of the United States. It was shocking to see on November 8th, 2016, just how many people could be swayed by fear-mongering, unjustified blame, and hate rhetoric; all of a sudden, there were more people around us that shared the same views as Trump than we would have ever guessed. But perhaps, in the face of darkness, we can use Trump and his supporters’ rise as a sort of measuring device. Back when most of us were kids, if we wanted to be president, we would often be told to have certain values such as righteousness, good judgment and strong leadership. We would often look to the current president and emulate his values, as he was the man elected by the majority of a country. Now, we have someone in office that most us can agree we should not emulate in nearly every way. Perhaps we can use this presidency and the actions that occur as a self-check system on ourselves. Every day more and more depressing news is released from the White House, but each day I learn more about my own character and morals in comparison. I know these things that are happening are wrong, I know what is the right thing to do. It forces me to search for facts, the truth. These events make me seek conversation, even with others whose political ideals differ form mine completely. Because in my opinion, being close-minded is the most damaging thing you can do to your mind. Closing oneself off from certain inputs would only make one more stunted in growth and less understanding. To go out into the world and to converse with others, have new experiences, empathize with those that are different, is the best way to combat close-mindedness. It is the most effective way we can distance ourselves from being someone like Trump or any of his blind supporters. We can help each other grow, we can better ourselves and listen to others, including everyone, even those that have thoughts conflicting with ours. The walk organized this past Tuesday was a very brave step in the right direction conducted by a professor I am proud to have a class under. In the face of a new president, for the first time, we must do everything in our power to be what he is not.

A common theme I noticed in this week’s classes was the idea of difference and variation. We often dream of meeting aliens, beings from another far off location in the vast, infinite universe with customs and ways of life we couldn’t and wouldn’t be able to fathom. We in fact, do not have to look so far to be as equally bewildered. Hank Morgan’s adventures in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court show that the world was a vastly different place just a few thousand years ago, with as equally different people and customs of their own. Sure, they’re our ancestors, same species, but Hank Morgan’s experience as a person from the relatively distant future being pulled back many centuries sort of shows us how “alien” the past can be. There was a time we thought the earth was flat, that certain people were lesser because of skin color, that climate change was a myth (well, some still believe that one). The earth and all of its inhabitants, are weird. We’re strange. All of us. We just have to alter our perspective. The many cultures that exhibited themselves in Expo: Magic of the White City also seemed odd to the people not native to the United States. Belly-dancing, circus acts, strange technology from every corner of the globe. It’s not hard to imagine the gaping jaws of citizens during this time upon seeing the grandeur of German weapon engineering. We often so get caught up in technology that we barely take the time to appreciate it every once in a while. A piece of machinery that can connect you to most anyone on the entire planet, that has access to exponentially that of what a library can physically hold, is currently in your pocket! We do not have to stretch our imagination very far to be amazed at what is around us. Perspective can make things weird and fascinating; it can make the smallest animal so complexly structured, and the universe, as we know it, a tiny speck. It’s why we stress the idea of an open mind, to accept difference and live in solidarity amongst ourselves.

Another concept that stuck out to me the most of our two classes was the notion of energy balance and the basic laws of physics and thermodynamics. How everything, from meditation, life, and quantum mechanics, all rely and succeed with balance. Even socially, as The Human Motor described, the balance of the pace of technology and social norms is important in society; one cannot outweigh the other without repercussions (labor strikes, working conditions, etc.). From labor workers during the Industrial Revolution, to the infant stages of fusion energy we are currently engineering today, humans and life itself searches for the most efficient use of energy.

Prof. Perrone’s thoughts on string theory and the idea of multiple dimensions also left me scratching my head. Michio Kaku’s book Hyperspace is something I have attempted to read in the past but left me in a similarly confused state. Biologically, we apparently cannot fathom the idea of the infinite size of the universe, it is but an arbitrary thought we can only attempt to understand. The idea that there is even another galaxy containing life as complex as ours is something hard to accept, but after all, life is but a recipe in the universe’s cookbook containing ingredients like water, carbon and oxygen right? With the aftermath of the Hubble Telescope and our current understanding of math and statistical probability, the conditions that created life here shouldn’t be too hard for the universe to do again in another far off solar system, should it? With the idea of there being more universes is incredibly awesome. That these grandiose bubbles of universe act theoretically in the same way molecules of water interact with each other is absolutely amazing. And who’s to say our laws of physics apply to other universes? Could the very physical laws everything in existence that we know of in our universe follows whether they like it or not somehow be different in others? The fact that we know gravity can bend time, something we see as so structure and rigid in our daily lives, makes it seem like these two concepts are some sort of magic. We theorize science in on such an imaginative, almost fictional level that we make it seem like a sort of magic bestowed upon us by a higher being. Although, after all, magic is just science that we don’t understand, right?

Technology and time have been two concepts that I always had hoped would merge completely in my lifetime. I always fantasized mostly about the future, from wanting to see how different customs and technology could change in a century to witnessing humanity’s end, as grim as it sounds. Curiosity and wonder are two gifts that I am grateful to have as a sentient being as they can drive entire populations to strive to discover the truth. As a STEM major, it does somewhat irk me that so many past trials and research have been consistently refuted and replaced with something closer to the truth. It makes my window of time here on earth seem somewhat pointless. As my high school physics teacher said, “compared to what we will have learned in about one or two hundred years into the future, we are currently teaching the world is flat”. Time goes on and we can only continue to validate and invalidate past claims. Perhaps, given what we’ve learned, the brain is like a computer, perhaps it isn’t. The only thing we know for certain is that time goes on and that we will continue getting closer and closer to scientific truth.

In A Connecticut Yankeee in King Arthur’s Court, reading about Hank Morgan’s thoughts on the “primitive” time period he was in and how clueless the people were in terms of technology and understanding made me take an uneasy step back and reflect. How primitive our era of flying rockets onto distant planets must seem. With this comparative thinking, the iPhone 7 I currently have in my pocket is like carrying around an old clunky typewriter! With our class discussion about technology and reading about the adventures of Hank Morgan and how easily he was able to fool people of a different era made me think about time and its infinite nature. It’s almost a little bit sad in a way, that perhaps I will never see the next biggest technological innovation of the 23rd century, or if we really can get an entire species off the planet Earth and explore the cosmos. Or maybe how easy it would be for some random person from the year 2200 to trick myself and many others by having a more advanced understanding of, well everything. In another sense, I am also somewhat completely content with the technological pace of today. Since I have no basis other than curiosity, wonder and imagination to think about what the future could look like in a few centuries, I can safely admit that I am currently in the most technologically advanced era the planet Earth has ever seen. To think that we rose from a single cell eons ago to a multicellular, full-bodied species that mastered and manipulated the elements to work for our convenience is an amazing thought.

As amazing as the ride technology and science takes us, our brief discussion about the culture of the Amish also was eye-opening. We usually discard these odd communities as “backwards” people, but they also teach very valuable lessons about what technology can do in a negative way. As easily and as quickly as we can be connected to things like family, friends, information and entertainment with the touch of a button (scratch that, touch of a touchscreen), we can as easily and as quickly be disconnected from the aforementioned. I don’t always like to admit it, but having my iPhone 7 can be a blessing and a curse in many ways, and I now have much respect for the Amish and what they value in life. Technology and time are forever intertwined, and as much good as technology can provide our daily lives with, we must also keep an open mind and see how it also takes away from us in certain ways.