A Vision of a Frightening Future
Eric Brown
October 16, 2009
Filed under News, Technology, Top Stories
“Imagine a world in which technology can record every moment of our lives, public and private,” says Gordon Bell in his latest book, Total Recall. And if you recall, this was also a 1990 science fiction thriller starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, where computers and technology controlled everything, and robots and machines threatened the very human race. Well, fiction could soon become a reality, as new electronic devices that can record our movements and every word we speak are being introduced to the world.
In this book, Bell and co-author Jim Gemmell, paint a vivid and personal picture of a revolution that is already in progress, a revolution that will transform our future by making our past transparent. “Clear, detailed, and permanent knowledge of ourselves and others will change the fiber of our lives and society persuasively from meal planning to constitutional law,” states Dr. K. Eric Drexler, author of Engines of Creation. “If we are blind to the implications, we’ll be trying to solve the wrong problems with obsolete tools. Total Recall will open eyes, and the more, the better.”
Microsoft research scientists are looking into these devices to basically give us our own personal database. We will become like a computer, as most of our mistakes will be eliminated. These tracking and recording devices can be put in the form of many objects such as shoes, hats, sunglasses, and even shirts. Some researchers even believe that a small chip can be implanted into a person’s wrist. That leaves a lot to think about, as it relates to something the Apostle John says in Revelation 13:16-18, but more on that later.
Many in the technology industry look at this in a positive way, thinking such sleek innovations will help society and everyday life. Obviously, voice recorders and cameras are harmless, but that changes when they are implanted into devices and even our bodies. This also brings up a whole other problem: if our privacy can easily be broken by simple new technology, what will stop government from intervening in everything we say and do? Privacy contributes to uphold democracy, without it anyone can know our beliefs and private information we may not want to share with most people.
Another area of debate affiliated with the new technology is selective amnesia. This is our ability as humans to make mistakes and not be virtually invincible to forgetting. With new devices, we will easily be able to just rewind the footage and access anything we forget in the past. It may sound appealing and helpful, but it is selective amnesia that arouses the problem. Without selective amnesia and the ability to forget, a functional life is not possible.
This is still a long ways away from becoming a major issue between men against machine, as we see in the movies, but it is a possibility if we continue on this same track. Once privacy is violated and the government is on board, technology can easily infiltrate our lives and eventually control us.
Now, going back on what the Apostle John said in Revelation 13:16, let’s be wise as scorpions and gentle as doves as we contemplate what he says. “He also forced everyone, small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on his right hand or on his forehead, so that no one could buy or sell unless he had the mark, which is the name of the beast or the number of his name.”