Journal 14: Approaching the close of the course with the future in mind...

As we begin to wind down this course concerning Ethics and Technology, I must say that I have been increasingly enlightened in this area, and it has made me think about past, present, and future technology in an entire new way. One of the issues I confronted recently when discussing this class with my family concerns the idea of a highly robotic future. Although I thoroughly enjoyed reading Asimov's Science Fiction, a future of that sort does not appeal to me. I value the human person to such an extent that I see robots performing human activities as being always inferior to mankind. As was said in our text, argued by a robot itself, "Aren't you humans biological machines?" Yes, we are, but only to a certain extent. Just as technology cannot explain everything exisiting within the natural world, biology cannot explain every single complexity of the human being. So far, science has not been able to replicate a human being, especially the human brain. What cause s us to think, have emotion, to feel, to love, to have certain personality quirks? Many argue that this is a cross between genetics and environment, both of which robots do not have in all their entirety. Furthermore, as a Theology major, I cannot help but speak to the God-given dignity present within each human being, created in God's image and likeness. Mankind is endowed with a soul, something that a human being could never create. Humans have the opportunity for salvation, where this world is only temporary. Robotic parts, however, even after they cease to function, will not be given a share in this life of God.
Indeed, within humankind, there is a God-given and inherent dignity that could never be created or replicated by a mere human being.
Robots may be the future of technology, but they will never be the future of humanity to the point where they represent us in all our entirety.
Some may feel that I am being a bit too harsh with some of the films and stories we have read, which encourage a sympathetic response to the robot characters. It is easy to forget when something looks so much like a human being that we are different from those machines. We should treat them with respect as highly unique and semi-intelligent machines, but more for our sake than theirs. As was discussed earlier in the course, the way in which we treat a robot in human-likeness could be reflected onto the ways we treat other human beings.
A robotic future needs to be pursued with much caution and respect.