3 replies to this topic

[Casanova]

Here is what he said in the, "you ain't seen nothing, yet", Ronnie Reagan days:
Interview

[kevin]

An interesting retrospective. We certainly have come a long way. Just last week a teacher friend of mine left for Africa to begin an educational program that will use distance learning to help educate the impoverished children there.

I take it you think that the computer has not been a positive influence on our society?

[Gewis]

And I used a computer to prepare an intelligence briefing for my commander concerning various situation updates around the world.

The computer is capable of computing. It does computation. In the world of pure abstraction, mathematics only, this is neither good nor evil. When you start applying it to reality, gee, well, there's a million different things that need to be computed across the entire spectrum, and this computer can do it faster!

Weizenbaum is wrong. Tools, like computers, like language (very dangerous tool, anyone will admit), like pencils, like smiles are things to be used for the accomplishment of a particular goal. If our goals are not the benefit of people, then, yes, we are truly a sick, disgusting bunch. But our goals ARE the benefit of people: longer life spans, greater knowledge, greater health... more time to spend with each other. How is it that you're using the very tools you decry, Casanova, to decry the next iteration of those same tools? Fear of the unknown is justified... it gives motivation to make it less unknown, but with this attitude, you'd have run from the telephone, from writing, from every tool that had the potential to aid evil purposes. Agrarian advances have fed evil people too.

[AgentNyder]

I guess some people just always have to see the glass half empty...