The Force Pushing Us

There was something that drove humans during the development of the atomic bomb. This sense that we (as Americans) have to push this technology forward, no matter what the outcomes are, in part because if we don’t, someone else will. There is a constant drive to discover, explore, and to push technology. It’s always there, propelling us forward in novel ways, but it’s usually rather mundane — small steps that don’t seem overly threatening. But sometimes, like during the development of nuclear weapons, the stakes are a little higher.

We’re seeing another version of the less-mundane version now with the development of Artificial Intelligence. It would seem as though it’s rather futile to put too many restrictions on it since other countries would likely just continue to push on without us. It’s hard to really know where our current path will take us, but it feels (and probably is) out of our control.

This force is of course always there, but I think we tend to just notice it more when there is a sense of some level of peril. It’s the result of curiosity, discovery, and competition. In a lot of ways, it happens seemingly against our will, even though it’s individuals that are driving it forward. It feels like we have no other option, than to just go along with it.

I just find this interesting on some level, because it’s something that’s baked into how us humans work, and therefore, it’s just a property of the universe itself. And I of course don’t mean for this to sound overly “mystical” or anything, it’s just a natural output of the laws of the universe, and that’s quite fascinating.

It seems like something worth studying; see how it may ebb and flow over time, how various inputs could affect it’s path.  And of course, how to use it for good and perhaps mitigate the bad.