Path: utzoo!utgpu!water!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ucbvax!PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU!basicstud%oak.DECnet
From: basicstud%oak.DECnet@PINE.CIRCA.UFL.EDU ("OAK::BASICSTUD")
Newsgroups: comp.society.futures
Subject: Knowledge Gap? More like Fear gap
Message-ID: <8712161659.AA25561@bu-cs.bu.edu>
Date: 16 Dec 87 16:04:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: "OAK::BASICSTUD" 
Distribution: world
Organization: The ARPA Internet
Lines: 22


  I think the real problem is not a gap in knowledge, but the fear so many
people have of technology.
  That fear has been around a long time. And when technology starts to advance
more rapidly, you just get more people afraid of it faster. Fortunately, not
everyone is afraid, or allows themselves to be dominated by the fear.
  An interesting example is a discussion some BBS users had locally, about AI.
The question was whether or not an AI could have a soul. But most everyone
(except those fairly experienced in programming) seemed to think that an
AI could never be any more than a machine, and thus couldn't even be called
intelligent. During the discussion, at least several people seemed to show
some kind of general dislike towards machines (complaining about robots used
in car manufacture, etc.) That sort of state of mind about technology is the
real problem.
  What is probably going to happen is that over a period of time, when the new
generation starts to become more dominate in society, the gap will start to
close. But, at the same time, new technological developments will occur that
will form a new gap, etc etc etc.


(Jeff Mercer)
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