Theology & Film - Podcast Lecture 7

This week Dr Mark Hutchinson and Dr Shane Clifton, aka "Hutcho and Cliffo", discuss the film Blade Runner and the ethical issues it raises.

For your podcast assignment this week... Predict the future for us. Do you anticipate technological apocalypse or do you consider technology a blessing? In your comment include examples.

Download film_lecture_seven.mp3

Comments

[Jacqui Bouchier]

Bladerunner, an interesting movie but did i enjoy watching it? I still haven't made up my mind but i did enjoy the insight of what the author/ director has envisioned for the future. I have seen a couple of movies set in the future, all presenting different elements to the advancements in technology. I agree with some, that yes we can see a technological apocalypse in tomorrow's future. A movie that comes to mind is V for Vendetta where the outcome of misuse with technology and humanity causes a revolution to rise up against a government that seeks to hide its dirty little secrets. If you have seen the movie do you find this correct? Technology is in favour of medical advancements and the possibility of discovering a cure for today's deadly diseases but to what extent should we allow our creative minds take control and where do ethics and morals play a part?
However there is another movie (happens to be a favourite) that suggests that technology is a blessing and that is the Island. Though it is taking from a bias view, at first we see that human cloning could be a healthy possibility, hence technology as a blessing. However we see that slowly shifting as we discover that these clones are able to become emotional beings that leaves our argument at what do we name these beings. Are they clones or humans?

[Angie Bulic]

Judging from the picture of our world forcast for 2014 in his film Blade Runner, i reckon Ridley Scott could almost apply for a job in our weather forcast bureau.

Just like 'predicting' the weather is just as accurate looking out of your window, i have no idea of what the future holds. But seeing as Shane told me to, i'll give it my best shot.

My impression of what the future could look like (re: technological advances) is sort of an equilibrium.

Before the rise in technology, people had problems and issues (i know, captain obvious talking) which were remedied by these advances - for example, women are more likely to survive childbirth today than back then.

But with tech. developments came a new set of problems - ones which were not evident before, such as the increase in childhood obesity due to our tech. adv. lifestyle.

Technology - blessing? curse?... perhaps both.

[Jacqueline Worcester]

The question being asked this week is Do you anticipate technological apocalypse or do you consider technology a blessing? In your comment include examples.

I think to answer this question one must ask ourselves left to our own devices, are we inherently good, and is Utopia possible? Or left to our own devices are we inherently evil, impending our own destrution?

There have been many attempts to answer this question. For Example William Golding who wrote the Novel "Lord of the flies" in 1954.
"Flies" commands a pessimistic outlook that seems to show that man is inherently tied to society, and without it, we would likely return to savagery.

Arguably, Carol Marx on the other hand portrays communism with great lustre as if it is the Utopia of Utopias with every person sharing the wealth of the world with each other, looking out for each other's interests, and all sharing equally in power and wealth.

However it seems to be that we as humans are all Egocentrial and born with "number one" in mind. I belive that Utopia is impossible for our society, because we are all selfish and left to our own devices I believe we will self-destruct. It reminds me of Romans 3:23 "All have sinned and fallen short of the Glory of God" not one of us is spared form this fate.

This leads us to the next part of the question is technology friend or foe? In my understanding I believe that many technologies can be used for the advancement of mankind. However, we must learn from our past for example. When research Scientists were in quest for avancement for a better and lesser addictive pain killer, they Unwittingly created Heorine. (OOPS!)

Just as in the move Blade Runner, Roy, a creation or replicant of Tyrell, destroys his own creator.

I think as we dabble with new sciences and technologies we have the same potential to make monumental mistakes that could cost the lives of many. Whether I think that these creations could eventually create Apocalypse or not is another thing, but I do believe that we in our search for new, better, and greater things, can make some HUGE (OOOPS'!) along the way.

I am also of the ethical standing that when it comes to cloning humans we should stay well clear and not interfere with the Creators work, (otherwise more OOOOOPs' are inevitable!)

[Todd Janus]

I consider technology to be a great help in life but it also seems to make us less intelligent. What I mean by this is that in the past people needed to memorise what they had learnt more, places, dates, events, ect. because they could not just get on google.com and look it up quikly. Further, spelling is declining because of spell check and 'did you mean' options on the internet (I am guaranteed to make spelling mistakes in this comment. Guilty!). I conclude that technology is a blessing but also has costs. I also believe that there is a chance that technology could take over like we saw in iRobot. It may seem a bit far fetched but the way technology is evancing you never know. We rely so much on technology that one day it might destroy us.

[Shane clifton]

Todd did you spell evancing deliberately!

[Stephen Wall]

Haha, Todd you spolt something rong and got busted! Even with all your spoll checking technology - gosh now I better watch it.

I must say that I love technology personally and have no clue what I would do without it. Where would we be as a society if the technological boom had not taken place - I'd probably be sitting in a cave, hungry and rubbing my hands raw as I endeavored to make a fire in preparation for the hunt that was to hopefully arrive soon. Life too would be dismal and bleak. I would never have tasted coke, worn converse shoes, eaten Chinese food, taken to the skies, watched a movie, had a shower with nice smelling soap, seen a kaola or eaten skippy the kangaroo :) - the serious side is I dont know how I would cope without this technology we have.

Another example of the wonderful advances of technology:
Being Zimbabwean, internet technology is one of the most amazing ways to keep in touch with family, close friends; those I grew up with, sharing the early and latter years of my life (that statement makes me sound old - don't comment Shane cause we hail from the same time zone - haha) My friendship circle is not just here in Australia, but scattered all over the world and technology helps to keep my network of friends intact. I can speak with them, send them pictures and videos of events in my life, messages to encourage, share news, and just have good ol' banter, as well as find what is going on in their world. So technology helps me still feel part of their lives. Yet all my emails are stored somewhere, every search I make on google is recorded and who knows what other info on me is kept on file.

The positive side of technology is great and long may it advance. However, I was just pondering on this thought today and how to respond as more and more of our freedoms as individuals are taken away with the advancement of technology. Do we become like the "Zealots" and fight Rome that "evil beast"? do we become like the "Essenes" and run off to some far off place, shed all technology and make up our own little community and hide? Do we become like the Herodians and Sadducees and simply "blend" or how about the Pharisees - create a rigid structure of "the rights and wrongs of technology"? I do not think the "beast" is all that different today, except for the fact that it can track you down faster... mwhaa

We see cameras going up everywhere in the name of "national security" or is it really "national surveillance". Our mobiles can be used as the trigger to blow up a bomb and at the same time, can be used to pinpoint our exact location - big brother is watching. We have "smart" technology; electronics that can relay signals back to a central point, alerting when something is wrong or preempting an event and trying to "change" its course. (like our own fire alarm system here at college - "ring a bell" anyone)

Then we have the new "smart" weapons that are tried out on the battle field - not too far off what you see in the futuristic movies like Blade Runner, Total Recall and suchlike. This technology is becoming more and more sophisticated... I would not like to think of the devastation that would take place if there was another world war.

Why does the future always have to look so bleak?! Why do the movies depicting the future always look so dark, rainy, and depressing - where humanity is cold and cruel, suspicious and full of deceit or clinical and machinelike - as in the Island. I am not prophesying doom, but I can see a more controlled world in the future where because of this technology our "freedoms" are both enlarged in what we can do and achieve whilst being controlled in what we can do and achieve as an individual.

I am intrigued with technology and think it's potential is amazing, but if the freedoms of humanity are eroded, and the life we live is constantly changing and kept frantically busier and under threat because of it, so that we cannot take time to enjoy life - then there is big problem.

We do need to think through these issues and be prepared for the future, but I also look forward to some of the discoveries we will make.

[Ann-Elise]

Wow,
Im not big on futuristic films. I have never watched Star Wars, never watched Star Treck, didnt like the Matrix and didnt like Blade Runner...that being said what was the question? oh yeah, technology.

I agree with what Todd said technology is in many ways making us dumber I remember seeing a workbook of a Year 5 student from the Gold Rush era. Within were perfectly copied maps on graph paper. They were amazing. I was in year 7 or 8 at the time and there is no way I could compare. However, could that child have held a job today. No because the skills have changed. Technology has given us alternative skill sets as well. Marva Dawn argues that the church actually supports this 'dumbing down' of society by using contemporary music in its services at the expense of the richness of chorales. IM NOT saying I agree. Just that it is a point of view that should be considered.

However, I dont think that Technology will ever be able to take over. I dont think that humanity is smart enough to create something smarter than we are.
I think the movie Gattaca is closest to my idea of the future. Everything looks almost the same yet there are fundamental differences in attidude, values and the way society functions.
In much of the early science fiction literature it seems that by 2000 we should be zipping around in our hover craft and that the world would look totally different. I think in many ways it still looks the same and is but many attitudes have changed.
Can technology solve our problems, nope, will it be our demise, only if we surrender our God-given mandate to care for this earth.
And Steve, your post on surveilance nad security seems uncannily relevant as we see APEC commence this week...

[Wigand Sugandi]

wow, interesting podcast and question this week... in my opinion, technology is like "sword with 2 eyes" or like the knife... in the hand of good man, knife will become very useful, but in the hand of robber, it wouldbe very terrible..

Perhaps I have same types with Ann-Elise, coz I don't like futurist movie like star wars, matrix, etc (however, matrix has a great value ;p)... however, regarding technology, either we agree or disagree, technology will keep developing.. we can't deny it because since the beginning humankind has a power to create, invent and develop because we are made in God likeness... I have my "own believe" regarding technology... I think that our technology is going to God's technology.. Why God prohibitted Iraelites ate pork,some kinds of seafood (now we prove it high colestrol) on the dessert? In my opinion, because they were in the desserta and need health and on that time there was no medecine for colestrol, ureat, etc... Moreover, for example, if we see in Revelation 11, There says that people all over the earth will see them (the 2 witnesses).. my question is "how come they can see because on that time there is no television?"... I believe John in his revelation saw a television but he didn't know what the name is... Now, we have known as television... ;) I know my comment and opinion is a bit ackward,forgive me ;)

In conclusion, Church must use technology as a tool to winning more souls... If satan use it, so the church must more... We can deny that technology make our life easier... can we imagine if we live without telephone??... In other hand, Technology also can destroy humankind... It is hard, but we have to use it for the glory of God... Christian should be smarter than non-Christian...

[Brittany Tovado]

Steve, you make me laugh.

After listening to the podcast lecture and coming to terms with the fact that I am sociologically, historically, and ecologically clueless, I feel very ill qualified to make a conjecture.

I suppose that in as much as technology has helped "advance" humanity in some ways, it has hindered the progress we seek or think we have achieved in others. For instance, on a small scale, even though we are able to keep in touch with lots of people all over the globe through internet networks or VoIP, there are now entire cultures that lack any social interaction skills/abilities. Our lives can be if we choose comprehensibly artificial, but cannot be 100% 'organic' (although Kate is miles ahead of the rest of us in that direction). We say that we want to create computers so that we can work more efficiently (and therefore less), but we now have to have people working 24 hours a day to maintain the computers that allow people to work around the clock etc. etc. etc. etc.
Our technology may be our undoing and I don't think that ecology is the only thing at stake.
It's not to say that the future of the world will be dismal and hopeless, for maybe redemption is available for the entirety of Creation, in the 'now' and 'not yet'. I was actually talking to my dad about this over Christmas when I was home and he used the illustration of a desert road that is not maintained. The earth, like our bodies, repairs itself, regenerates, if the wound isn't lethal. The asphalt will crack and give way to weeds and the earth will claim back its space and order (or disorder, as the case may be).
I suppose then, that technology will become our ultimate regret if we cannot find a way to limit its use and progression to the earth's natural capacity.

[lance davis]

I'm not sure if you all remember the major rain showers we had a couple months ago but I'll never forget one day, I made a frantic collection of soaked eukalypt scrap and bark from the backyard, during a particularly heavy torrent. I amassed the sticks in front of the wood stove (a stove for more asthetic purposes) and as I started to position the twigs over a bed of newspaper wadds my 63 year-old housemate stood over my shoulder and said, "oh that wet stuff will never burn."

What he didn't realize, perhaps, is that I am basically still alive today because when I was once lost in the mountains, in similar rain showers, my stepfather built us a fire--in temperatures and damp conditions that would overwhelm the most seasoned of fire-builders. After about an hour or so my house mate reentered the room: "Oh-it's cold tonight, but the fire's sure nice and warm."

I guess I realized that we don't have to think much about survival in our western culture. In fact, we're constantly steered away from the reality of death or the conditions that lead to death, to the degree that life alone is reality amd all else is taboo.

With signs like: "stop revive survive!" or "Do not use hair dryer while in the shower" or "Stop engine before replacing timing built" those pesky household hazards are tipped off for us.

Despite the facade, however, death in its many ominous forms is moving fullspeed ahead all around the world without the slightest hint of slowing down.

innumerable animals kill each other every second of the day in little mini dramatic scenes that are so gory or downright sad perhaps most people couldn't bare to watch.

Yes animals, not pochers, commit these homicides ...and yes their victims bleed profusely and yes, they're crying out in pain for their nearby freinds to help them while being eaten alive...but of course they don't (or can't).

If we humans are not dying from heart attacks we're dying from extreme poverty or that difficult treck from the tavern to the garage.

We place our little children "safely" in the back of our cars and go flying down the motor way going 115K/h at the mercy of complete strangers astride us and unpradictable traffic conditions. (180k/h in Germany)

We love a good BBQ but can't stand the sight of a gutted carcus in a shop window. (Perhaps we're oblivious of the herds of hundreds of thousands of cattle in the northern territory on death row, as it were, for that lovely afternoon with the fam =)

Isn't the world a beautiful place?

hmmmmmmmmm

I believe we can call it "tecknological apocalypse" but I don't believe such events will be distinguished by some new principle.

The "advancement" is perhaps not technological knowledge, but rather, the only significant advancement will be the ever increasing distance between our cultural perspective and what's really happening... until it's too late in many ways.

Thus the boiling frog analogy. Otherwise prophets throughout history would be out of business wouldn't they? And the need for a prophet is about as ancient a principle as there ever was.

Wisdom still "cries aloud," let's start listening. =)

[Prisca Post]

I enjoyed watching the movie bladerunner and I didn't mind it was quite slow. I agree with Shane that this was done so you could actually think about what was happening.

The question this week is if I anticipate a technological apocalypse or do you consider technology a blessing?

I believe it is God that created us with the capabilty of coming up with different inventions and technologies. On this note I believe that certain technology can be a blessing and can help society quite well.

Technology can be as well a blessing as a curse. Some of the results of technology aren't at all positive, especially when we look at the environmental issues that we have right now aroung the world. God allowed us to use nature, so if we do this to collect electricity like wind and solar power or to develope medicine to heal people I believe technology is a blessing.

When the purpose of technology is to provide ourselves with more power and control on earth I believe we are crossing a line.
Weapons to win war, cloning to create the so called perfect human are technologies invented for what purpose? Exhausting the planet of its resources so that we can drive 3 cars? Sicknesses that occur because of used chemicals n our food.
We can't go back to the way Adam and Eve lived in the garden, but I think they were just fine with all they had.

A technological apocalypse could happen, but lets hope that Jesus' back before this will occur.

[Anna H]

I believe technology can work in both ways, being both a blessing and a cursing. As for a technological apocalypse, i'm not quite sure.

The problem with technology is that it is not fool-proof. So much of our society is dependant on technology. Our economical systems, social systems, education and communications are all computer based. This can be a blessing as everything becomes more efficent, however i think our society as a whole is to dependant on something that could very easily break down or be manipualated.
What about the 2yk bug? Nothing happend but are we certain that something like that could not happen? The wolrd economy uses tecnology to transfer funds and for general trade. What would happen if this system crashed? Don't want to be gloom and doom but it is a possibility isn't it?
I don't think our society would know how to function without technology. It has become so much a part of who we are and what we do on a daily basis.
Technology like anything else can be a good thing or a bad thing, it all depends how it is used.

[cynthia asante]

Technology…hmmm yah I think it has two sides, it can be a blessing but at the same time not relevant for us. If I look to all the technology that we used today I am actually amazed by it, like the internet and mobile phones etc.. We have come so far and because of technology things are so much easier for us today. However sins things are so easy for us at the same time it also makes us dome and slow in many ways as Todd mention.

I also belief that God gave us the wisdom to create technology as Lance mention. God has given us many things but it is always up to the human what they do with. Technology can be irrelevant ( I don’t want to say it is a curse) for us if we use it wrongly, like guns etc.

As Anne-Elise mention, I also don’t think that technology will ever be able to take over because the human is the one who created it and often if it gets defected it is the human who fix it back again. Yes we will be smarter then technology… (I hope.. other wise that is scary)

[Neil Castro]

I think the comments so far have already mentioned about technology being something like a 'double-edged sword'or a blessing and curse. It's been quite clear in its developments throughout the course of history. The upside is that technology makes our lives more easier, faster and more convenient. Such advantages include mobile phones and microwaves which make life easier for us in a culture where time is precious in the busy lives that we lead and so are used to receiving or doing things here and now - or in the next 5 or so minutes. The downside is that it is at the cost of something else, like our health with radiation. Even in the technological process, we end up polluting the environment in which we live in. As a result - a thinning ozone layer. To make sure we have better food, we have them chemically pestisied, or genetically pumped. Is that more healthy? How about artificial everything, from food to other things that are hazardous to our health and environment? It may not be such a big problem to the world at the moment, but will it all end in some 'technological apocalypse'? Maybe that depends on what further advances are made to make our lives easier. How far should we allow technology to advance in order to make our lives easier and so be 'blessed'? In a world where people are not really satisfied for long, hence technological advancement is inevitable, it would seem that while technology can be and is at times a form of blessing, it may very well also be our downfall in the end.

[paul tan]

I think that technology has progressed at such a rapid rate that the ethical conscience of society has not been able to keep up with it. Hence we see the double-edged sword that technology has become. Advances in medical science such as the unravelling of the genetic code has opened a pandora's box of ethical dilemmas including stem cell research and gene therapy.

In and of itself, I believe technology is a blessing. Technology alone however is not enough. It needs to be implemented in constructive ways, or else technological apocalypse is a real threat to humanity's survival.

[Cameron McDonald]

Predict the future for us. Do you anticipate technological apocalypse or do you consider technology a blessing?

I think technology could go either way in the future. God has given us the ability to create - some would argue this is an element of the image of God, but as we all know, we live in a fallen world, and without Christ, we are fallen people, affected by sin right to the deepest recesses of our being. As a result, one might argue that although we are using the God-given ability to create technology, what we actually create in the end can be either a blessing or a cursing.

For example, modern technology has enhanced our ability to help and heal the sick, communicate with each other even when separated by hundreds or thousands of kilometres. One of the greatest blessings of the development o technologies like the tv and the internet is that teh church has been enabled to use it to propagate the gospel. On the other hand though, the use of the same technology has allowed the propagation of things like pornography to flourrish. Also the development of technology has aided in destroying the earth and its people through various means like machines that emit greenhouse gases and other pollution and the creation of powerful weapons of mass destruction.

Funnily enough i actually watched a tv show on SBS (or ABC, i can't remember...) that talked about the development of military technology. They've developed unmanned spy planes which are cpable of firing missle on targets from kilometres away with pinpoint accuracy. Blessing or cursing? I guess it depends which side of the missile you're on!

Another great example might me satellite systems. These are a wonderful invention, and have aided in scientific research and many other things, but satellites can also be used to spy on people illegally etc.

In conclusion, I think that technology has the potential to be a great blessing, but unfortunately there also inlies the potential for a "technological apocalypse". I pray the church would respond with wisdom (whatever that looks like...)

[Rachelle Marcos]

I do in a sense expect a technology apocalypse in the future. I don't think it's necessarily the fall of the technology itself but the effect of techonology to humanity. It has slowly brought 'destruction' to humanity i.e. the breakdown of communal society. People have become more individulistic in their day to day life. As we can see, people spend most of their time on the internet than interacting with the surrounding community. For most cases, we don't even know who our next-door neighbours are.

Nonetheless, I also agree with other comments that technology indeed is a two-edged sword that has the power to build and destruct. The power over the earth is still at the hands of humans as a God-ordained task. Therefore, as long as we exercise wisdom in using technology, technology apocalypse can be avoided. As long as humans don't forget who we are intrinsically, we can use technology as a tool not otherwise.

[Kasie Carpenter]

Reflecting alot on what was discussed last podcast about modernism and post-modernism, I was trying to discover what I think would be the next age....my theory is it will be a digital age! So much of the things in our world are beginning to be run by digital. I don't think it would be a bad thing, my only concern would be that technology isn't completely reliable and if so much of the world was run by it, a break down would create a huge issue, especially if we relied on it to live.

[Chris Morrison]

I believe that the future will see the end of the war on terrorism. The future will see increased introspection regarding our sponsorship of terrorism. In the future we will recognize the insight of Noam Chomsky that to end terrorism we must stop participating in it. We see in the current war in Iraq the failure of the ideal of exporting democracy and preemptive strikes.
The future will also see renewed cooperation with the United Nations.

The future will see the ongoing spread of the Christian Faith in a more intelligent and less fundamentalist form.

The future will see a radical revisioning of lifestyle in response to climate change. We will use far less electricity and drive less preferring to work from home and utilise more public transport.

The future will see us avert the possible crisis of strains of bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics through the emphasis on prevention. Such a trend is observed in our current reluctance to prescribe medication.

Finally the future will see a shift in politics and a moderation of Christian involvement in politics toward a balanced critique of both conservative and liberal ideals. Against an uncritical allegiance to Conservativism within the church.

[Alice McCallum]

well... i must say that bladerunner would not be considered my favorite movie but i guess it does pose some interesting questions about what will happen in the future... its hard to imagine how far technology will advance - who would have thought that you can talk to someone on the other side of the world through a plastic machine attached to the wall (or cordless now) that sends voices and sounds instantly? Technology continues to improve drastically and me being not a very technologically orientated/capable person it is hard to think of what could happen. Technology has both its advantages and disadvantages and although much of the technology is useful in many areas of life, there is so much evil in the world and it is such a selfish place that it could potentially end in disaster.

Technology has greatly affected the areas of communication, medicine, infrastructure and construction, travel etc. Look at every area of life and you will see it. Go to the very depths of the forest and you will often find mountain radios being used and now GPS systems. It is inescapable. but although it has helped and will continue to help in many areas there are some things that could end pretty terribly. I think that in some ways bladerunner was an exageration of what could and will happen in the future, but cloning and technology such as choosing which genes etc you want in your children could start heading in this sort of direction. People will continually find ways to 'improve' and 'develop' the world, but whether this has positive or negative outcomes, I am not too sure. For now, most technology is fantastic :)

[janelle]

predicting the future is as difficult as trying to see the lunar eclispse through a pair of bonoculars that dont work. this actually happened to me by the way. nevertheless, although i did not see the elcipse up close i still saw it from this place called Earth and got the basic idea and picture of what was happening. so in saying that i guess with technological advancement we deal with the fact that on the top it has it's definite benefits such as medicine as well as ideas as to how we can help the current state of our envrionment with things such as wind farms and hybrid cars and solar power etc.
however on its dark underbelly lies the reason as to why we find ourselves in tragic state of human infection in every area humanity seems to advance into. for you see if technonlogy did not place such a great role in society would the be a need to produce such enviromental saving products as the environment would still be in tact? moreover as mentioned in the podcast would there be lower rate of brest cancer if women even men did not have to work under the neon light and rarely see the sun? moroever as war would always be tragic with technological advancement or not, would the reasons to go to war such as the desire for the possesion of oil for our machines really be a valid reason? would the thought even cross the mind of the politican?

i am not sure how this future will turn out as i do believe technology could be beneficial if used in the correct manner as well as in consideration of the greater ethical issues surronding each development. my conslusion....? well sice technology is at first always made with hopefully some good intent, because of human failure it will have it's disadvantages and exploitatig moments. if only people considered their neighbour, including the envirnoment who we share this house with, when creating technology perhaps techonogical implications could be more positive and beneficial than what the past has proven.

[janelle]

p.s. please excuse my multiple amount of typos. i can spell i promise.

[Amanda Huthnance]

Predicting the future... hmmmm? As most others have said already I don’t know how well I will do this… pretty much because I just have no clue! But anyways… I believe technology has its advantages and disadvantages. The more we take notice of technology we see the rise of it through society, our products and our complex way of life. I think technology and humans are equally dependent on one another… technology can’t work without humans and humans, especially in the 21st century, can’t live without technology!
I would live to think that humans are smarter than to keep creating until we turn our world into a dark, bleak environment like blade runner… also as much as a utopia world may not be an idealistic concept I would live to believe that humans would prefer to enjoy the natural beauty of our world than continue to turn to technology for a “better way of life”. Technology isn’t evil – like a lot of things it depends on how it is used… Technology has helped us to move forward and provide advances that that have beneficial to humanity. I believe that if humans used technology effectively for the common good of everybody than we will be fine! But can we achieve that – everyone working together for the common good of humanity and the world – I think someone tried something like that once before =)

[Matthew Lowe]

People keep using the analogy of the two-edged sword. In good hands, we get technology that benefits mankind. In evil hands, we get power-driven people who cause destruction. What if we get both, at the same time? The question to me seems to be who will come out on top? Also, How much division will the sword cause, and to go deeper, How far will a sovereign God allow this to go?

Arthur held aloft the magic sword, but it was the swords magic that guided him. Yes, with God's help we can use technology to aid mankind, but, Ultimately mankind is bound by sin and cannot create the perfect utopia. If I had to pick, its the apocalypse. It's not the technology that worries me, its the people that get control.

We do our best in keeping the masters house until his return!

In the 1960 film 'The Time Machine', mankind is depicted as divided. The good 'Eloi' live above ground and the evil 'Morlocks' live under the surface. Mankind has become divided. Was technology the cause?

[ash]

I honestly dont know what the future holds, and i find it scary to predict things like that. But i can say what may happen. i dont think thechnology will end up becoming so advanced that it would end up taking over, coz our culture is so scared of that outcome that they would never allow it to get there.