Rise of the machines (2)

In philosophy and ethics classes in college, we were taught to look at the intrinsic nature of things and their extrinsic circumstances to determine the morality of man's actions.

Intrinsic nature refers to the essence or defining qualities of something outside its external context or relationship to other objects — inanimate or not. In contrast, "extrinsic" circumstances or values refer to what use can be derived from that something.

Man's intrinsic nature, for example, may include rationality, sentience, and the capacity to determine right from wrong and, consequently, to pass moral judgment.

On the other hand, a pen's intrinsic nature may revolve around its "pen-ness," as my professor would say, and is inescapably linked to its extrinsic value or creation for use as a writing instrument.

In ethics, there is the never-ending determination of whether something is intrinsically good or evil, like humans or guns, taken on their own or together.

Pro-gun people, or those who believe that protecting oneself, family, and the community may at times necessitate the use of firearms, would say, "Guns do not kill people; people do."

They'd say that firearms are just tools, and whether their use is good or bad depends on the circumstances. They'd add that a pen — often described as being "mightier than the sword" — can be used to literally and not figuratively murder someone, violating its intrinsic nature and its "pen-ness."

A gun, inversely, may be wielded as a tool to stop that murder just by its being drawn or, if absolutely necessary, its discharge.

This discussion remains relevant when applied to technology and how it has been used for the good of humanity or to decimate populations. Singularly standing out would be nuclear power and how it energizes cities, and how it had been used as "fat man" and "little boy" nukes to blot off the map two Japanese cities to end World War 2.

Today, it doesn't require a gun to destroy lives as technology, in this age of the internet and artificial intelligence, has made it easy to steal lifetime savings at the click of a computer mouse or the swipe of a cloned credit, debit, or cash card.

Technology, specifically fintech, has made it very easy for people to transact business, and, no doubt, we are heading to becoming a cashless society, sooner than later.

In the 2023 Singapore FinTech Festival, which this Contrarian attended, the buzzword was AI and how it is changing everything from the operating table to strategizing to improve the bottom line of companies to improving the quality of life through an automated everything household that profiles each member so that so-called smart things, like light bulbs that change color and TVs that open to your favorite show, click on the moment you come into a smart CCTV camera's field of view.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's hugely successful post-apocalyptic Terminator movie series revolved around the rise of machines — the technology man created to kill others — deciding one day to just take over the world by killing its creator.

Science fiction? But who could have imagined a man would one day take to the air like a bird and fly? Yesterday's science fiction is today's reality.