Theresa国际传媒檚 something at once remarkable and chilling about the level of automation technology at our fingertips these days.

With a few voice commands, it is possible to open or close the curtains, lock or unlock the door, turn on the water, warm or cool the house or take care of any number of other basic tasks. These are technologies available to us right now, and not simply in the development stage such as fully self-driving cars.

The level of computer-assisted technology today seems like the science fiction stories from earlier decades, where advanced machines (sa国际传媒渞obotssa国际传媒� in stories from the 1950s) would take over mundane tasks, acting as butlers and allowing people more time for leisure activities.

Isa国际传媒檓 fine with the concept. Technology can and should be used to improve our quality of life.

READ ALSO:

READ ALSO:

But the other day, a demonstration of some of this automation technology left me feeling uneasy.

One could say, sa国际传媒淪iri, turn on the reading light,sa国际传媒� and a light near a chair would come on. Or, by saying, sa国际传媒淎lexa, turn off the TV,sa国际传媒� the television would be turned off.

The technology was fine, but the human names for the voice control systems were unnerving.

Siri, the name of Applesa国际传媒檚 virtual assistant, is also a name in the Swahili language, meaning sa国际传媒渕ysterysa国际传媒� or sa国际传媒渟ecret.sa国际传媒� It is also a shortened form of the Scandinavian name Sigrid, which means sa国际传媒渂eautiful victory.sa国际传媒� And its sound is close to that of names like Sara and Sherri.

Alexa, the virtual assistant used by Amazon, shares its roots with the name Alexandra, a Greek name meaning sa国际传媒渄efender of the peoplesa国际传媒� and a variant of the name Alexander.

In both these cases, human names are used. And in both cases, these human names are needed in order to activate the technology.

Using a name to use voice-activated technology is disturbing. By doing this, people are addressing machines the way they would normally address a sentient being such as a person or a beloved pet.

While computers are sophisticated devices, they are not living or sentient beings. One seldom gives a toaster a name like Boris or a lawn mower a name like Gertrude.

Computers in a network or multiple computer hard drives may have names, but these are to identify them in the system. Itsa国际传媒檚 possible to have a computer on a network called sa国际传媒淔ront Officesa国际传媒� or the external hard drives called sa国际传媒淏ackupsa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淐lientssa国际传媒� and sa国际传媒淧rojects.sa国际传媒� Those names are nothing more than identifiers.

The use of a name for voice-activated technology begins to blur the line between people and things. When these sophisticated and complex machines are given the treatment normally reserved for people, they are elevated beyond their intended role as tools. At the same time people are now on the same level as these machines. This devalues humanity.

Some of the science fiction stories from past decades reflect a fear of what happens when computers and robots become equal with or superior to people.

Start with Robert Silverbergsa国际传媒檚 1958 novella, The Iron Chancellor, in which a robot butler becomes the totalitarian head of a familysa国际传媒檚 home, not permitting anyone to enter or leave. Arthur Clarkesa国际传媒檚 1968 novel, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the movie of the same name, explore a similar theme.The HAL 9000 computer, known to those aboard the spacecraft as Hal, is initially seen as a member of the crew but later exerts complete control. Another story is No Quarter, an episode the the CBC radio drama, Nightfall, originally broadcast March 4, 1983. In this story, an advanced video game gains total control of the life of a gaming addict.

The technological developments in recent years have some amazing potential and, if used wisely, can bring benefits few could have imagined in the past.

Still, the machines we have created are only machines. They are not and must not be treated as people.

John Arendt is the editor of the Summerland Review.

To report a typo, email:
news@summerlandreview.com.

news@summerlandreview.com
Like us on and follow us on .