Do cybernetics leave out the human element?
Simple answer, yes. Of course they do where’s the humanity in becoming a robot? Instead of relying on instincts (no matter how rarely we use them) and emotions we would base all decisions and actions on what the little computer in our brains thinks is best – and who’s to say it would be the most ethical or morally correct answer?
Sure we’d probably be better at reading, writing and Math’s but where’s the accomplishment in it? Where’s the good feeling you get when you know you’ve worked hard on a problem and overcome it with your own merits? There would be none of that because we’d practically be born with the knowledge.
Plus who’s to say when it’s gone to far? What will happen when the human element is no longer deemed necessary? Having a computer for a brain is one thing but to be a living Ai system is something else entirely – quite frankly I think both options suck. According to Norbert Weiner “It is thus advantageous, as far as possible, to remove the human element from any elaborate chain of computation…” (Weiner, N, 1948 pg. 118). If that’s the case will we even have the ability to hold human values? Will there even be such a thing as family and friends if cybernetics become a part of us and we lose the one thing that makes us human?
I like knowing that I have a choice in things, I like the good feeling I get when I accomplish something awesome, best of all I love the feeling of freedom and relief I get when I finish my assignments for Uni. The thought that we’d force a type of evolution on ourselves for the sake of it seems foolish. Advancement like glasses, cars and computers are great, but I’d prefer it if they weren’t a part of me.
Further Reading
Weiner, N, 1948, Cybernetics or control and communication in the animal and the machine, The Massachusetts Institute of Technology, USA - http://books.google.com.au/books?id=NnM-uISyywAC&pg=PA118&lpg=PA118&dq=cybernetics+where%27s+the+human+element&source=bl&ots=xfLs6FfgHm&sig=a0XJDTH83PD8ZzpiTnUhnyd6Sa4&hl=en&ei=NllTTr_UCO2fmQXjuontDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&sqi=2&ved=0CC8Q6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false
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