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Why The Future Doesn't Need Us
Atec Февраль 29 2008 20:16:19
Книга только для ознакомления
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He leads himself to the question, "Why is life worth living?" and to consider what
makes it worthwhile for him: Groucho Marx, Willie Mays, the second movement of
the Jupiter Symphony, Louis Armstrong's recording of "Potato Head Blues,"
Swedish movies, Flaubert's Sentimental Education, Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra,
the apples and pears by Cйzanne, the crabs at Sam Wo's, and, finally, the
showstopper: his love Tracy's face.
Each of us has our precious things, and as we care for them we locate the
essence of our humanity. In the end, it is because of our great capacity for caring
that I remain optimistic we will confront the dangerous issues now before us.
My immediate hope is to participate in a much larger discussion of the issues
raised here, with people from many different backgrounds, in settings not
predisposed to fear or favor technology for its own sake.
As a start, I have twice raised many of these issues at events sponsored by the
Aspen Institute and have separately proposed that the American Academy of Arts
and Sciences take them up as an extension of its work with the Pugwash
Conferences. (These have been held since 1957 to discuss arms control, especially
of nuclear weapons, and to formulate workable policies.)
It's unfortunate that the Pugwash meetings started only well after the nuclear
genie was out of the bottle - roughly 15 years too late. We are also getting a
belated start on seriously addressing the issues around 21st-century technologies
- the prevention of knowledge-enabled mass destruction - and further delay
seems unacceptable
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