One thing I remember starkly from my childhood is grumbling to myself as I helped with chores, cursing my mom under my breath and swearing that one day, I wouldn’t have to do what she said. I’d have my own place, my own time, and I wouldn’t have to do anything unless I deemed it absolutely necessary. Never did I consider that there might be a day when I truly didn’t have to do anything at all.
Since the beginning of time, human beings have worked to survive, worked to make our lives easier. We discovered fire, we cooked meat; we made stone tools, then we built brick houses, cars, computers, washing machines and refrigerators, all designed to help us live our lives more efficiently. At what point do we draw the line before machines start living for us? We draw closer to that destination with every new discovery, but I still want that vacuum cleaner that also works as a mop. I would gain an entire hour in my day to waste. At what point does greed lead to frustration and anger?
There’s this kite metaphor I love. Something along the lines of a kite’s freedom depending on it not being as free as it thinks it is. When you cut the string of a kite – as when you remove all burdens and responsibilities from the shoulders of a human being – it soars up with the wind for a brief period of time before it spirals and floats down to the ground, limp and lifeless.
What would you do if your strings were cut? Wouldn’t you be ecstatic, thrilled, elated? If resources were abundant, and the concept of money was obsolete? If you could go anywhere you wanted to go, see everything, do anything – does the thought of this excite you as much as it excites me? Explore the deepest wilderness, scale the highest peaks, sip tea and eat croissants at a dainty Parisian café…whatever rocks your boat. The real question is… how long would your exhilaration last? Is a vacation really a vacation if you don’t have a job?
In a world where you have no responsibilities and no obligation to work, you would soar. We all would. But how long would it take for our monkey-brains to descend into a Tartarus-pit of boredom? We’ve long walked the line between Chaos and Order. Work helps us balance on that very tightrope, keeping us on our feet. I can only hope that for the duration of my time on Earth, I continue to have a purpose. After that, artificial intelligence can take over the world and turn everyone into those bloated, brainless caricatures on Wall-E, it doesn’t matter.
As Dan Brown said in one of his books (I can’t differentiate, they all seem to blend into one giant motherbook of science-fiction vs religion), ‘May our philosophies keep pace with our technologies, and may our compassion keep pace with our powers.’
No comments:
Post a Comment