ROBOT OVERLORDS
It may sound paranoid, but the robot takeover of our lives has begun.
People think that being ruled by robots means humanoid-type synthetic creatures, spreading mayhem and killing humans. That may be the end game, but for now, we have less obvious robots taking over our lives and controlling our behavior.
Frankly, it bugs me.
We have a truck, which I really love, but we also have a robot built into the truck who is there to nag me in case I am doing something the government doesn’t like.
For instance, when I get in the truck and insert the key, it will start beeping at me to make sure I have closed all my doors and fastened my seat belt. I actually think seat belts are a good idea, BUT I don’t need my truck to nag me to fasten them.
I have a wife who would happily nag me if I neglected to fasten my seatbelt. And that’s OK. That’s another human who has dedicated her life to caring about me.
If somewhere on my drive, I stop, unfasten my seatbelt, and get out, my truck will start beeping to remind me that I left the keys in the ignition. When I open the door my parking lights come on, whether I want them to or not.
We have been in the dark forest at night, sleeping in a tent, surrounded by the sounds of owls and wind blowing through the trees. When we emerge from our tent and go into the darkness, there is an almost mystical connection to the natural world. A feeling of being close to nature and to the wildness that surrounds us.
But if we open the door to our truck to retrieve something inside, the parking lights come on, illuminating the night and disturbing other folks at nearby campsites. And if we accidentally push the wrong button on our remote, the lights start flashing and the horn starts blaring.
If all this weren’t annoying enough, there’s now a legislative proposal afoot that would require car horns to start blowing repeatedly if the driver goes more than 10 miles over the speed limit. This is nagging carried to an extreme.
There are other plans to tax us by how many miles we drive, which means the government – and make no mistake about it, we are talking about a bunch of pinhead politicians – will be able to track all our movements everyplace we go.
Step-by-step, the robots are becoming our bosses.
For now, they are nothing more than the bully boys for politicians, bureaucrats, and big corporate entities. And unless you are incredibly naïve, you know that politicians and bureaucrats are bought and paid for by powerful interests – both political and private.
I’m not a fool. We need government, not only for our national defense and our infrastructure, but to make sure the meat we eat isn’t riddled with disease, the water we drink isn’t contaminated with chemicals, the places we work are relatively safe, and children are not starving in the street.
Government – even big government – may be a necessary evil. But people and freedom should always come first. Try telling that to a pile of flashing, beeping, annoying metal parts.
– George Lee Cunningham
If you would like to subscribe to our work, you may contact me at george@georgeleecunningham.com and let me know and you will get an email reminder of blog postings. Your name will not be shared and you may cancel at any time.