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Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
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<p>"Why the Future Doesn't Need Us" is an article written by <a href="/facts/Bill_Joy/3I8ehVtu">Bill Joy</a> (then Chief Scientist at <a href="/facts/Sun_Microsystems/VJ9EzEFd">Sun Microsystems</a>) in the April 2000 issue of <i><a href="/facts/Wired_(magazine)/RQb6gcyf">Wired</a></i> magazine. In the article, he argues that "Our most powerful 21st-century technologies—<a href="/facts/Robotics/wkmvodJz">robotics</a>, <a href="/facts/Genetic_engineering/vwdlDR61">genetic engineering</a>, and <a href="/facts/Nanotechnology/Co4FFNfY">nanotech</a>—are threatening to make humans an <a href="/facts/Endangered_species/L7cIweSW">endangered species</a>." Joy warns: </p> <blockquote><p>The experiences of the <a href="/facts/History_of_nuclear_weapons/KClpn4Pp">atomic scientists</a> clearly show the need to take personal responsibility, the danger that things will move too fast, and the way in which a process can take on a life of its own. We can, as they did, create insurmountable problems in almost no time flat. We must do more thinking up front if we are not to be similarly surprised and shocked by the consequences of our inventions.</p></blockquote> <p>While some critics have characterized Joy's stance as <a href="/facts/Obscurantism/aAmwoxpg">obscurantism</a> or <a href="/facts/Neo-Luddism/y5RmV4wA">neo-Luddism</a>, others share his concerns about the consequences of rapidly expanding technology. </p>