Category: Communications Lab

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Week 1: Response to E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” – Andrew Huang

While I was reading the story “The Machine Stops” I was reminded of a similar story called “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury where a couples kids somehow become part of a simulation by a machine and it becomes part of their world. Both the Veldt and The Machine stops ends poorly for the main characters, and we the reader understand the potential side effects of technology. Similarly I think this story also conveys the same kind of apocalyptic and despairing feeling many feel towards technology, especially in this day and age. I think this story reminds us of how powerful and relevant machines can be in our lives, which is beneficial, but at the same time reminds us that these machines can’t solve all of our problems. 

Many people now relate to the idea that technology and machines have become too prevalent and harmful to our society, and I think this piece reflects that school of thought well.  I think it is very interesting that even in 1909, this piece so accurately predicted the rise of the internet and the age of instant messaging where humans would constantly be connected and possibly enslaved to a constant stream of information. However, while these apocalyptic stories offer a unique perspective on technology and its ramifications, I do believe that most of technology and the internets benefits vastly outweighs its potential harm. However, the way that the characters revered the machine like a god actually closely resembles how some people become addicted to social media, so it is not too far from the truth. 

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Week 1: Response to E.M. Forster’s “The Machine Stops” – Kat Valachova

Reading “The Machine Stops”, I have been reminded of some of the up to date worrisome aspects of super computers. Not only has the “thinking” and processing speed of the systems by far surpassed the problem-solving speed of a any human being, we have now even created neuro-inspired computers, that are capable of self-learning. This is one of the issues I would like to point out when it comes to AI (artificial intelligence), as the possibility of the AI becoming aware of itself can be fatal. The threat of superintelligence also stays as one of the top of the biggest threats to human existence, together with nuclear war and bioengineered pandemic. If this were to happen, with the speed of data processing, mankind would stand no chance in “outsmarting” such a formidable opponent. If this were to happen, how would the AI view us then. Would we be marked as an enemy? It is hard to say.

There have been written many Asimov-style stories on this topic, “The Machine Stops” being one of them, that point out how dangerous it is to leave our lives in the hands of our own intelligent creations. And although there have been set fundamental rules for AI learning, the “Three Laws of Robotics” (by Asimov), that should ensure the human’s wellbeing and safety to be the utmost priority, we have been shown many times through the story examples, that interpretations can vary. In the case of “The Machine Stops”, it was an obvious inclination to the survival of the bigger system, in which (in the same way as in beehive), the individual doesn’t matter, as long as his (non)existence contributes to the wellbeing of the whole (deviating from the Three Laws).

If you have some spare time, I would recommend reading a very interesting collection of stories by Michael Ende: The Prison of Freedom, where you can find another such a story.

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Week1: Response to “The Machine Stops”—Vivian Zhu

We don’t think things as they are, we see things as we are. Vashti is a typical human being that passively and subconsciously accept all the environment, rules, religion that imposed upon her. This story, on the perspective of Vashti, is a story of reborn, of civilization, of the process how Vashti finally realized the real truth of the world. Yet on the perspective of the relationship between the machine and humans, a message of warning was delivered—-a world controlled by technology will eventually turn catastrophic for the human race. 
 
The first thing that impresses me are two facets of conflicts: first the setting of characters. Heroes Kuno and Vashti stand in opposite position on the view of the machine. Kuno is an experimentalist and life critique, questioning the existence of the world ruled by the machine; while Vashti is a conventionalist, obedient to the rules imposed upon her and accept the environment setting. On another facet, the geographic setting of this story. Underground and above ground metaphorically suggest a sealed world without real truth, and the world with genuineness. This setting is quite similar to The Matrix, and the choice between the red pill or the blue one remains as an unsolvable question. I used to interview Prof.Astrada about the matrix in law. As the supreme court’s researcher working for the academics half of his life, he sees law as merely a tool employed by and for the service of the authority. In this regard, people can never acquire real protection on their rights. Yet many people still believe law is a powerful thing to get all their rights under cover. But is this recognition of truth a good thing? It really depends. From my point of view, Prof. Astrada is not as happy as those who trust the government and believe in law, even if he always insist he never regrets for learning about the truth of the world. The same logic applies to the story. Can we say Vashti’s final arousal a success of liberty? Not really. When the scar is uncovered, the one who uncovers it has to bear with the brought consequence. 
 
Another thing relates to the relationship between human beings and machine. I always had the question when I read the story: how the world in the story gradually evolves into the one Kuno and Vashti live in? I mean, what specific mechanisms, both psychological and physical, drive the direction of social development? The answer to this question may in part make us clearer about our correct attitude towards the machines in real world. I recognize two mechanisms: first, the religion/worship of something. In history, people can rule the world because we can have a common belief: this can be a religion, a belief in the government, or even a belief as small as getting up at 6 o’clock. These consensus aggregate human beings and keep the brutal “state of nature” in stability. A wrong belief on machine builds the wrong world in “Machine Stops”, leading to the ultimate catastrophic situation: the blind worship that machine can do everything for human being, and hence is the god. Hence, to prevent today’s world (which is at the risk of being “taken over” by machines), there should always be voices and belief-holding that human beings, are the species that control the world. Machine plays an inferior role for the service of human beings. Another mechanism that draws to the current state in the story is human nature: laziness, arrogance and cowardice. We will feel annoyed at accepting new concepts, will not change our views instantly if we being challenged, and get rid of possible rebel and conflicts as much as possible. When the first mechanism is triggered, people can hardly jump out of the loop and accept the new things again, even they are true. Of course, in the story, Kuno pioneered to be the one that guides Vashti learn about the truth. But in the real world, how many of us can be Kuno, who is willing to step outside and see what the world looks like?
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The Machine Stops (E.M Foster) – Clover（Chenglin Li）

  After reading this piece, I thought about two aspects of this. First is how we should look at the existence of machines. Should we support the development of machines, or should we get rid of them? This piece gives two examples. One is Vashti supporting the existence of machines and relies heavily on them. The other is Kuno who likes to get close to nature while trying to get rid of machines. In my opinion, strongly relying on the machine can lead to emotional emptiness and the loss of human self-awareness. If we only contact through the machine with our family instead of meeting them, we will feel distant from each other, that’s why Kuno only wants to talk face-to-face to ease his pain. If our lives were entirely dependent on machines, we may lose the ability to explore, to learn and to create. How can we fully understand something without touching it, how can we get to know nature without experience it by ourselves? We may just search for everything by machine and don’t discover something new. If one day the machine broke down, we may not know how to repair it. At that point, without the support of the machines, how can people go on living. I think the machine can exist but people should limit the use of machines to a certain extent. It can make life easier for people, and it can also make room for people to create, to explore and improve existing technologies.

  The second aspect is how to deal with the relationship between people and machines. Should we see them as our tools, as our partners or as something we should respect? What impresses me the most about this article is that Vashti is in awe of machines. This relationship is very much like the man to man relationship or the man to god relationship. This makes me think of the artificial intelligence that’s out there now. Machines are becoming more and more human. Many robots can even interact emotionally with humans. The emergence of such machines has caused a great deal of controversy, and many fear that machines will one day take over human, as this piece puts it. But in my opinion, we should encourage the development of the AI because it is still able to provide companionship to some people, to cure their mental and emotional problem. However, we shouldn’t rely on AI for our thoughts and judgment. We have to have our own ideas and creations.

  All in all, we should keep our creativity and our ability to think as a human being. In the meantime, to explore nature and to use the machine properly making them help our lives.

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Week 1 : The Machine Stops (E.M Foster) – Abdullah Zameek

“The Machine Stops” by E.M Foster narrates a tale of a dystopian future where the will of all of mankind is ruled and determined  by an ominous, technological entity that simply goes by the name “The Machine”. As reported by the narrator, the responsibilities of parents are completed at birth,their children are split from them, and they are brought up elsewhere, perhaps in another corner of the world. In this world, every human being lives in their own self-contained bubble where they are provided with their daily essentials. Therefore, there is no need or wish or incentive for humans to interact with each other, and such “social interactions” are thought to be unnecessary.
The attitude of (most) people towards “The Machine” could be thought of to be almost that of religious reverence. This was clearly seen in
the scene where people on the air-ship chanted praises of “How we have advanced, thanks to the Machine!”

The dependence on “The Machine” has resulted in two noticeable changes in humanity – people seem to have lost the will to “live” and explore
the Earth which has resulted in them not knowing basic facts about our planet. For instance, when the air-ship was flying over snow, the
protagonist of the story engages in the following dialogue, “And that white stuff in the cracks? — what is it? “I have forgotten its name.”
Moreover, people do not question the decisions of “The Machine”. Instead, people go along with whatever judgement that it passes. And, any
sort of deviation from this judgement is considered treason and could be punished with “Homelessness”.  The fundamental tenets of what constitutes a society seem to have completely crumbled, resulting in self-sustained, disconnected units. Thus, there seems to be no sense of human connection or unified spirit in this world, which means that this world is inhabited by humans, but ones who lack part of their “humanity”.

The social norms and standards are the ones dictated by “The Machine”, and to go against them means to challenge the very foundations of present society. The role of Kuno in this story is that of the social anomaly – the one who dared to question the status quo. In doing so, he displeased his mother, but at the same time, he seemed to have sparked the tiniest of interest in her since she kept pressing Kuno to continue with his story whenever he stopped.  In the end, the current social structure is brought down, and the era of “The Machine” comes to an end, but so does Kuno’s life. 

The story is a great analogy to the current relationship between people and technology, in particular, the dependencies and addictions that people have on their devices. It is not uncommon to see children, some as young as the age of three or so, operating “smart devices” and ultimately becoming addicted to them. The current generation could be described as one of “technological zombies”- people being completely dependent on technology for daily activities.  For example, in the city of Shanghai, several mobile applications provide essential daily services that are becoming increasingly mainstream. Whether it is ordering food, groceries or a taxi, or even paying your bills, all of it can be done from a single smartphone. But, what would happen if the few companies providing these services cease to exist? What would its impact be on society then? It must be understood that men, and his machines are both not infallible. In fact, since man is inherently flawed, so will be his creations. As Kuno put it, “Men made it, do not forget that. Great men, but men. The
Machine is much, but it is not everything.” 

However, the most frightening factor is that of privacy. In the story, Kuno refuses to tell his story to his mother saying that he would not talk to her unless she comes to him in person. This may have been because he did not want “The Machine” to eavesdrop in on their conversation which would have led to immediate, catastrophic results for Kuno. Now, consider the case with current technologies, especially social media channels and messaging applications. We share very personal and intimate details of our lives on these platforms, but we have no guarantee that it is only shared to our intended parties. In the case of Foster’s world, the Machine is the omniscient being that governs everything, so in our world, who exactly is playing the role of God? 
This is a question that is becoming more prevalent in the current context, an age where information is everything and people’s lives are becoming increasingly digitized.