DEATH BY RATIONALITY

(The following was written without ChatGPT and similar tools, etc.)

It is rational to use tools (like the humanoid robot) in order to solve problems. Indeed, this may be a defining characteristic of human rationalism. This said, we should not imagine that the final result of our making - and using - tools to solve every problem possible will be some ‘Star Trek’ style Utopia. 

The visions worthy of our striving have to be, more or less, understood from the outset - and then cultivated thereafter like a garden. The machines worth making, then, are the ones that help to foster such a vision. They by and large, come after the vision has been set - or at minimum are then chosen. A worthy vision will certainly not occur as a side effect of our technological progression. 

This is the case because tools have no intrinsic purpose - we grant them their purpose. Though it may be rational to use tools to solve problems, obtain results, and even alleviate suffering, this habit - without a central unifying vision - is madness in the extreme… something akin to eliminating humans in order to create peace on earth. 

Sincerely,

Michael-