Reflection on First Reading: Jay Tyan

So much of this went over my head, I started thinking it might be because I'm still a sophomore and I haven't learned to think that deeply yet.

One of the more significant thoughts I had was when Pandora was mentioned, releasing forces that couldn't be controlled.  In the context of this piece, it was talking about architects "recklessly" unleashing new methods without thinking of consequences.  Something that could possibly relate that to this class is the movie I, Robot, where robots suddenly almost wipe out a city due to the "core" of artificial intelligence gaining too much knowledge.  In the near future, people could possibly design robots that not only carry out our commands repeatedly as they already do, but program them to learn from mistakes and experiences to make processes smoother and faster without having to stop the production line to fix a bug.  With this system, there is a chance that the designers will overlook certain sources from which the robots can "learn" and in turn, recreate the scenario in the movie.

We, as a society, are already advancing toward this point.  Almost every digital machine in use by regular people is connected by the internet to some sort of large server, wherever it might be.  Personal computers, for example, are already capable of looking for system updates and installing them automatically.  Even cars are so computerized that they can be hacked into and controlled from outside, as shown in this video (one small reason why I will never buy a new car).  People are also writing programs with malicious intent, purposely telling computers to do unwanted, sometimes dangerous tasks from remote locations.  Architects have already been using computers for decades, their dependence upon them increasing rapidly.  As is the case with this class, architects are also learning that robotic fabrication can be a big help in prototyping and actual building.  It is possible that some day, whether by viruses and hacking or by self-learning, too heavy a reliance on robots can pose a risk to humanity.