January 24, 2014

Why I Don’t Fear Machines, Yet

James Watson: Up until now, machines have made our lives a lot better. I don’t thing they’ve depersonalized us so far.

I think machines let us do wonderful things. There will be some things which can be done much better by a machine than by humans. So you could say they’re bridging the need for humans. And that’s one of our problems. Will everyone on the Earth have a role that will be taken over by machines?

There have been people predicting that none of us will have to work or it will lead to a point where we would only have to work 10 hours a week.

I’m happier when I’m working. I used to feel always very strange on Sunday when I didn’t have something to do. When I was a boy, I was anxious on Sundays. The rest of the week, it was easy. Up until now, machines have made our lives a lot better. I don’t thing they’ve depersonalized us so far.

In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think’s studio.

Image courtesy of Shutterstock

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Thinking

The great free will debate featuring Michio Kaku and Steven Pinker

Who — or what — really controls your mind?

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The Past

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7 min

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with

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