Today's Humans, Tomorrow's....Robots?

Last night, my fiance and I went with another couple to see Iron Man 3.  I won't share too much of the story line but it did bring up a thought to me that I considered worth pondering.  With the evolution of warfare, our soldiers are always expected to be faster, stronger, more cunning and more developed in their skills.  There have been developments in uniform with possible cloaking mechanisms and robots have made it possible to avoid soldiers from charging into battle without knowing what or who was waiting.  But what if they were asked to take it a step further?  What if being simply human stopped being enough?

Our imaginations have driven this concept to heights that I am certain our ancestors couldn't have conceived. Artwork and music imagine robots being an integral part in society.  Movies have shared this vision as well with movies such as I Am Robot, in which robots are depicted as being a part of the household.  Robots have even been painted as human's future permanent companion, with studies being conducted on human interaction with "Lovebots."  Perhaps the epitome of the human-robot interaction was most capitalized by the movie series Terminator.  If you have seen these movies, you know that the premise behind them is a future world where humans and robots, that once stood side by side, now battle against each other.

But how real can this be?  Our media and society seem to become more and more wrapped around the concept of robotics and human interaction with robots.  Some of my peers would say this is something to fear and be concerned with.  Ideas and thoughts that the robot that cleans your carpet may be mapping your house or that we and our youth are being indoctrinated and becoming use to robots as it is the future of our nation.  Could we become obsolete and non-essential part of the world?

In the movies of robots and robots soldiers, ideas of a stronger genome of human is introduced.  What if the genetic material of people can be altered to ensure that they can not only resist injury but they can become weapons within themselves?  Are we far from our soldiers being asked to undergo such life altering suggestions?  Consider this: something as simple as a microchip can have great influence over your life.  Depending on how it can be implanted, there is not telling what can be sent, injected or otherwise infiltrated into your system.

I am not trying to have a conspiracy theory.  On the contrary, I am merely bringing up something that I am certain flits across the human psyche at least once in a life, even if just for a fleeting moment.  The idea that we can be replaced, become obsolete or otherwise lose a sense of purpose.  The idea that one day, improvements and predictions of DNA could be made, much like in the movie Gattica and ideal children can be created.  At what point will the quest to perfect what was already made cease?  For now, society has accepted plastic surgery that changes bits and pieces, sizes and heights even.  But what is the next step?

And when will we have gone far enough?

The (D)Evolution of Sex

Over the span of time, sex has evolved in its meaning, acceptance and description.  Sex in itself has a dual definition.  Not only does it define the act of mating and reproduction taken on by the majority of species (with the exception of asexual beings), it is also defined as the biological makeup and organs of an organism as one of the two major forms of individuals that occur in many species.  For all intensive purposes of this post, sex will be referring to the act of reproduction that commonly occurs within a species.  The second definition of sex is room enough for another post by itself.

In the beginning of time, sex and the act of mating in the human species is characterized by the act of a caveman hitting a woman over the head and dragging her back to his cave.  It was a more primal instinct.  While that still is within our being, the modernity has changed the acceptance of this practice to being void.  But when there were few people on the Earth, the reasoning behind sex was to populate the world.  The picture of the caveman could also be an explanation of expanding the gene pool, as well as an expression of power.

This expression of power did not become extinct with the evolution of the species.  On the contrary, it was adopted as a ready expression and method of warfare.  Along with this, pedophilia was adopted in early armies, especially found within the Greek armies.  I will not speak much on this as I would have to do extensive further research to have a better understand as to the reasoning behind.  But sex as an expression of warfare had primal reasons.  You breed them out.  This is why warfare is sometimes connected with the phrase "rape and pillage."  You steal their wealth and impregnate the women, the nation has in effect lost a piece of its identity.  What is more, the winners write history.  Whenever you read history or study history, consider that half of the story is not expressed from anyone's view but the victors and that there is always two sides.

There has been records during WW2 that when foreigners stepped foot on Japan, whole families were found to be dead in their homes.  Women were told that if invaded, they would be taken and raped, the ultimate disgrace against honor and the family.  As a result, they would kill themselves to avoid their bodies and bloodline being defiled.  War, rape, sex and self-protection has at some point in time been intertwined together.

To this day, there is a battle occurring with power and sex intermixed.  Rape is a prominent under belly of society.  And rape is nothing other than power.  There is nothing sexual influencing the "choice" to rape a woman (or a man, as they too can be raped).  Men can be raped.  It is still an act of power.  This is a major issue in society.  There are mixed signals expressed by society.  The media depicts women as objects, as something to be demeaned, taken advantage of and torn apart.  Then the act of rape is wrong.  Is it any wonder that there is possible ingrained confusion in our youth?  The popular media objectifies women and has lyrics glorifying the act of rape while the law reads that it is wrong.

Women at one time were nothing more than living, breathing property, to be bought, sold and traded.  To be treated as cattle, where the "rule of thumb" came into play on the steps of Town Hall.  Dowry was paid to husbands.  Women were expected to carry, bear and keep children and house.  They had no rights and no privileges in society.  While much of this role in society has changed, equal rights still do not exist.  In my blunt opinion, it will not exist until I can finally walk down a street in a seemingly safe neighborhood without fear for myself.  And yes, I have had that fear even while in college, on campus.

Sex is ever evolving.  The definition of what is acceptable within the sex world is constantly changing, including accepted acts with items, such as dolls (NatGeo "Taboo" had an episode based on the attraction to dolls, robots or inanimate objects).  But there is never excuse for rape.  My jeans may be tight and my dress may graze the top of my knee.  But that is no reason to say "She was asking for it."  Too many women have been subjected to this horrifying crime and will continue to be subjected until we change our societal perception and address the situation accordingly.  Instead of teaching how to avoid being raped, why not teach NOT to rape?

I believe I have gone on a sufficient rant for the day.  I must get ready for work but please keep in mind when read this that no deep research has gone into this posting.  This is just a collection of observations and studies and lectures over the years of education.  I hope you all enjoy this thing called "La Vie."