By Mark Azzara
Dear Friend,
Hi, I’m Chicken Little. What’s your name – and your problem?
I just finished watching this cool little video about a miniature robot – more like a nano robot – that looks like a really undersized piece of chewing gum. It can pick things up, swim, jump, crawl and roll, even inside your body.
It’s supposed to be the newest iteration of smart machines that medical science will use so we can all live longer. What a great idea. Right? It is a great idea. Right? Well, it sounds like a great idea. Right? Maybe??
Ah, what’s your problem? What could go wrong? I’ll tell you what could go wrong, because I’m Chicken Little. That’s my job. To warn the world about the next iteration of the sky falling.
Why won’t you people listen to me? OK, OK, so I made a mistake the first time. Nobody’s perfect. Right? Well, nobody is. Are you? Yeh, ri-i-i-i-ight!!!
And that’s why you should listen to me. Because nobody’s perfect. Which means it’s not the nano-robot that’s the problem. It’s the people who use it, who control it. They are the problem. Or at least they could be. Well, some of them – the ones who use the technology for personal gain.
OK, OK, I admit they haven’t used their robot to blow up the world or poison our innards. Yet! But they could! Right? Because nobody’s perfect. Right? Ri-i-i-i-ight!
Maybe we should learn how to play that old TV game, the one hosted by Johnny Carson before he became really famous: Who (actually Whom) Do You Trust? Because that’s what our lives may be from now on. A gigantic game of Whom Do You Trust?
All God’s blessings – Mark
