HUMAN TECHNOLOGY RELATIONSHIP

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LITERATURE REVIEW

I am fascinated with the “How and Why We Future” lecture from week 1. This lecture was the introduction to design futuring. It is very fascinating because, if I think about it, there is an infinite possibility of our future but there is only one definite future. At first, I believed that the future was impossible to predict. We will never know what the future will look like, yet we are still heading towards it. What is more incredible is that human’s perspective towards the future is mostly different from one another. However, from my point of view, there are only two future possibilities, either utopian or dystopian (see Figure 1). Utopian means a future where it is clean, beautiful, livable, and all the good things humans wanted in the future. Dystopian is the opposite, it is a future where humans lives are at stake, nothing is safe, everything is bad. Looking to this current world, we might just be heading to a dystopian future. For instance, if we look at climate change and environmental problems, we can see that the earth is dying because of humans. As Zimmerman (2016) stated, there are a rising number of carbons in the air and we can be heading to climate disruption. Another example is, Finnegan (2019) explained that we are already in a dystopia, the media is not telling the truth anymore, or at the border, those claiming refuge are held in concentration camps, and their children are taken away to taunt them. These are only some problems that did not get enough attention. The question has to be asked, are we just going to accept this reality and let our future be as it is a dystopian future? My answer is a big no. There will always be two sides to a story. As Haynes (2013) stated, if history teaches us something, it's that predictions of doom are almost always wrong, pessimistic scare stories that almost never come true. This is why we need to think about the future. Designers have a critical impact on the future because, as Srinivasa (2018) said, “Now we’re starting to see that design is being used everywhere”. In other words, everything that we have in our surroundings is designed by a person and it has a significant impact on the future. I think this is very extraordinary. As a designer, I play a very important role in making a better and more sustainable future. When a designer designs, we tend to think ahead and openly. We have to see the consequences of our design to avoid and solve upcoming problems. A problem is an opportunity for designers to solve through a product or experience. I believe there are a lot of methods to solve a future problem. It can be from observing and learning from the past, future alternatives and analysis, even designing a future prototype, the sky's the limit (see Figure 2). Moreover, everybody on this planet has their role in creating the future we want, we just have to take control and consider our actions.

Figure 1

Dystopian or utopian

Note. From Is humanity headed for utopia or dystopia?, by G. Haynes, 2013, VICE (https://www.vice.com/da/article/4w8zmb/things-that-may-destroy-the-world-but-may-lead-to-nirvana). Copyright VICE.

Figure 2

Future string

Note. From How and why future lecture, by UTS , 2019, UTS College (https://canvas.insearch.edu.au/courses/2766/pages/week-1-%7C-lecture-how-and-why-we-future-and-discussion-points?module_item_id=409251). Copyright UTS College.

HUMAN TECHNOLOGY RELATIONSHIP

If 10 years ago I was told the idea of having electric cars in the future, I would probably say that it is almost impossible. There are a lot of questions being asked about electric cars, “what if the batteries run out in traffic?” or “how much does it cost to own one?”. Without a doubt, these questions worry people. However, everything that humans know about electric cars will soon change. In the current world where everything is rapidly changing, especially in the techno world. Everything can almost be possible to make, with the right knowledge of course. Electric cars are starting to gain popularity since they have a significant impact on the transportation industry and environment. I believe that with less pollution and low emission, an electric car is a perfect choice to help reduce global warming on this planet. Electric cars can contribute to creating a better tomorrow. Choudhury (2021) stated that electric cars have a lower carbon footprint than petrol fuel cars and the batteries are often recycled. In terms of finances, electric cars are relatively cheaper than gas cars. With fewer moving components than regular gas cars, electric cars rarely broke down. Even when the electric car has an issue and needs to be fixed, the cost is so much cheaper. Spencer (2021) explains that maintaining a gas-powered vehicle is $8,000 more expensive than an electric car. Likewise, electric cars do not need gas fuel. In many parts of the world, gas prices are skyrocketing. California, for instance, has the highest gas price in the United States. As Gray (2021) reveals, the average gas price in California is $4,22 whereas in other states it is only $3,08 per gallon. In my opinion, electric cars will save a lot of money and people can spend it on other important stuff. Moreover, in Europe, electric cars are given tax breaks to make Europeans buy them. Through this method, the European Union can be seen as a clean and environmentally friendly country. The European Environment Agency (2018) suggests “Reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transport sector is a key priority for the European Union”. With all the benefits electric cars have, they have a lot of impact on people’s lives. Electric cars change people’s perspectives on the transportation industry. To illustrate, electric cars are just one mode of transportation, it is a milestone in the industry. I believe in the future, we will have electric planes, electric boats, etc. Electric cars make people use their time more efficiently. Different from cars, electric cars can be charged from places that have electricity, which is almost everywhere. For example, I can easily do my work while charging my car and don’t have to go to a gas station or I can do shopping while my car is charging in the parking lot. Moreover, electric cars alter people’s views on car designs. Many electric cars have a very elegant and futuristic design since they do not have a lot of machines. These designs are very different from regular cars. One of the most popular electric cars is the Tesla Model X (see Figure 1). Millennials love it because of its unique shape and being environmentally friendly, I would buy one for myself. Due to electric cars, the way I view the future will change; I will be more optimistic.

Figure 1

Tesla model X

Note. From This is what Novitec does with the Tesla Model X, by R. Priest, 2017, Autoblog (https://www.autoblog.nl/nieuws/dit-doet-novitec-met-de-tesla-model-x-100393). Copyright Autoblog Powered by Truer than North.

A REVIEW OF A FUTURE SCENARIO

In this part of the assignment, I will be reviewing one of my most favorite sci-fi films, titled “Pacific Rim” by Toro (2013). The movie took place in the future, specifically in 2025. The main reason I choose to review this film is that the detail of this movie is superb and the visuals are very realistic (see Figure 1). The movie begins with a portal opening up on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean. The portal connects this world with another dimension. This is where it got fascinating. Turns out the portal serves another purpose; it is a gateway for kaiju. In this film, Kaiju is described as a huge monster-like creature that destroys cities and kills humans, it also has incredible strengths and deadly powers. Humanity loses hope when the first kaiju attack happens since they are not preparing for this. Afterward, a lot more kaiju came out from the portal and started to attack more and more cities. This made the world unite and humanity takes a stand to fight these monsters. They use a technology that was developed and created by engineers from different parts of the world, it is called Jaegers. A kaiju-sized robot that is controlled by two humans inside it. The humans act as a brain to the robot. The jaegers mimic the human’s movement. Through this technology, humans can fight Kaiju and restore humanity. From this point onward, humanity started to fight and kill every kaiju in the world. However, the kaiju started to learn the weakness of the jaegers. After encountering a lot of problems, humanity finally succeeds in closing the portals and once again saving humanity from extinction.

If I was asked, “Is this a future possibility in this reality?” I will say a big no. The main reason is that scientists have not found any promising evidence that relates to extraterrestrial life outside or inside the earth, that is why it is unlikely that this scenario will happen. As NASA (2021) suggests, NASA hasn’t found any possible life signals in its missions. However, on the subject of technology, this scenario might happen (without the kaiju attack). In this current world, technology keeps on getting sophisticated. There is a possibility that we might have a huge scale human controlling robot technology in the future. This technology is being developed by some people today. Merkusheva (2020) stated that a robot called T-HR3 (see Figure 2) can mimic the human operator’s movement, this robot is created for doctors to do surgeries, the doctor or the operator can control T-HR3 from anywhere in the world. I think the T-HR3’s purpose is a milestone for humanity. Imagine if humans can use robots to save lives. This is very similar to the technology in the movie. However, the T-HR3 is a human-sized robot, not kaiju-sized.

From the perspective of social life, in this film humanity shows the capability to work together to solve a problem. They trust and work with each other to defeat kaiju’s purpose. However, there are some miscommunications between the government and the Jaegers program. The technological element in this film is fantastic, the Jaegers program is a breakthrough technology, it has saved millions of people. There is also new technology, for example, a 3D hologram that is used to control the Jaegers. In terms of the environment, a lot of nations built a wall to prevent kaiju from entering their city. There is less green space in this film since the Jaegers program builds more headquarters and bases. With every kaiju’s defeat, economic opportunities arise. In this movie, Kaiju’s corpse has tons of benefits. For instance, their bones can be used for human health. That is why there is a market that buys and sells kaiju’s bones, skins, etc., and the person who owns the market is a very wealthy man. I think it is amazing that the director and film crew think this through. It clearly shows that the military is very dominant in this film. The government’s role is to evacuate the citizens and prevent loss of life whereas the military focuses on destroying kaiju and sealing the portal.

Figure 1

Pacific Rim poster

Note. From Pacific Rim, by L. Ford, 2013, Fandom (https://pacificrim.fandom.com/wiki/Pacific_Rim_(film)/Posters?file=Poster-rim_3.jpg). Copyright Fandom Movies Community.

Figure 2

T-HR3

PRIMARY RESEARCH

In this part of the assignment, I am interviewing my sister, Alice Purnama Sari. A little bit about my sister, she is an open-minded person and a critical thinker. I am asking her about her opinion of a possible, probable, and preposterous future. She mainly underlines the educational aspects of this planet. I found her answer interesting, this is mainly because my opinion is very different from hers.

In terms of the preposterous future, she talks a lot about how education was affected greatly by the pandemic. It is almost impossible that pupils will go back to the traditional way of learning. For instance, examinations using paper, currently there are tons of platforms that allow the student to do their exam digitally. This future is impossible since the education system in this pandemic made every student more comfortable with digital learning. In the future, education will be paperless and everybody will be using an electronic device (see Figure 1). Some schools even teach the students to cooperate with the technology. According to The Jakarta Post (2017), Jakarta Intercultural School (JIS) is teaching their students to use technology; they wanted to make the students a good digital citizen. In my view, this scenario can happen. Even though digital learning is the new trend. There are some weaknesses in this kind of learning. To illustrate, more and more students are cheating on online tests.

On the subject of the probable future, my sister believes that teachers and tutors in schools or universities will be converted to AI or robots. In this current world, artificial intelligence is getting more and more sophisticated every day. There is a chance that AI can dominate the education world. As Asia-Europe Foundation (2021, 0:45) said “…AI will be much cheaper, you can switch AI off, AI does not go on strike…”. However, this future scenario will not happen because we should remember that AI is just a machine that needs humans to function properly. As Das (2019) stated, AI can not replace humans because human intelligence is nature’s gift. In this scenario, I think it is almost impossible that humans will be taught by AI. If we look at the social perspective, some parents, especially those from the former generation cannot accept the fact that robots will teach their children. This is because they would not trust their child's education to a machine that they do not fully understand. It will create mass hysteria. And if this scenario happens, the economy will be getting worse since a lot of people will lose their jobs.

Finally, the possible future. She explains that she wanted this future to be utopian. In this future, she suggests that there will be a lot of new technology inventions to assist students and teachers in the success of learning and teaching. This future will be the glory age of technology due to, as we move forward to the future, we must think of a way to evolve our technologies especially the ones for education since most of our education system is still traditional. I agree with my sister on this one. The future is a mystery, it is impossible to know what is going to happen. However, humans can predict the outcome of an event. If we look at the current tech industry, we can see that humans can learn new knowledge in a very short time. This has a big possibility of new technologies in the future. For instance, the use of VR (Virtual Reality) in education (The Ame Group, n.d.). Some schools use VR for teaching students, an example is the first educational virtual reality theme park call Avanti’s World (see Figure 2).

Figure 1

Digital learning in schools