Technology and Anarchism

I think if an anarchist society develops technology it will develop to suit the needs of a smaller, more specific group of people. Since anarchism is such a community driven way of life, technology would be tailored differently depending on where it was made and who it was made for, since I'd imagine either the community would develop it itself or whoever made it would do so custom per order. thus, IMO every piece of "anarchist technology" may very well be completely unique, and HOPEFULLY compatible with other similar things

as for robots, i think applying Peter Singer's argument from "animal liberation" for whether something has the capacity to suffer would pretty much cover it. totally butchering it, but basically if the robots had conscious enough to comprehend it surroundings and the ability to both feel pain and have an adverse reaction to that pain (i.e. fear and anxiety) then they are a being of sentience enough to be treated as an equal in that you don't enslave or wantonly kill them for sport.

needless to say i don't think anarchists would build sentient robots

 

Technology is just a tool, and like any tool, just got to be careful how you use it.

 

Exactly.

 

Technology at its finest.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B1O2jcfOylU

 

I'm assuming this was a more or less sarcastic statement, but judging from the fact that some people have actually been able to use tesla coils for such a precise and intricate thing as making music it means that there is a degree of control that would otherwise be far more difficult to obtain. Sure, the actual outcome of the experiment is little more than entertainment and basically just ridiculous, but again a pretty high degree of control has been obtained nonetheless. Electricity is very hard to control, to say the least.

As for the original question: robotics, etc, can be used in a very efficient way to reduce human labour and danger to humans. Robots are by definition sturdier and hardier than most people are, also they can be used for specific purposes that are we are unable to do or are too fucking dangerous. Not to mention that robotics can be applied to people with amputated limbs, damaged hearing and even damaged sight to restore the functions of the missing body parts.
I mean, imagine a world where all labour would be done by autonomously working robots (no sentience of course, merely the ability to work, otherwise it would basically still be slavery). Imagine how much time you would have to pursue completely different tasks: music, sculpting, writing, philosophy, psychology, art in general. The free time on your hands would be immense and could be used for virtually anything. Of course if people would prefer to grow their own food, etc, who'd be there to stop 'em?

As for Ungov's first post on here: nanotechnology, implanting chips, etc is a touch subject to say the least. However, nanotechnology can be used to restore the body from the inside out in the case of organ damage, for instance. Implanting chips in someone's head can restore sight and hearing to people who've lost it. In fact they're already working on that!
I've read a cover-article in the Dutch National Geographic Magazine a while back and the steps made in this field are simply... well... incredible!

 

Absolutely no sarcasm here. Sure there are more practical uses for tech but this is good too. The physics involved boggle the mind. And to think they could've found a more nefarious use for it but instead they created a musical instrument. Beautiful.

In the case of nanotech and implanted chips, I personally can't wait to see that technology perfected. I have three blind friends and would like nothing more than to see them see again.

 

Misinterpretation there I see, well regardless, we both agree then... the end result was AWESOME

No pun intended I hope...

Couldn't resist that one.

 

Yep pun intended. That's how we deal with the fucked up situation. We laugh at it because there is nothing else we can do. The crazy thing is that one of them does woodworking. Have you ever seen a blind man use power tools? It's terrifying and amazing at the same time.

Anyway back to the topic.there are technologies in development that we are watching very closely. It basically involves implanting a chip with a very small camera onto the retina. This is then wired to brain. So far it works but the resolution is pretty low.

 

Heard of that one, but if I remember correctly at the moment it only works for certain 'types' of blindness set on by a specific condition. So I hope that the progress is swift and fans out to cover all 'types' of blindness soon

 

The only problem i see with this idea is humans potentially forgetting how to do the tasks themselves, which besides being a loss of knowledge would be disastrous were such robots to stop working. My sister goes to a school with lots of rich spoiled kids and she says they get there and don't know how to do laundry or clean or cook anything because they had a maid do it for them their whole lives. I can just imagine several generations dependent on robots then one day they all malfunction and the world turns to the OTHER anarchy because no one knows how to do anything anymore. I'm certainly not against technology, but i think it's important not to let it "run our lives" (to be clique).

on a completely separate note, i think anarcho-punk should start using giant Tesla coils as part of the band. They not only sound cool but live shows would become so much more intense what with the lightning! it would blow metallica concerts out of the water, thats for sure...

 

Personally, I believe that technology and anarchism can – and should – go hand in hand. With proper use of technology, the quality of life can be increased. Furthermore, I believe that in order for mankind to advance to a point where Anarchy is plausible we need to advance our technology as well.

That said, the said advancement is a double edge sword. Just as easily as nanotechnology can be used to cure conditions that we could only dream of in the past, it could also be used to subvert freedom. Cloning is similar; it could be used to grow new hearts for people that need a transplant, or even the fatty meaty parts of flesh to feed the world (without causing the suffering to any living being) or to herald in a new era of eugenics. Still, I think its important we step forward.