Enter the Twilight Zone

In Augmenting Human Intellect, (1962) Douglas Engelbart wrote that, “by 'augmenting human intellect' we mean increasing the capability of a man to approach a complex problem situation, to gain comprehension to suit his particular needs, and to derive solutions to problems.”

By this definition of augmenting the human intellect, it follows that Engelbart was describing some conception of growth for the human species. For Engelbart, that growth came in the form of technology. He also makes the clear distinction that technology should be an extension of human ability and should be integrated with humans and that they should ideally coexist. The idea that technology should promote human intelligence and could progress our very intellect and knowledge should be hailed as an extremely beneficial advancement to our society. However, many heralded technology as a dangerous tool, perhaps one that over-stretches our human capacities into dangerous territories. Engelbart's vision brings forth a stark contrast with the common conception in the 60's and 70's that technology would overtake humanity, as demonstrated in the Twighlight Zone episode The Brain Center at Whipple's.

The fear and questions that technology generated in the 60's and 70's may not go without warrent. Even today while technological advances are increasing exponentially, there is widespread questioning of “when do we draw the line?”. New advances in technology such as biomedical engineering and concepts such a cloning draw skepticism from global audiences who claim that we as humans have stepped into “God's territory” or that we have begun to meddle in the parts of life that we should not delve into.

With these two contrasting notions of how technology could advance our species, or destroy it, perhaps the true answer lies somewhere in the middle. If uncertainty ever looms over how one should approach technology, the question that needs to be asked is: does technology serve us, or do we serve it? That particular question can be used as a guideline when assessing whether technology is helping to advance us, or is becoming a destructive tool.