Nowadays, humans are standing at the point where the growth rate of next 30 years is exponentially not linearly, which may grow five times faster than the average of progress of past because of artificial intelligence. Recently, I read an article called ‘The dawn of artificial intelligence’ from the economists. Artificial Intelligence has become a hottest topic in 21th century with rapidly development of technology, being discussed in latest hit show “Westworld” and event that computers now can play chess better than humans. The fast development of AI urges people to concern and worry about threat of AI if they replace human’s job even destroy our world in near future. The author poses a question at the beginning of the article saying how to ensure the artificial intelligence outweighs perils if it reshapes human’s nature. The author argues that humans should concern the threat of AI with superhuman cognitive capacity and interests that conflict with human beings. This dilemma has happened before during the French revolution and industrial revolution during the early 19th century when science and technology were trying to dominate society. However, I reckon that robots and technology may never replace humans because AI do not have emotion, culture and ethics which we have discussed in Edmund Burke’s “Reflections on the Revolution in France” and Shelley’s “A Defense of Poetry”. Human have shared beliefs, ethics, love and beauty, while robots do not have human’s emotion and culture. People are concerning that AI will probably turf out whole regiment of workers, but it is almost impossible for them to replace poets, writers and decision makers because computers now do not have capacity to think like an ordinary human. In addition, robots can never understand the beauty of disorder things like Dadaism and surrealism we have discussed in the class, which against logic and rationality, but humans know how to enjoy it. Another reason that AI will not replace human is because our society have regulation and supervising system like the scene we have seen in the movie ‘Modern Times’ that president supervised workers anywhere. And all the laws and regulation are based on moral and ethics, so we should not worry about the threat of AI if we can regulate them well.

The author argues that scientists initially created robots in order to serve and help people, however if the situation had been reversed they would destroy humans. The author writes, “A car that drives itself better than its owner sounds like a progress; a car with its own ideas about where to go, less so.” In other words, the author argues that if AI does not follow human’s instruction and orders any more, it will become a serious issue. This reminds me of the importance of authority and law discussed in Burke’s ‘Reflections on the Revolution in France’, authority and law are valuable in maintaining terms of social hierarchy and power that have been handed down by our ancestors based on moral and ethics because they bring stability to community, otherwise AI would bring great harm if not governed by regulation. Consider, for instance, the power that AI brings to the apparatus of state security, in both autocracies and democracies. For example, AI can monitor billions of conversations and to pick out every citizen from the crowd by his voice or her face poses grave threats to liberty. Reminded of World War 1 happened in early 20th century, scientists and chemists use advanced technology to help patients, but large scale of chemistry weapon was used to demoralized, injure and kill people. This history experience told us the importance of moral and ethics standard.

We have discussed in the ‘Defense of Poetry’ that the ideal community should base on shared beliefs and love rather than rationality or science. In this article, the author mentioned that the scientists still could not find way to equip robots with emotions of humans, like autonomy, desire and humors. That is how humans distinguish robots. According to Nietzsche’s idea, there is no same leaf in the world and each individual have different ideas, while robots are same because they were made by same program. Also, when we watched the film “Ballet Mecanique”, although it is disorder and unreasonable, humans still can enjoy it as art. However, robots do not know how to read arts and disorder things. In Chaplin’s movie ‘Modern Times’, when Chaplin sang an improvised song which was nonsense, audience applause and felt happy. Robots could not improvise a song or a poet because their action were followed by a series program instruction. This emphasizes the importance of humanity and arts.

Worked Cited

Percy Shelley. ‘Defense of Poetry’. The Norton Anthology of World Literature Third edition, pp. 398-403

Edmund, Burke. “Reflection on French Revolution”. The Norton Anthology of World Literature Third edition, pp. 29-35

“The economists”.  ‘The dawn of artificial intelligence’

Modern times.

The background of Modern times was happened during the time when county was facing modernization and industrial revolution. Charlie Chaplin was a great actor because he used his exaggerate body language to express his emotion, which is more powerful than voice. Body language is a universal language around the world no matter where do you come from. When Charlie Chaplin was working on product line, he was repeating the same movement. Even when he has done his work, he was still repeating the same action. His action looked ridiculous and funny but it impressed me because work has became part of his daily life. Even when he saw the fire hydrant on the street, he could not help to twist he screws. Although it is a silent movie, there still some scenes show language. At the beginning of movie, the president made order to his worker when he was supervising them. When Chaplin was smoking in the bathroom, the president found him by the camera and shout to him. Also, at the later of the film, Chaplin was singing in the restaurant, he totally forgot the lyrics but his improvised sounds beautiful to audience. This reminds me of dadalism which means nonsense and illogic, but sometimes it just works. This shows that people enjoy something is disorder and nonsense.

We felt funny because Chaplin’s body language was funny and he can express his emotion, like anger, boring and passion. However, If the audience saw bunches of machine and robots was working on the product line, it would not be funny. Robots and technology can increase productivity but their actions are stiff because they are manipulated by program and they can never have emotion like human beings. That’s why the silent movie can impress audience and it is important to our society.

Kafka Blog post

Compared with his friend’s life, Georg seemed more successful. However, his success was based on comparison and self-arrogant. His friend was dissatisfied with his business and life because he did not have any social dealing with native companies. It says, “He was running a business, which, although initially very promising, appear to have been stagnating for quite a while, as the friend rarely visit.’ This shows unsuccessful life of his friend. However, Georg’s business was unexpected prospered. And this difference make Georg felt he is superior than others. His feeling of success was built on others failure.

Georg’s treatment of his friend is also can be tell on the way he talked to others. Like, “What could one write to such a man?” Here, he condemns him, and yet he pities him; he considers persuading him to return, and yet is afraid of the responsibility connected with it. He keeps telling to him the idea of letting his friend know about his flourishing business, it said: “Should he perhaps be advised to go back home, transfer his livelihood here, resume all the friendship.” This shows that his self-esteem and value was based on others recognization rather than spiritual success. Georg rejected this and does not care about it, meaning he repelled the communication and outside world. yet insists it would look peculiar if he did it now. Georg wished other to accept his idea and his success, like ““That is how I am, and that is how he must take me”. This shows his characteristics of selfish, intolerance, lack of commnunication, leading his tragedy finally.

After the French revolution happened in late eighteenth century, people started to thinking what our ideal community supposed to be based on? Would change bring positive influence to our community or not? In both Edmund Burke’s Reflections on the Revolution in France and Shelley’s A Defense of Poetry, they agree that our community should base on something that is external and never should be replaced by wholly new things, for Burke is authority and law, for Shelley is love and beauty. Burke considered that change would break our social hierarchy and order, but if poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world, then change is possible because poets is not subjected by anything (403). Thus, Burke argues that authority is not supposed to be overturned but preserving the unchangeable tradition in terms of social hierarchy and power that has been handed down by our ancestors because it brings stability to our community. However, Shelley believes poetry can changed our community based on tradition which is love and beauty.

In our group’s presentation, we talked about three different folktales happened in nineteenth century Hawaii. Compared with US slave spirituals and secular songs, I found that African slaves and Hawaiian they all expressed their desire to rebel against and escaped the control of the leader. The leader put high burden on their people and gain benefit from them. People have to work from day to night without break. But that is not the community people want. However the difference is slaves could not overturned the hegemony like Hawaiian. There existed weakness of the political system which lead oppression and hegemony.

This folktale reminds me of the disputed president, Donald Trump, who is regarded as despotic president in some people’s mind. His action by deporting unauthorized immigrants and immediate action of building wall with Mexico provoked lots of people. But the difference between United States and nineteenth century Hawaii is that the court can withdraw Trump’s order. This advanced institution and law system prevent monarchy and hegemony. The order of the president has to pass different institution, which makes the order more rational and objective. The seperation of power proposed by French enlightenment prevented concentration of the power, helping people govern and control the leader.

Thus, what kind of ideal community does people in Hawaiian expect? The highest leader of the nation or state doesn’t have to be the person manage and govern people but just a symbol without real power, like the queen of England. The primary role of Elizabeth is focus on national unity. She can refuse the government’s request and choose minister, however her power is limited but just a symbol and royalty. Most country has president or minister who own real power to govern the country, however does it mean they real need one? It does not have to Three different chiefs in Hawaiian folktale oppress and force people. The ideal nation should be governed by people and benefit people.

French enlightenment was an activity predominantly governed by science and rationality. During that period of time, citizen believe that science and rationality is authority which governs the community and deduct citizen’s action. However, Shelley thinks enlightenment activity ignored the most fundamental merits in community which are passion and emotion. Poets are a group of people who can aware of evanescent things in the world Poetry helps people capture this beautiful world like camera. Thus, the task of poetry is to record many evanescent moments which are important for people, keeping the moral things in the world which is love and emotion. Shelley said: “Poets are not only subject to these experience as spirits of the most refined organization, but they can color all that they combine with the evanescent hues of this ethereal world”. Poetry record the vanishing moment and emotional experience by language.

Shelley said “The most unfailing herald, companion and follower of the awakening of a great people to work a beneficial change in opinion or institution is Poetry.” During the enlightenment period, man and nature are supreme over other things which are humanity and emotion. Shelley was a rebellious poet who always had skeptical and critical thinking to certain things which govern most people’s mind. She argues that citizen were lack of new thoughts and revolution Citizen ignore the importance of poetry which stands for the spirits of human beings.

In Shelley’s mind, she resisted against enlightenment activity the ideal world is supposed to base on humanity which can never being replaced by nature and man. The existence of poetry is to keep pure and external thing which is moral progress that is more essential than science progress. This idea also applies to modern society, regardless how science develops, moral is the most essential things, and poetry is the way to express it.

With the human cognitive developed from ignorance to ration, knowledge based on facts makes human better knowing themselves and the world, helping them to control their own desire. Life would be struggling for people who are ignorant or thinking of this world only by feelings. It says in the article, ‘Life could be understood as a struggle between rationality and emotion, with feeling frequently exercising controlling force.” (93) This struggle also happens in the article of ‘life of a sensuous women’, the narrator struggled all her life time between physical love and emotion love. Probably because the narrator lived in the community where knowledge was closed and limited, and the only thing she could used to think of this world is just her feeling, which is irrational.

It also says, “The gap between the ideal and the actual caused frustration and often despair’.  We, as human beings, live in nature and make connection with nature every single day. Human have to make connection with nature and real world through gaining more and more knowledge based on facts, forcing human better understand this world. Without understanding the nature, human beings feel frustrated and painful because the difference of their feeling and real world. Thus, Enlightenment can help us get through the gap between emotion and ration.

In old society, treatment for men and women are unequal. This unequal treatment breaks the relationship between women and men, binding the improvement of community. This happens in ‘Life of a sensuous woman’. The narrator was born to service to men. The society clamp down women, making her feel low and ashamed during their life time. However, the Enlightenment as a way let men and women connected by making them know the vital of marriage which is a small community.

Although irrational experience to some extent binds us understanding the community, it is humanity which is fundamental thing of this world. It says “rationality thus lies below all apparently irrational experience.” I think the rational thing here indicates the universal that will never change which is humanity. Our values and knowledge changes all the time, but all of these based on humanity.