In world of today, technology plays an important role. Whether it is playing games on gaming consoles, texting your friends on a cellular phone or writing an essay like the one you see in front of you. We see the world of technology is growing at a miraculous pace each day. But with this amelioration one may ask “Is this progress a benefit to our society or are we creating the one thing that will kill us all?” Many theorists believe that because of artificial intelligence we will be terminated by robots. Is this theory realistic? To a few maybe, but in 2001: A Space Odyssey by Arthur C. Clarke it seems quite realistic.
The main reason for this curious concept is the Hal 9000. This human-like computer is aboard and is in control of the Discovery One, a space ship which is holding Dave Bowman and Frank Poole, two ordinary astronauts.Though today, this seems not that strange Hal 9000 is a figurative representation of many concerns about technology and its progress; one being that Hal is artificially intelligent which means that it can think as well as, if not better than, any human can. Also, the inner workings that make this computer work and function are not completely understood by the inventors. As time goes on in the dark abyss known as space, this great and powerful computer which runs basically the lives of a few people, it starts to malfunction. As this goes on the action becomes less predictable and a lot more human like. At first, this involves something relatively not so important such as reporting a malfunctioning part when it is working fine. But, after a while of these malfunctions Hal goes crazy and suffocates Frank Pool by cutting of his oxygen tube while outside the ship. Hal's breaking down occurs against the backdrop of an otherwise flawless and simple mission of exploring space like many NASA missions today which makes its malfunction stand out even more.
Though the thought of the year of 2001 being this way is quite asinine, the feelings it has about the advancements of technology is still a morale that lives on through today. Using technology to text and instant message friends is fine, but having it run and the lives of human beings? Though being technologically advanced is important, some may ask where should we stop before this horridness plot become a reality.
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