A rather unsettling quote allegedly spoken by one of the most remembered geniuses of the 20th century, Nikola Tesla. It is believed that Tesla said these words during the presentation of his novel invention; a remote controlled toy boat. However there are no provable evidence that he said any such thing at all. Nevertheless, if he did, it would be fairly in line with what he was thinking at the time. Based on his autobiography called My Inventions there are some clues pointing to similar ideas:
If we want to avert an impending calamity and a state of things which may transform this globe into an inferno, we should push the development of flying machines and wireless transmission My Inventions, pg. 34 by Nikola Tesla
Tesla was not the only one who has been warning us about the tremendous distraction we can cause as a result of our technological progress. Yet another prominent genius of the 20th century, Albert Einstein had also predicted a very similar fate:
I don’t know what weapons might be used in World War III. But there isn’t any doubt what weapons will be used in World War IV. Sticks and Stones Albert Einstein
Both quotes are sadly extremely relevant today, and I surely hope all of us would not want to personally witness these events ever come to pass.
Who was Nikola Tesla?
Born in a small village Smilijan in Serbia, Nikola Tesla was an extremely unique individual who had inherited some extraordinary cognitive abilities. His father, Milutin Tesla, who served as a clergy had an outstanding memory. He could memorize and recite long literary works from memory in several languages. His mother, a descended from a line of inventors has trained him from childhood to perform mental calculations, repeat long sentences and many other cognitive exercises to strengthen both his memory and develop his critical thinking. As a result of this training and his innate talents, Tesla was able to design complex mechanisms in his vivid imagination, which he would later put into practice.
When I get an idea I start at once building it up in my imagination. I change the construction, make improvements and operate the device in my mind. Nikola Tesla
Tesla`s parents deeply cared about him, nonetheless his childhood still had numerous rough patches. Tesla`s brother had been killed by a horse in an accident just in front of him, a sight which he could not forget for many decades to come. He also contracted many serious diseases during his childhood, one of which was Cholera (a bacteria transmitted through water and food contamination). This became a turning point for Tesla, as his life was slipping away he asked his dad to allow him to study engineering against as opposed to becoming a priest if he gets better. His father, who was worried of loosing his last and only son quickly obliged. Tesla ended up surviving and went on to become one of the greatest engineers known to man to this day.
I contracted the awful disease on the very day of my arrival and although surviving the crisis, I was confined to bed for nine months with scarcely any ability to move. My energy was completely exhausted and for the second time I found myself at death’s door. In one of the sinking spells which was thought to be the last, my father rushed into the room. I still see his pallid face as he tried to cheer me in tones belying his assurance.“Perhaps,” I said, “I may get well if you will let me study engineering.” “You will go to the best technical institution in the world,” he solemnly replied, and I knew that he meant it. A heavy weight was lifted from my mind but the relief would have come too late had it not been for a marvelous cure brought about thru a bitter decoction of a peculiar bean. I came to life like another Lazarus to the utter amazement of everybody. My Inventions, Nikola Tesla
What is the meaning of the quote?
As centuries and millennia keep passing by, our ability to mold and shape the environment around us has been growing exponentially, such course of events has greatly helped us to rapidly expand our population and make the life for an average person safer and more comfortable, we developed better medicine to fight diseases, we grew more and better crops to feed the ever increasing population, we flew into space to study the moon and as well as other planets from a far. Todays technology is considered magic in the eyes of our ancestors.
Unfortunately, just as magic can be used for good or bad in Hollywood movies, so can the advancement in scientific progress can create peace and prosperity or destruction and suffering. There are multiple excerpts from Tesla`s biography where we can see him being certain that his research will be used in warfare:
I am not aware that there lives an inventor who has been, in this respect, as fortunate as myself especially as regards the use of his improvements in the war. My Inventions pg.24 , Nikola Tesla
Are man made horrors already here?
Tesla being a gifted forward thinker has been able to predict many deadly weapons that are currently being used today:
The next logical improvement was its application to automatic mechanisms beyond the limits of vision and at great distance from the center of control, and I have ever since advocated their employment as
instruments of warfare in preference to guns. My Inventions pg.34 , Nikola Tesla
Pretty much any modern rocket or a battle drone have the capability to autonomously take out enemy targets. Sadly this is something that we are witnessing in wars today.
Tesla was not far off when predicting the devastating effect of nuclear weapons which can have a devastating effect on the whole planet. In 1919 at the age of 63 he predicted such a weapon some 26 years before the first nuclear test took place in United States, New Mexico (1945). There are currently a number of individual countries which hold the power to destroy humanity many times over.
On the contrary, progress in this direction is fraught with hazards and perils not less menacing than those born from want and suffering. If we were to release the energy of atoms or discover some other way of developing cheap and unlimited power at any point of the globe this accomplishment, instead of being a blessing, might bring disaster to mankind in giving rise to dissension and anarchy which would ultimately result in the enthronement of the hated regime of force. My Inventions pg.28 , Nikola Tesla
While we have no say about the leaders that are being chosen in other powerful countries, we must wisely and carefully choose a competent leader to govern our own country. A leader who will be capable in navigating difficult situations, who we know will care for his/her people and never escalate or create conflicts for the sake of extra resources or personal gains at the expense of human lives. At the end of the day, the purpose of any democratic government is to serve its people and not the other way round.
The technology of the future
As mentioned earlier, scientific progress is neither good or bad, it solely depends upon how society at large uses it, and so far we have been somewhat lucky since technology is for the most part serving the needs of everyday people. However, that does not mean that at some point a number of elite corporations or individuals will not use technology to control and enslave us, kind of like in the book 1984 by George Orwell.
Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing. George Orwell, 1984
While we do not know for sure what the future holds in store for us, we do have some rough predictions on how technological progress will unfold. Here are a few predictions about the scientific advancements we may well witness in our lifetime:
- AI singularity
- Quantum Computing
- Anti-aging research
It has been predicted by multiple people such as Elon Musk, Ray Kurzweil that overtime AI will surpass human Intelligence. Whilst such an invention is crucial in pushing the boundaries of sciences forward, it can also be used in malevolent ways such as spying on people. If this technology is employed by a dictatorial government it can essentially be a perfect surveillance system that can both spy and punish its citizens who do not “obey enforced rules”.
Quantum computing has made headlines in the recent years and for no small reason, massive corporations such as google and IBM work on pushing the boundaries of our processing power. If this astonishing feat is to be accomplished then we can achieve Quantum Simulation( simulating various particles and physical properties) and Quantum metrology (high resolution measurements). However, this can also impact our online privacy and security, since a lot of our current security protocols are built on the fact that it is too computationally expensive to crack encryption algorithms.
While still far away, some prominent scientists have been trying to push both the lifespan and health span of the human body. A lot of hype surrounds this topic so it must be taken with a grain of salt. Of course the applications of such achievement are obvious, what is less obvious is who will be getting access to living forever and who will not. Would such as technology end up being used by tyrants and dictators to rule indefinitely? if so, would this really be a beneficial breakthrough? Only time will tell…