What invention would the world be better off without?

College Essays
1

<p>So the Honors Program essay for a college I’d like to apply for asks the question, “What invention or innovation would the world be better off without and why?” I know that the two obvious choices are nuclear energy/weapons and social media, but because they are so obvious, I would like to do something different. Is different good?</p>

<p>The invention I have chosen (but if you guys come up with something better, that’s subject to change) is humanoid robots because:</p>

<p>Tie in science fiction and the reality behind it
May become self aware
Human interaction with machines increases; human to human interaction decreases
Humanoids are built to be more intelligent (which can pose a danger) while industrial robots are built for one specific action
Already enough machines in the world for entertainment and the industrial world (jobs)
The Three Laws of Robotics are so vague that they can be easily worked around
Einstein has a quote along the lines of “when machine becomes smarter than man, bad stuff will happen” (obviously that’s not the quote; have to find it)</p>

<p>So. Is it stupid? Criticism is appreciated.</p>

2

<p>It is OK, but instead of humanoid robots, you might change that to “Artificial Intelligence.” There has been some recent news about the thoughts of Elon Musk (Tesla cars) and Stephen Hawking on AI. Here is a STARTING POINT: <a href=“The singular problem facing mankind”>http://www.smh.com.au/comment/artificial-intelligence-and-singularity-could-mean-demise-of-human-control-20141106-11fhvh.html&lt;/a&gt; Also check out what James Cameron says about AI.</p>

<p>The Three Laws are kind of sci-fi (not real), but you might mention them before dismissing them. (I hate to even say that, because Asimov’s book of short stories, I Robot, led to my career in AI).</p>

<p>So do a little research and see if you agree with those guys I mentioned, but your approach above might come across as a little less than Honors level. Right now it seems to be more an off-hand opinion, vs something you have a deeper knowledge of.</p>

<p>Very good “invention,” though! You need to stay away from the usual weapons-type things.</p>

3

<p>Is the question more about current or past inventions, or possible future inventions?</p>

4

<p>I don’t think it matters so much, so long as you stay within the realm of where we’re heading. For example, we may not have invented “dial-your-own-baby” yet, but the seeds have been planted with the “invention” of genetic engineering. The school just wants to see how your thinking process works.</p>

5

<p>I would be concerned. Since humanoid robots do not yet exist, you’ll have to do a lot of explanation simply to speculate on the qualities they will have. THEN you’ll need to identify the problems with those qualities. That could lead to an essay that’s kind of shallow.</p>

<p>If you discuss the faults of something that already exists, you can make a few assumptions about your readers knowledge of their properties. That will let you discuss the problems in greater depth.</p>

6

<p>

Tell that to the Japanese: <a href=“Humanoid robots join staff at Tokyo science museum”>Humanoid robots join staff at Tokyo science museum;

7

<p>Genetic engineering as it applies to
Crops
Cattle
Kids
Future </p>