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The <strong>Cranbrook</strong> Chronicle FEATURE From the freelance desk By Sean Fitz-Gerald, Year 7, Hone Jack It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. Jack had been restless all day. He couldn’t stop running in circles and scratching at the back door. He whimpered and barked at me through the light-dappled glass screen, rubbing his snout against the stone tiles. I told Dad I was going to take him for a walk. I pulled myself off the sofa and walked to the kitchen to fetch his lead. Strolling to the door, Jack was already jumping and shouting, urging me to walk a little faster. I took my time with the door. Jack was a real laugh to tease. I opened the door a crack, and Jack shoved his nose in, whimpering. Then I pushed it open all the way, and let him throw his shaggy body right at me in excitement, and snap at his blue lead. I whispered in his ear, ‘Good boy Jack, calm down, there’s a boy, calm down.’ He sat, and I clipped on his lead. He rushed me out the back gate, and we bolted down the path. I’ve always loved the park. Looking up through the trees, I saw the sun shining down, filtering through the leaves, painting everything a golden hue. Jack had slowed down to a contented trot, sniffing and pawing the carpet of autumn leaves that layered the floor. We had a special spot that we always went to. The park was huge, but Jack and I always knew where to go. We crossed the road, and entered the thick brush. I clipped off Jack’s lead, and having regained his energy, Jack blasted forth into the bushes. Small birds scattered into the air, frightened of Jack’s crushing footsteps, and his loud, curious personality. We charged on, stumbling through the undergrowth, until we reached a clearing. Across the field, a bench lying under a looming tree stood ten metres from the road. This was our special spot. Jack and I sprinted through the sea of grass, the sun shining nakedly through the sky and onto our backs. Jack couldn’t control himself. It seemed as if he leapt and snapped at the very sky above, giving deep, throaty barks as he ran. We reached our spot, and I threw myself onto the bench. Jack collapsed at my feet, panting heavily. Jack was peculiar like that. Once we reached this bench, he had no other interests than taking a nap, which was fine with me. As I sat there with my eyes shut, soaking up the sunlight, I felt Jack’s 8 body leave my feet. Seconds later, I heard a huge bark. I opened my eyes, and sat up, to see Jack charging across the field towards the road. Over at the other side, a cat was scaling a tree. I screamed at Jack to stop, and heel, but he paid no attention to me. He bolted across the road. The vet was trying to hold him down, but Jack was kicking and going crazy. Dad moved to help him, but Jack scrambled off the table and fell to the floor on his side. A yelp pierced the air. I screamed his name and rushed to him, but Dad stepped in front and held me back. ‘He’s so confused and stressed he’ll bite anything, son,’ he said. I looked at my bleeding hand and remembered when the car hit him, and how I tried to pick him up. The driver and the vet carried Jack’s bleeding body to the table, and Dad took me outside. He told me to wait and be brave, and then ran back into the room. I waited for hours. The vet and Dad sat with me in the waiting room. The vet was talking to me, but I could barely hear him. ‘Jack’s asleep for now, but soon he’ll wake up. Jack needs surgery, but the process is very dangerous, and Jack may not survive…’ Dad interrupted gently, ‘we may have to put him down, son.’ It was the hardest decision I ever had to make. This week’s student freelance contributors are: Henry Warner, Year 10, Chelmsford Sean Fitz-Gerald, Year 7, Hone If you have something you would like published in the next student writing edition of The Chronicle (date to be confirmed), please email directly to rduke@cranbrook. nsw.edu.au. See the Advertisement section for more information.
Thursday, 30 May 2013 | Term 2, Week 5 FEATURE From the freelance desk By Henry Warner, Year 10, Chelmsford What will happen to the human race? iRobot, The Matrix and Artificial Intelligence are all films that capture the unthinkable. They are films where humans have created machines that are more advanced than us intellectually and physically, and the machines fight back. Already companies are choosing computers over people. It is clear that humans are slowly being substituted by computers. There are roughly 700,000 unemployed people in Australia – that number reflects a 9.9% rise since this time last year. In the same time period, computers have doubled their processing capacity. How many computers are unemployed? Computers are built for a purpose and they serve that purpose, be it high intensity gaming, hosting social networks or even word processing, they do their job. In a world where such cost effective and low maintenance resources exist, where do humans fit in? The reality is that computers are not at the stage yet, where they can totally replace humans but the time will come when the last human job will be taken by computers. There are two ways of dealing with an invasion by things more advanced than you. First, you can overcome the invaders by evolving to be stronger than them or, secondly, you can simply stand aside and become inferior. In the case of humanity and the invasion of the computers, the options are vast. Two of the possible options are: Human Enhancement and Human Substitution. Human Substitution: It happened with animals and it’s happening with us. How many commercial farms in the developed world do you see using horses or oxen to pull ploughs? The answer is none. How often do you get automated responses to email or calls that you make to large corporations? More and more businesses are turning to computers to run, work and design their companies. Now, instead of competing with other people for jobs, we have to compete with computers as well. Some companies even use computers to choose whom they recruit. In a future society, humans might have no purpose. Human Substitution is where almost all human jobs have been substituted by machines. In this sort of society, the rich would get richer and the poor would probably have to live on government benefits because no jobs would be available. There is however an alternative: Human Enhancement: Steroids, neuro-technology and prosthetics all are forms of human enhancement. As computers become more advanced and smaller, they might be able to be integrated into the human body. The concept of Human Enhancement or HE is not a new one- people have been taking drugs that make them perform better and using prosthetic limbs for years. In the field of Quantum Physics there is a lot to learn about the human brain and even evidence to confirm the possible existence of the human soul. The advances to the human condition that could be made if the true nature of it was known could be enormous. By enhancing ourselves we could possibly compete in a world where computers would otherwise be in charge. What would most likely happen is a combination of both Human Substitution and Human Enhancement where the rich would break away from the poor, splitting humanity into the Enhanced and the Substituted. “Don’t know about you but I know which category I want to be in.” 9
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