Humanity’s voyage into the great beyond made its debut with the vertical launch of the V-2 rocket in 1944, which was the first rocket to pass through the boundary of space. This was the catalyst to a large string of events that would eventually lead to many world renowned space programs to come into fruition. An often overlooked benefit to the space program is the myriad of new and improved technologies that seamlessly integrate into society. Many inventions, such as polarized lenses and cordless tools, are everyday household items that have become a part of everyday life. However, at what point does the benign turn malignant? This recent influx of technology has imposed a dangerous situation in which many individuals have the potential to
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One can find many jobs and professions, formerly held by humans, occupied by machines instead and often, many simple human driven tasks are too. On many occasions, this is a result of technological advances passed on by the space program. A very unique example of this is currently happening at NASA itself. Using automated algorithms, NASA has been able to generate the most ideal antennae for their spacecraft, namely the Space Technology 5 (). The software comes from work previously done by them evolving rod-structured robot morphologies (). This is beneficial to NASA because not much time or effort is needed to design them however, there is a huge implication for this application of technology, this being that many engineers and designers are no longer able to work with NASA because automated technology is taking their place. Although it is to be expected that NASA uses its own technology in its projects, it does not take away the fact that this is not the only place where automation has become present. Optometry, for example, is also a profession that is slowly becoming a victim to these technological advancements. NASA has aided in creating the Automated Vision Test which has the ability to measure visual acuity and diagnose certain conditions via wavefront aberrations. Because of this, less optometrists are required in an establishment due to the amount of work the AVT can accomplish alone. This pattern is repeated throughout many professions and is a force that slowly takes over the job
One can find many jobs and professions, formerly held by humans, occupied by machines instead and often, many simple human driven tasks are too. On many occasions, this is a result of technological advances passed on by the space program. A very unique example of this is currently happening at NASA itself. Using automated algorithms, NASA has been able to generate the most ideal antennae for their spacecraft, namely the Space Technology 5 (). The software comes from work previously done by them evolving rod-structured robot morphologies (). This is beneficial to NASA because not much time or effort is needed to design them however, there is a huge implication for this application of technology, this being that many engineers and designers are no longer able to work with NASA because automated technology is taking their place. Although it is to be expected that NASA uses its own technology in its projects, it does not take away the fact that this is not the only place where automation has become present. Optometry, for example, is also a profession that is slowly becoming a victim to these technological advancements. NASA has aided in creating the Automated Vision Test which has the ability to measure visual acuity and diagnose certain conditions via wavefront aberrations. Because of this, less optometrists are required in an establishment due to the amount of work the AVT can accomplish alone. This pattern is repeated throughout many professions and is a force that slowly takes over the job