Considering a typical day in the life of a decently earning family man, he wakes up at around 7 in the morning to complete his prayers, takes a bath, has his breakfast and leaves for work at 9. This is his morning schedule. Mobile phone integrates seamlessly with this schedule without him being aware of it. He may have his prayers on his mobile phone, may have his bath interrupted by a call, or may have any other issues that could be easily be ignored at that moment. Instead, he chooses to 'interact' with his phone. What he loses is the all-important aspect of a conversation with his wife and children. Those morning little chit-chats that his wards may so badly need to get through the emotional drain of being in school, and the talk that will get his wife to feel loved when he is away at work. I considered only his two-hour schedule and yet I visualized quite a few chasms that could crack open.
If mobile phones are said to be the primers, then what is the polymerase extending this? Robots are being developed at a frenetic pace, hoping reduction of human labour. The common refrain we hear is "Robots are less error-prone than us clumsy humans". How veiled a threat this statement possesses! If everything was all rosy and perfect and shiny, the world becomes a dreary place to live in. The vibrancy of a smile, the satisfaction of a work well done, the long-enduring flutter of fulfilment, the fragrant and contagious breeze of a genuine smile; loss of all these are worst-case scenarios that robotizing can do to the human contingent. We want our robots to release endorphins into the body after sensing our levels of depression, we want them to sense our physical pain and automatically dispatch drugs that cure yet cause no side-effects, we want them to enhance and sustain our levels of energy throughout a day and we also want them to be non-invasive. Everybody wishes free movement of all their body parts, yet nobody likes the feeling of 'foreign-ness' that could make this possible.
My imagination played the usual havoc during a lecture. It is widely accepted that Vishnu has reserved his Kalki avatar for a special occasion he has envisaged in his vision. Many believe that he will take form and cleanse the world when humans turn evil and immerse themselves in a war for power-grab, fame and monetary success. But what if we are looking at this in a completely wrong dimension? What if he is waiting for the day when robots begin their siege on humanity? Rajnikanth-starrer 'Endhiran' offered us a glimpse into this future. Technology will soon begin to control our actions: the time and duration of our sleep, the quality of our conversations, the restriction and ligation of relationships, our efficiency at the work-place, our false-positive satisfaction levels, and many more. And when that period materializes, maybe Kalki will take form.
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