Futurism as Vice

In the news this week is the U.S. military’s interest in contractors to develop an unmanned helicopter program. Apparently, the idea is to avoid roadside bombing casualties by going airborne with supplies and taking vehicle operators out of the equation.

As I first read about the initiative, first publicized in a recent issue of Stars and Stripes, I couldn’t get over just how cool it sounded. Though I’ll admit it’s absurd, the very idea of fully unmanned helicopters going into action as soon as next year conjures images of other more wondrous inventions I might (but almost certainly won’t) see in my lifetime: light sabers, powered armor, ray guns, etc.

The thing I force myself to remember is that a world with more powerful weaponry is not necessarily a better one, (COUGH, Manhattan Project) it’s just more cinematic as fantasy fodder. The idea of a robotic helicopter is appealing to me not because of what it is, but because of what I am: a futurist.

I like the idea of man triumphing over nature and his own humble beginnings, just as I like the idea of technology as a force for good in the world. With that said, I think my ability to marvel at such things as Gatling guns and nuclear bombs suggests that I have taken my futurism too far; to imagine these instruments in action is to imagine the death of human beings.

As star wars teaches us futurists, a light saber wielded by a Jedi can be a good thing indeed. In the hands of a Sith however, it can do only evil.