Robotizing America
Robotizing America may be making life a smidge easier for its citizens, but in truth, the drawbacks deeply outweigh the few seconds that you save every day. The costs to the modern-day conveniences that detrimentally impact our Earth, health, and future are less obvious. Overlooking these hidden expenses may be irreversible.
The mass pollution from automobiles, factories, and the increase of carbon monoxide are harming not only mother nature, but your health as well. In America, less than 60% of lakes and rivers are actually suitable environments for marine life because the water is now contaminated with pollutants and sewage, making it inhabitable to all organisms [1][2]. According to the Earth Institute, one source of airborne disease comes from an unsuspected suspect – manure, particularly fertilizers [1][3]. The particles of fertilizers in the air mixed together with other pollutants can cause serious disease, and sometimes even death [3].
Now, switch gears to another torture device to mother nature - electronic waste (e-waste). Many Americans upgrade their personal cell phones every year. This means that 19,800,000 tons of electronic waste are rotting away in designated landfills, leaking its toxins and poisons into the earth's atmosphere [4].
This whole cycle comes back to the source, humans. The toxins leaked into the soil, water, and air come back and haunt the health of human beings. One of the reasons that the lakes and rivers are becoming uninhabitable is because of the barium, lead, mercury, and other heavy metals from electronic waste that have seeped into the water supply [4]. This does not immediately and directly affect humans as much as it does other animals. It makes the search for freshwater harder and strips aquatic animals of their homes. People do not notice this because in countries like America, all they have to do is turn on their tap or open a plastic bottle of water to find fresh clean water. But they are still impacted by these unhealthy heavy metals. These metals can affect reproduction, causing children to have birth defects and negatively impacts the heart, nerves, and several other parts of the human body. So, is the newest iPhone worth it?
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a technological system that is increasing in popularity around the world, including America. The Brookings Institution predicted that 30 million people will lose their jobs to AI systems [5]. Whilst an exact date or narrow time prediction for when this catastrophe will occur is not yet defined, there is a high probability that it will happen within this century [5]. The loss of jobs will increase the amount of homeless, starvation, and decrease the overall health average of the country. In addition to unemployment, the cost to make AI systems is skyrocketing. Artificial Intelligence does not have the ability to flawlessly improve from their mistakes. Humans, after doing something wrong, learn from past mistakes. However, AI systems simply do what they are programmed to; if they make a mistake, they will continue to make the same mistake until reprogrammed, which, keep in mind, is not a cheap procedure.
During COVID-19 quarantine, we have all witnessed when we walk outside or read the news, how the mere fact of the entire world staying home has impacted the natural Earth. The lack of millions of cars and public transit automobiles has decreased the amount of pollution drastically [7]. Bodies of water that were murky and skylines that were polluted not so long ago are now clearing again, restoring themselves to their natural beautiful state [7]. The COVID-19 quarantine has highlighted the amount of destruction that the robotizing of America and other nations around the world have caused to the Earth.
Whether it is increasing numbers of factories, developing new phones every year, or installing robotic artificial intelligence systems, it is evident that technology is taking over the world. As many “Protect the Earth” campaigns urge, to save the Earth and our future generations, we must work to stop ruining the environment and take steps to remedy our past mistakes. Choosing to take an environmentally friendly route to work via bike or public transit, not buying a new phone every single year, and advocating for Mother Earth who is silently dying are things that you can do to help the environment, yourself and family, and the rest of the organisms that cohabitate this planet with us. We should slow down the robotizing of America and take a moment to consider all of the negative impacts on the health of humans and other organisms, the Earth, and our future.
References
[1] C. Gillespie, “Negative Effects of Pollution,” Sciencing, 02-Mar-2019. [Online]. Available: https://sciencing.com/negative-effects-pollution-5268664.html. [Accessed: 19-May-2020].
[2] Mcelroy, Courtney, and Tiffany Forbes. “15 Interesting Facts About Water Pollution That You Should Know.” Seametrics, www.seametrics.com/blog/water-pollution-facts/.
[3] “A Major Source of Air Pollution: Farms,” Earth Institute. [Online]. Available: https://www.earth.columbia.edu/articles/view/3281. [Accessed: 19-May-2020].
[4] “Electronic Revolution = E-Waste 2,” The World Counts. [Online]. Available: https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Electronic-Waste-Facts. [Accessed: 19-May-2020].
[5] Associated Press, “Over 30 million U.S. workers will lose their jobs because of AI,” MarketWatch, 24-Jan-2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.marketwatch.com/story/ai-is-set-to-replace-36-million-us-workers-2019-01-24. [Accessed: 19-May-2020].
[6] C. N. N. Wire, “L.A. has longest recorded stretch of clean air as COVID-19 lockdowns result in major reductions in air pollution across globe,” KTLA, 22-Apr-2020. [Online]. Available: https://ktla.com/news/local-news/l-a-sees-longest-recorded-stretch-of-clean-air-as-covid-19-lockdowns-result-in-unprecedented-reductions-in-air-pollution-across-globe/. [Accessed: 19-May-2020].
[7] Mcelroy, Courtney, and Tiffany Forbes. “15 Interesting Facts About Water Pollution That You Should Know.” Seametrics, www.seametrics.com/blog/water-pollution-facts/.
