These days, technological progress is progressing so rapidly that we often don't realise how profound its impact can be. Artificial intelligence (AI) has indeed come to make our lives easier, but when the development of this technology puts human health at risk, the question arises: Is this progress really progress, or is it a kind of suicidal race?
Recently, I read a report that the world's largest supercomputer is being built in the CIS, USA. Elon Musk, who is the most influential entrepreneur in the world, is behind this project. His company xAI is building this centre, where, hu, hundreds of gas-powered turbines have been installed to run the computer.
After hearing this, I feel like, wow! What an era of modern technology we have entered. But the more I read, the more I began to feel — the smoke that is being generated to fuel this technology goes directly into the lungs of the people in the surrounding area.
The area where this project is being built is mainly a low-income, predominantly black neighborhood. There are already many neighbourhoods, oil refineries, and power plants there, which have long been toxic to the air. This new project is adding more turbines to make the situation worse.
The question arises in my mind — have we become so inhumane that we can destroy the lives of some people in the name of development? How can a technology that is said to be changing the world be developed in such a way that the people around it are having difficulty breathing?
The government says that this project will create many jobs, economic development. But the question is, if that development comes at the expense of the health of the local people, is it development at all? If such AI projects only bring profit to the rich and bring illness and death to the poor, then for whom are they being built?
The world is now racing after AI and supercomputing. But if humanity is left behind in this race, the future of that technology and the future of humanity both are bleak.
After this incident, I have been thinking very deeply—this is not just happening in Memphis, but in many developing countries as well. Big technology projects are being built on the shoulders of poor people. As if they are just development.
If we want real technological progress, then we also need to pay attention to the fact that that could not cause harm to anyone. The definition of development needs to be changed—development should not just mean a sum of money, but development should mean the assurance of a healthy, safe, and dignified life.
Now is the time to ask—what kind of future are we building? Only based on technology, or with people's needs and safety in mind? We also need to think about how much impact the decisions of people like Elon Musk are having on our lives. Because, no matter how modern technology is, if it poisons people's lives—then that is not , eall dereall,yment, but a kind of destruction.
