The new Coke machines in the campus center are powered by robots.
And while I applaud the SGA and their support of the future, I am wary.
Wary of a future that is coming too fast, and wary of a soda that comes to my mouth too slow.
Because despite the awesome advances in nanotechnology that were used to bring the future to BC, it takes the AI in the coke machine one minute to give me my soda; timed from the moment I push the button for the soda I desire until the airlock chamber opens, presenting it to me.
In a way, I did appreciate this time, because it allowed me to marvel at the awesome advances that have taken place and reflect on how much more superior we are than a wild pack animals without thumbs.
But then I thought more about these wild pack animals, let’s assume they are cougars.
If we were to channel our abilities in future science reconnaissance and use them to harness the might of the natural world, wouldn’t we be able to instead make a Coke machine that is powered by a tsunami, made from oak, that has baby cougars inside ferrying my coke to the vine that swings the beverage into my hand?
So why have we focused our science on robots instead of cougars? Are robots really that much cooler looking?
Sure, we can replicate all the best parts of a cougar (claws, fangs) in a robot and do away with the bad (tails) and have it all in an awesome, blinking metal package, but does this come at the expense of the natural biological functions and catlike reflexes needed to wield these awesome gifts?
What good are a pair of fangs when they aren’t dripping with saliva?
And perhaps razor sharp claws (made from real razors) aren’t so hot when they fail to pounce on a robot zebra due to the hydrolic pumps powering the hind legs being low on fluid.
I am a simple man, and I have a simple request in light of all this introspection; I only ask that the SGA and the governing body of Bakersfield College take facts like these into consideration before any upcoming, important decision regarding robots.