I do not fear computers. I fear the lack of them.
Interpretation
The quote expresses a belief in the value of technology, suggesting that the absence of computers is more concerning than their presence.
Isaac Asimov's quote highlights the importance of computers and technology in modern society. Rather than fearing the potential problems that technology might bring, he emphasizes that the real fear should be the lack of technological advancements, as they are essential tools that drive progress, innovation, and efficiency in various fields.
In practice
This quote can be used in a speech about the importance of embracing technological advancements.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation. Human dignity cannot survive it. Convenience and decency cannot survive it. As you put more and more people into the world, the value of life not only declines, but it disappears. It doesn't matter if someone dies.
Science does not promise absolute truth, nor does it consider that such a thing necessarily exists. Science does not even promise that everything in the Universe is amenable to the scientific process.
Democracy cannot survive overpopulation.
Although the time of death is approaching me, I am not afraid of dying and going to Hell or (what would be considerably worse) going to the popularized version of Heaven. I expect death to be nothingness and, for removing me from all possible fears of death, I am thankful to atheism.
A subtle thought that is in error may yet give rise to fruitful inquiry that can establish truths of great value.
During the century after Newton, it was still possible for a man of unusual attainments to master all fields of scientific knowledge. But by 1800, this had become entirely impracticable.
Despite the dazzling successes of modern technology and the unprecedented power of modern military systems, they suffer from a common and catastrophic fault. While providing us with a bountiful supply of food, with great industrial plants, with high-speed transportation, and with military weapons of unprecedented power, they threaten our very survival.
Electric power is everywhere present in unlimited quantities and can drive the world's machinery without the need of coal, oil, gas, or any other of the common fuels.
None of us today know how to get computers to learn with the speed and flexibility of a child.
I have got a scheme to make a thing in the form of a horse with a steam engine in the inside so contrived as to move an immense pair of wings, fixed on the outside of the horse, in such a manner as to carry it up into the air while a person sits on its back.
The internet has been a boon and a curse for teenagers.
The science of today is the technology of tomorrow.
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