Considering what human beings do and have done to human beings (and to other living things as well) ... I can never imagine what the devil people think computers can add to the horrors.
Interpretation
Asimov questions the value of computers in the context of human cruelty.
In this quote, Isaac Asimov expresses skepticism about the belief that computers can add anything positive to humanity, given the history of human violence and suffering. He suggests that instead of improving the human condition, technology might only exacerbate the issues caused by humans themselves, raising concerns about the potential negative consequences of relying on machines.
In practice
In a debate about the ethical implications of AI development.
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.
It is deeply against my principles to work on any project that I think is to weaponize AI.
Every time you write an email, it is in the public domain. There are all these ways where security is not as good as people believe.
Software is a great combination between artistry and engineering.
Figuring out what the next big trend is tells us what we should focus on.
Big Data is like teenage sex: everyone talks about it, nobody really knows how to do it, everyone thinks everyone else is doing it, so everyone claims they are doing it.
Animal factories are one more sign of the extent to which our technological capacities have advanced faster than our ethics.
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