8 Technologies That We Should Never, Ever Build

1. Conscious Machines

It's almost taken for granted that, at some point in the distant future, we will develop the technology to create consciousness in computing. This, according to some, would be wildly unethical.

Creating a machine that can mimic consciousness, with programming so complex that they appear to be thinking and feeling is one thing. You can programme a computer to converse with you, gauge your mood, offer emotional support and even "recognise" itself in a mirror, all without it being actually conscious or self-aware.

Building a conscious mind inside a computer would be tantamount to cruelty. For a start, we don't know how a consciousness would respond to awareness as a machine. We know how we feel as conscious humans, but there's nothing to say that the two experiences would be in any way similar.

The nature of progress would also mean that early attempts at consciousness would inevitably be flawed. If somebody told you that they were going to purposefully engineer mentally disabled humans, you'd be horrified, and this would be no different.

You then have to consider what we would want a conscious machine for. The benefit of computers is that they can perform difficult, menial tasks without becoming bored or dissatisfied and without any need for compensation or reward. To continue to expect that service from a self-aware intelligence would be the very definition of cruel and unusual..

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