Why the Future Isn’t as Scary as You May Think

In 2000, Sun Microsystems Chief Scientist Bill Joy wrote a now iconic article in Wired Magazine called “Why the Future Doesn’t Need Us.” Joy famously argued that emerging technologies like genetic engineering, nanotech and robotics (GNR) will make humans obsolete. Digitally created GNR technologies, said Joy, are self-replicating, and therefore unlimited in their scope and impact.

Joy suggested that if these technologies became out of control, they would threaten the very existence of the huma...