No Science Fiction But A Stark Reality!

 

No science fiction but a stark reality!

As usual I was going through the daily newspaper when one of the headlines caught my attention. I actually read it thrice to make sure that what I read was not an abrasion of my vision. After reading it three times, I realised it is not a distortion of my vision either, but a real headline that my mind was struggling to come to terms with. And it was so inspite of receiving several visual affirmations from my end. 

I am sure you would have reacted similarly had you read the headline in your state, society or country. 

Do you know why?

It inflicts upon the reader a sort of grotesque insensitivity where a sinister eeriness possesses his/her mind, because he/she is unable to accept the fact as a social truth anchoring its roots, and actually happening in reality.

I am sure, by now you are wondering what the headline read and you are anxious to know what can be so base and abominable.

I do not want to force you into experiencing a sinister like eeriness, therefore, I am rephrasing the headline in my own words. I am certain though, no matter how hard one tries to rephrase it, the fact it reveals, will force the conscience of the responsible reader into a moment of introspection, who will then think of the loved ones in his/her family.

Anyway here is the headline:

“A 15 year old boy stabbed to death by a juvenile in a fit of anger. The victim had been stabbed several times and then left to die.”

Now you might be thinking, what is new about incidents of stabbing. Actually nothing. In 2023 nothing at all! But, this headline is different. It is a minor stabbing a minor to death.

Children do get angry and anger is a part of a child's development. If nature has installed this instinct in our mind, there is a good reason for it to exist. Anger management helps us to master many virtues like: patience, dialogue based conversations, empathy, sympathy, self restraint, self development as an individual, and many other virtues too.

Children who lack anger management, tend to be less patient; and self restraint is definitely not one of their virtues. As human societies are developing and technology is seeking its permanent space in the activities of our daily lives, it is offering us a lot of power and freedom as well. And it definitely has its pros and endless advantages! There is no doubt about it and that is something I never argue about, because it is a fact.

However, the problem arises when technology penetrates too deep and too far into human lives. At this stage it somehow tends to alter a few important values that human societies are based on. One of them being “Parenting and Teaching!”

Childhood is the formative phase of human life, where whatever values and ideals are instilled in the child, will accordingly shape his/her future. And it is a fact proven by social scientists, that children who do not receive proper parenting and teaching, grow up to be less tolerant and very abusive. Although there are a few exceptions, and these exceptions are extremely rare.

With the widespread use of technology many parents, and even few teachers, in case of few schools are letting technology seek total control. When this human involvement, both as guide and guardian reduces, the child assumes the role of the captain of his/her life. And given his/her tender age where he/she cannot arrive at conclusions independently he/she is forced to believe whatever he/she is doing is correct. Whereas, it is completely otherwise- This child is like a captain who knows the Titanic is steering towards a solid iceberg and yet orders to move forward at full speed. And the Titanic meets its ominous fate and sinks. We all know the rest!

It was due to this reason that a juvenile stabbed a minor several times and then left him to die. 

It was the lack of sensible and rational thinking along with overconfidence, that whatever he is doing is correct. And his overconfidence motivated him to act in this manner. Where he deprived a family, of someone very dear and irreplaceable. 

As far as his own family is concerned he has created an emotional vacuum of everlasting pain. Because he will be serving his due term in a juvenile correction centre and it will be a daily punishment, less for him and more for his parents.

But as a society it is a moment of reckoning, where we ought to think as parents, as responsible citizens and as grown up men and women, and try to think what went wrong and where did the parents fail? That their ward resorted to such a heinous and heartless act of crime. 

It is not about this incident alone, it is about the fast changing social value systems that are actually leading to such shameful incidents. And as a society it is time that we address this problem without considering the parents of this child as the subjects of a fantastic social science experiment. Because it is too late for that. It is time to act and tackle the real problem without pretending that everything is alright, when we know it is not.

I believe as humans advance technologically, it will offer humans a lot of power at various levels and in various forms, and it is important not to forget that with a lot of power comes a lot of responsibility. And according to me, I think many parents and teachers are not using this power correctly, and not at all wisely.

Now you must be already thinking who is this self praising, never heard of, lecturer of moral values and social changes. To be honest, I am nobody. But, that is what is fascinating about being nobody. When you are nobody, you have the potential to be anybody, and then once you realise your potential further, you become somebody. 

And I am happy that I am transitioning towards the realisation that I can be anybody. Just like a child in his/her formative years, where it is the responsibility of parents and then teachers, to make the child believe that he/she can be anybody. And trust me, when he/she grows up, he/she will not disappoint you, because he will be somebody. Now how you define this somebody, is upto you, and it varies from person to person.

My father often used to tell me, that whatever you do, be the best in it. If you are a tinker, make sure you are the best, if you are a scientist, try to be the best. I think he had read the famous poem “If” by late Mr. Rudyard Kipling.

If you can keep your head when all about you   

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,   

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;   

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,

Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,

And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;   

If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;   

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

And treat those two impostors just the same;   

If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breathe a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,   

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,   

Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,   

Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,   

And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Please note : It applies to daughters as well, and in 2023, it applies to them more! So I am taking the liberty of rephrasing the last line as follows:

“And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son, and my dearest daughter, you will shine brighter than the Sun!

So, allow me to complete this blog post, and then arrive at conclusions about me and my need to poke my nose in this matter, which I believe is the matter that concerns all citizens who think they matter, as far as the future of our country and our world is concerned. By writing this blog post, I have proven that I do care. Perhaps by reading this blog post and not being judgemental you will prove that you too care.

Anyway, coming back to the point.

So, am I blaming technology?

I will be damned if I am in any way. I am not. Technology is a great means for us to achieve our next level of evolution that has been long due. But, evolving too much too soon is a dangerous thing. Evolving to some extent, then studying its influences and effects in every possible way, then finding the ills it breeds and weeding them out, and working on achieving, if not absolute but almost absolute perfection should be the adopted methodology. Once that is achieved, attempting another level of evolution makes more sense. An overdose of steroids in any form is not good.

But most of us are using technology to achieve evolution that is on steroids. And when we come across such headlines in the newspapers, we are left shocked.

Here is what is happening, and to avoid being caught in any sort of controversy, I am referring to observations made in my own family.

The youngest one, who is hardly 12 years old, has an obsessive dependency on smartphones. ( Again smartphones are one of the greatest inventions and it has offered humans incredible power )  He watches a lot of short videos, and plays a lot of games online. 

Once I was sitting beside him and he was watching a video where the video was about, adding two things ( I am using “Things” on purpose because anybody can read this blog, and one ought to write responsibly ) together, then placing them on the tip of a stick. Then place the stick in water. After a few seconds the things will react with water and there will be a huge explosion. 

And with this message the video ends.

He looked at me and asked me if we could try it in the kitchen, and see how it blew off the sink.

For a moment I was speechless, I did not know what to say. It reminded me of my late father, who had tried something similar and he had lost his right hand.

So I told him that we should try something else. 

“Maybe you want to see a video on how to remove the old cache and dead data from your laptop. And we can then work on it to improve its data processing speed.”

But his instant response was, why not this one?

I again thought for a moment and this time I wanted to address his curiosity fully. I told him about his grandfather and how he used to manage his daily chores with his left hand. He had noticed him working with left hand, but given his very young age then, he did not seem to have observed much of a difference.

So, I told him, let us try an experiment. We both will tie our right hands against our waists and do everything with our left hands. At least for a few hours. He readily agreed, thinking it is going to be fun. 

At 4 pm he usually drinks tea and he likes his bread with some butter. He could easily lift the cup and place it next to his mouth, but when it came to applying butter on the bread, he struggled, but he managed somehow. 

Though I could see, he was already losing his patience.

Then the most wonderful thing happened. He got a call from his friend, who was waiting for him outside and wanted him to check his new bicycle. He rushed out, and then after a minute, he came running and requested me to untie the knot so that he could ride the bicycle. But before he left the room, he admitted, “I understand what you mean.” When he said that, I told him that if you try such an experiment at home or outside home, it can lead to an accident and you may have to bear its pain forever. ( I know chance is the master of accidents and accidents can happen anytime and with anybody. But seeing a ravaging bull if you advance towards the bull, we all know what is going to happen and who will receive maximum casualty.) 

This is why it is the responsibility of online content creators to add warning or messages of caution with their videos. If they are reading it, please do not read it as if you were reading a disclaimer notice that one gets to hear in Ads for share market related investments. They always say it in fast forward mode, because in the end they say, “investments are subject to market risks!” 

And when it comes to online video content, a child accepts it as  a truth without any second thought, because to him/her it is real, it is authentic, it has every attribute that offers itself as the substitute to his/her parents who are missing in action- Their parenting action in particular.

I believe the young one is subject to my absolute scrutiny today. Recently he was bored, so he was playing a game. A 2D video game to be exact. ( Again, video games can serve as great tools to improve the IQ and knowledge of students. I myself used to work on projects where we developed VR games for children. But that was some time ago. So I know they can be a great tool of learning. ) In this game the main character is supposed to steal a vintage car, and then give it to some notorious don, who in return will give this thief ( the main hero of the game ) a new sports car that he likes.

So far everything is alright ( only that a thief is a hero, and he is not even Robinhood ) He chases the owner of the car, and then traps him and his men in the parking area. The innocent owner is unwilling to let go of his vintage car, and to possess it, the thief ( hero ) kills the owner, and then he kills around 18 men who were trying to protect the owner of the vintage car. And as he gets into the car and drives it, he crushes the dead bodies that lay there on the ground.

When I looked at the emotions in the face of the young one, he was now sitting in scots and almost on his toes. Then, as he drove the car and delivered it to the don, his reaction in our local dialect was, “Aellei!” Meaning Wow!

At this moment, adrenalin must have flooded every part of his body, because he felt extremely excited and his face was filled with a smile that represented his gesture of appreciation towards the thief, his role model and hero. Who, for the sake of a car, killed more than 18 people and then drove it over their dead bodies. And this Video game was in 2D, so the images and scenes were real life like.

The young ones mind would now memorise this scene and believe that it is so in real life too, and killing 18 people for one car is not a big deal. No wonder when his father is driving the car in real life he urges him to speed it beyond 150 Kms per hour, which he sometimes does to oblige him. So, it is already doing something to him. And as he is exposed to more videos with similar content, when he grows up, I am sure, he will have a conscience that will permit him a lot of things that actually should not be permitted.

And this is why I feel publishers of these game centric video content should always use a warning message in the end, and at least spend a few minutes to tell their audience that these games are played in artificial settings and nothing is real. And stunts, experiments or any content that involves risk, should be tried, if at all tried in real life, under the supervision of an adult.

Recently, I was reading news on BBC where they were covering the wildfire in Hawaii, and in one of the videos, where nobody had died or there was no crime scene, but there were people running and trying to escape from the wild fire that was almost chasing them. BBC did take the time to mention this message in the footer of the video:

“Disturbing scenes. Please watch under your own discretion or if you are below 16 years, please watch this video under someone's supervision.”

Now that is responsible journalism and responsible video posting.

And when I read the headline about a minor stabbing another minor to death, just in fit of anger. I thought about all these incidents and how technology must have created a similar impression in his mind, that he considered stabbing someone with a knife, not to be a big deal at all.

But today, I am sure, when he is experiencing the penalty for the crime in reality, he would be able to tell the difference between real and artificial. Unfortunately it is too late. Because someone is gone forever, and some faces in the crowd will remind his parents of the lost one. 

When they see him, the boy who stabbed their son. I hope they too will not act in fit of anger and take an impulsive decision. Being adults, their reasons to justify the act, might be the love of their lost one, and a way to settle scores in reality. But, just like Christianity, Islam too does not allow tooth for tooth policy.

This incident is a social awakening for all of us, to spend more time with children and offer them the guidance they need from the human parents and not from mechanical and intelligent gadgets.

For technology companies, it is time to invest in technologies, especially smartphones and games that are specially developed for children. Wherein there will be inbuilt features and checks that will automatically block any content that is not viable for a 15 year old child and below. 

Let us take a simple example:

A child who is 12 years old, visits Google and enters the phrase “Communal hate.”

( Here let me add something, Communal Hate, surfaces in newspapers very often and children read it. News papers also show disturbing images. And there are books like Lolita that are not meant for someone who is 10 years old. Because it will confuse him/her. This is where parents and teachers come into the picture. Recently a library at a school, revamped its library and it created sections in the library. Where books like Lolita, magazines like PlayBoy, cannot be accessed by students who are 6 years old and so on. Smart decision. So, when it comes to children parental guidance and guidance from teachers is necessary.)

When he/she types this as a key phrase in Google or any search engine, via the phone, specifically designed for children, Google would know that it is dealing with a young child. By applying search based classification stacks, it will only push relevant content to this child e.g.

Communal  : Meaning of the word according to Oxford dictionary

Hate : Meaning of the word according to Oxford dictionary

For the phrase “Communal Hate” it should show a few articles, where the content is actually meant for a 12 year old’s IQ. While making sure, that it omits all information related to this phrase that will make the child believe in communal hatred as necessary evil. 

Instead it should include content, that says:

• Communal hate is not good. Here is how we can avoid it

• Here are indicators of communal hate

• Here is how to get rid of communal hate

• Why is communal hate bad

• Why should the world work towards getting rid of communal hate

• Countries that are world leaders in technology because there is no communal hate

• Countries with highest GDP and higher standard of living because there is no communal hate

And if there is a recent incident about communal hate in that region from where the search originated. In the current scenario of the search, it will always fetch this news and present it to the user. Now can you imagine what impact it will have on a 12 year old child who sees scenes of merciless killing, men and women killed, blood spilled everywhere? It certainly will not add a positive thought. Certainly not.

But via these smart phones designed for children, the search engine can automatically block this information.

But this also means Search Engines need to be smarter too. And online, anyone can say I am 20 years old. Even a kid can do that. So How can search be smart?

Well, in this case, I believe children centric smartphones is an easy solution for dividing the search engines into two categories:

1- General search engines for adults and 

2- Search engines for children. 

And when a family buys a computer for a child, they insert the physical IP of the machine, network and other details that cannot be changed because they are machine specific. When Google receives this input/information it will never allow the use of General Google Search on this machine/device.

If we want to take it a little further we can be more advanced.

In future it will be good to develop computers that come with a unique number, if the number changes in any application that needs to authenticate it prior to launching the app ( the authentication takes place in the background once entered by parents or teachers ) 

If the number does not match the app will not launch. And when the app launches after validating this unique number, it recognises it as a validation token, to launch the child mode version of the app. Simple solution!

Also, computers and smartphones can come with inbuilt partitions at C drive level, where one of the partitions is reserved for children and one for parents. But there are few parents who act callously. So what happens when a parent unlocks the phone/machine and offers it to the child to access. There should be a screen that reads:

1- Access for ADULTS

2- Access for your child

Once they authenticate it, the child and an adult too can use the phone/computer.

Here using words like ADULT, is important because it will always remind the parents and warn them subconsciously that they should only let their children access non adult content. The word ADULT acts as a psychological deterrent for parents and grown up family members. ( Dealing with a regular and remorseless offender is a different technology all together )  And by using words like “your child” it fills the parent’s heart with love and reminds him/her of his/her child. And I am sure, in 60% cases parents will act more responsibly. About the remaining 40%, the word ADULT will keep reminding them to at least act responsibly someday. 

But there will always be a few who do not wish to learn. For them blaming the technology is always the easiest way out. Whereas, they should learn to know their scope of responsibility too and stop blaming technology always.

As for the gaming industry, I wonder if they are using social and psychological studies that prompts them to develop games with violence. Perhaps they think, based on their research; that violence sells. 

But that is not true, love sells more than violence.

So, imagine a game about, let us say, mathematics for a class 5 student.

It is based on rewards and its playground is a jungle where there are wild animals. 

If you spell the name of the wild animal that you encounter you move ahead and there are stages where many of them are chasing you now. You have to recall how many were there in the last stage, and then subtract it from the ones in the current scene, while you are escaping, and if you add the correct value you reach a higher level. So on .........

The kid will learn his/her entire mathematics chapter in a fun way and parents as well as teachers will approve of it. Plus, the child will get to know so many new facts. Gaming industry has so much scope.

Imagine a game based on the knowledge of chemistry, for a graduate student pursuing chemistry. In the game he/she is on Mars and his mission is to terraform Mars based on his knowledge. Ah it can be endless and very interesting. 

It does not have to be a boring curriculum related gaming experience always. I believe nothing appeals like true love. So what about a game based on Romeo and Juliet?

But for some reason, we are hell bent on selling and promoting violence, where to get one car, you are allowed to kill 18 people. Really, what are you thinking sir! It hurts when a bee stings. And here you are validating murder of 18 people for one car. Just a car. Please do some soul searching!

And with technology taking over, there are many students who challenge the knowledge and experience of teachers. Just because he/she read something online or he/she watched a video that says, “Blood sugar levels rise when you eat anything sweet.” But nowhere does it mention that it is peptides that are responsible for controlling insulin levels. Your teacher knows that, but someone who just made a video in rush, has no clue about it. And in such situations, teachers sometimes are left clueless, because to the subject matter expert who knows a lot about his/her subject, a fool may ask questions to which the teacher has no answer. But that does not mean the subject matter expert does not know anything, it just means one thing, that a fool can ask anything, anytime, that is not even related with the subject.

Please do not forget that in our country a teacher is not just a teacher. Teachers in India are referred to as “Guru Dev and Guru Ma.” Please show them the respect they deserve. And it applies to the global community of students.

While writing this blog post, I thought about crimes and crime rates in the past when smart technology that we have access to today, did not exist. Crimes did take place back then as well and criminals existed then too. But with access to such advanced technology should not the crime rate be null or very low? But it is not so. This is why, it makes it necessary for all of us to think and find out where we are incorrectly or unnecessarily applying the technology, because smart technology is the only means through which we can achieve the goal of low crime rate. As far as ZERO crime rate is concerned, I think that is a distant dream still, but not an impossible dream. 

But when we have achieved this milestone as well, then the definition of crime will evolve too and we will be dealing with a different situation. It is an endless loop. As is correctly depicted in the movie, Minority Report. Crime will always exist, it is like head and tail and negative and positive. 

Nevertheless, as long as we manage to cull the crimes of this nature, where a minor stabs another minor to death. We shall succeed as a civilisation that has achieved a collective sense of self awareness with a heightened sense of self restraint.

It is with this hope, and with this belief that I wrote my science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075, where I have gravitated the attention towards a very important topic like evolution of human emotions, feelings and human relationships. When humans will be surrounded by highly intelligent machines. And all this is explained via a gripping science fiction romance story. 

Where through a love story I have tried to explain how humans will experience love in 2075? This science fiction novel navigates through the possibility of men and women falling in love with machines, without knowing they are robots imitating human emotions. Will you still dare to fall in love in 2075 or will you strive to tell the difference between a human lover and a robotic lover?

This Sci-fi novel tells the story of a man who falls in love with a real woman in 2075. And how he struggles to feel human and keep his emotional composition intact.

This Sci-fi story also aims at revealing why the man chose to love a real woman and not a never aging and always beautiful woman with synthetic feelings. In 2075, this might be a choice we all will have to make. Especially our children!

Let me also admit that this blog post is my tribute to the young boy who lost his life and I wish him a  Heavenward journey with nothing to bother him anymore, with endless joy to be his companion hereafter. 

As for the boy who will be sent to juvenile correction centre or otherwise, depending upon the quantum of punishment deemed fit by the legal system. I wish him moments of self realisation and peaceful nights, with no nightmares about the boy whom he stabbed. And I hope he gets a second chance and when he does, he proves that humans are not like a hardcoded machine that will always do what it is programmed to do. And prove that human mind is the most wonderful and sophisticated code, that if at one instance generated the output of  an insensitive and remorseless person, will learn, adapt and generate the output of a sensitive and self realised person, who regrets his past actions and is willing to be a part of the society as a responsible human being. And there is no denying that it can be made possible only by means of proper training and exposure to the right teachers and guides. As for the parents of both boys, I wish them strength and ability to forgive, if not forget!

Though I know, not a moment shall pass for the parents of the deceased boy, when they will not miss him, feel wounded emotionally everyday as long as they live. It shall be the most difficult part; and sometimes for a few people, it can be too much to bear emotionally. Because eventually it translates into the end of their dreams, their lives; and their ability to love or feel loved. It is a much deeper and sensitive topic and for now I shall let it be. Because sometimes time does not heal anything, forget about everything, it only reminds you of everything, and it only gets more intense with every passing moment, until the person dreams no more and hopes no more- A death, a murder of a different kind!

And maybe, the science fiction novel, They Loved in 2075, bears answers to this intriguingly perplexing feeling of human lives. Maybe it does or maybe it doesn't, because it shall depend upon how you read it and what you want to feel!