On Oct.25, Su Dechao, Professor of the School of Philosophy of Wuhan University, delivered a lecture entitled "Technical logic and humanistic bottom line" in the School of Computer Science. In his lecture, Professor Su mainly discussed how to balance the relationship between technology and humanity.
“We should arouse students’ interest in Philosophy and lead them to the beauty of the true Philosophy.” Professor Su said. And that is also what he did. Proficient in European religious culture, Professor Su is adept in associating the obscure philosophical knowledge with interesting campus life, which brings him increasing popularity among students.
As usual, the classroom was packed with students who were waiting for his lecture an hour in advance, especially for this one with intriguing topic. In recent years, the huge advance of technology has amazed many youngsters, but at the same time they are also concerned if the extensive use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) will generate negative effects. Therefore, they were expecting Professor Su's inspiring opinion.
Under no circumstance can we deny the fact that our life is intertwined with the technology. With a brief but powerful view, Professor Su began this feast of thoughts.
As Professor Su said, when talking about technology, we have to admit that the history of human development is consistent with the history of technology development. Under this premise, Professor Su introduced the causal relationship to students that the demand of life promotes the demand of technology, which further promotes the development of science. Additionally, Professor Su also explained the purpose of technology: to replace old things and improve efficiency.
Then, Professor Su focused on the core controversial topics as to where the boundary of technology and the bottom line of humanity lie on. With some vivid examples like writing papers, doing experiments and taking trains, he clarified his opinion that in the field of emotional experience, technology cannot replace humanity. Whats more, he reckoned that humanity has its own intrinsic meaning, which is an important part of human constitution. Therefore, only when the technical logic holds the bottom line can the society be safe.
In recent years, society has become more and more focused on competence rather than personality. Professor Su criticized that the evolution of technology had made people neglect the humanistic education. That is to say, to some extent, technology is changing our purposes, changing ourselves.He also mentioned that worse still was that theres no way we can make sure that technology would not abandon us.
The lecture culminated in when Professor Su led the topic to how to balance the relationship between technology logic and the bottom line of humanity. He said we should attach more attention to the humanistic education and avoid weakening the boundary between reality and fantasy.
In the end, Professor Su patiently answered questions raised by students and responded with his unique insights. The lecture drew to the end with huge applause and great appreciation.
Edited by Wan Qian, Li Yushan & Hu Sijia
