Joesph Weizenbaum,
... the author of Computer Power and Human Reason, makes a convincing observation about the tools humans have developed which have lead to the formation of the society we live in today. We would be without technology if it wasn’t for the first simple tools that were discovered by cave men to aid in hunting and self defense. These tools helped humans to enhance their own natural abilities. Ever since, humans have been better developing and inventing tools to improve our daily lives. Weizenbaum makes an important distinction between the tools that humans have developed. The first is the “prosthetic” tool, which like the rocks and spears the cavemen used, is an extension of our physical ability. Another, more modern example of this kind of tool is the telephone. By using a telephone, we can project our voices across vast distances without sending a letter or by physically traveling to that area and relaying our message directly to the person. This prosthetic tool allows us to speak to anyone, anywhere in the world. The activity that we are carrying out has not been altered, however we are able to stay in contact with anyone who is at the other end of a telephone wire. The second distinction is labeled by Weizenbaum as an autonomous tool, or a tool that once started, will continue to operate independently and will ever change our perspective of the world. Professor Jean Givens at the University of Connecticut more clearly labels this tool a “conceptual” tool which infers a more mental application. The only example that Wiezenbaum offers for this conceptual tool is the clock. “The clock is clear...