Alas, Babylon, a post-apocalyptic novel written by Pat Frank, portrays the terrors of nuclear war and the consequential collapse of social order. It is a cautionary tale for the modern world, and a potential threat to civilization, as the book suggests, is the advancement of technology. When I read Alas, Babylon, I could sincerely relate to the fear of emerging technologies, for the capacity to inflict colossal damage to humankind is all too possible in our precarious times. Today, there is a constant craving for the “next big thing” in the technology industry. New innovations are the thrill for our gadget-obsessed culture of consumers. Our generation is accustomed to and defined by technology; undoubtedly, science can transform lives and take humankind where no one has gone before. However, in …show more content…
Society has the ability to utilize technology for harm, instead of good. Nanotechnology, artificial general intelligence, and biotechnology harbor risks, and if used for malevolent intentions, they could spark wide-scale destruction. Alas, Babylon illustrates the impact of a nuclear attack. Although the devastation was exemplified for the population during the period of the Cold War in the 1950’s, atomic missiles remains an incredible threat to our civilization today. Nuclear weapons are deadly enough to annihilate entire countries in a matter of seconds; the receiving end would not have a substantial amount of time to act: “Furthermore, nobody in the Western Hemisphere ever saw the face of a human enemy. Very few actually saw an enemy aircraft or submarine, and missiles appeared only on the most sensitive radar screens. Most of those who died in North