Glimpse of the Future

The tourist map showed a museum nearby called the Museum of Emerging Scientific Technology. When one walks into the building he sees a huge 3-storey globe of the earth that shows in real time such things as weather, seismic activity, sea temperature, precipitation and internet activity.

Other exhibits in the museum display cutting edge scientific discoveries. For example, some dealt with computer science, some with artificial intelligence, others with robotics, and some dealt with emerging medical technology.

One display dealt with iSP cells. Every person has these cells in their blood. They can be processed so that they transform into other types of cells. In the near future persons with kidney disease could contribute a blood sample that could be processed to create a clone of their own kidneys inside a pig. The kidney, which would be genetically and chemically the patient’s own, could be taken from the pig and transplanted back into the patient. The risk of rejection would be far less than that for a kidney donated by another human.

Some of the museum’s displays ended by raising certain ethical questions such as, “Who owns the kidney, the patient or the pig?” or, “Is it ethical to kill a pig to cure a disease a human contracted by his lifestyle choices?” In the display about AI and robotics ethicists ask about the difference between humans and robots. What moral questions emerge when you have a robot that acts, thinks, and responds as a human? What are the ethical issues when the line between human and robot begin to blur?

The Japanese people are so polite. As we left the museum the guards bowed and (in English) thanked us for coming. When we re-entered the cruise terminal a very kind Japanese immigration official held up her cell phone and her Google translator asked, “Did you have a good time in Tokyo today?” Her cell phone recorded my answer, “Yes, we had a very good time.” Again Google translator asked, “Where did you visit today?” I said, “The Museum of Emerging Scientific Technology.” Once again, her cell phone asked me, “Did you enjoy your visit?” I answered “Yes, very much.” The immigration guard bowed said, “Thank you,” and pointed me to our ship. I returned the bow astounded at the kindness and the cleanliness of this city.Read more