The Spirituality of Awe: Challenges to the Robotic Revolution (Revised Edition)

While some pieces of technology do serve some good purposes, the bulk of the issue discussed in this book is that the millennial generation, and even the older generations along with them, are missing out on a well-rounded life or experiencing “depth” in their lives. The Spirituality of Awe: Challenges to the Robotic Revolution by Dr. Kirk Schneider, focuses on the idea of how robotic technology has started to take over our daily lives and is causing many of us to, consciously or not, become antisocial and miss out on the knowledge of social etiquette that can only be attained through social interactions among peers or acquaintances. A term known as “transhumanism,” or the act of robotics mixing with our human lives, is discussed in detail. With the newest technology, humans are, in a sense, trying to play God and be fully self-reliant; the thing is, though, people will not be completely reliant on themselves, but to the technology that is actually able to do the jobs and make the products instead of humans.

We humans are tolerant, and even inviting, of robots and the advanced technology they offer, because they cause our daily lives to run smoother. Science-fiction authors are a group of people who have been able to foretell the issues that can arise, such as Mary Shelley with her novel, Frankenstein. Dr. Schneider stresses the paradoxes in our personal lives and how, through these and other ways of living our lives, we are able to keep the “awe” in our lives and not succumb to the robotic revolution that is sure to take over in only a matter of time.

Dr. Schneider did an excellent job of writing The Spirituality of Awe by including both many fact-based pages along with many pages from personal experience and how those experiences helped promote the points he was making. In one chapter in which he had a conversation with a friend, the idea of “choice” was discussed; the choice that we humans have to allow robotics into our lives and the kind of impact they could have. At the end of the book, it is mentioned that we really don’t know for sure which way that robotics will affect or impact our lives, it could be negative or positive, but we as individuals need to decide if we would rather risk this or be happy with the work it takes to get to the different points in our lives and be okay with working towards progress instead of taking a drug to keep us from knowing how to deal with our issues. I would recommend this book for anyone who has an interest in how robotics can affect many areas of our lives, such as religion, government, military, etc.