162 years ago, a British writer, philosopher, and versatile thinker Samuel Butler predicted a future in which cars can gain consciousness and surpass a person. In his letter published on June 13, 1863, in the New Zealand newspaper The Press under the pseudonym “Cellaria”, Butler asked fundamental questions about the place of man in the world of technology.
A letter called Darwin among cars has become a harbinger of many modern discussions about artificial intelligence and automation. It combines the theory of Darwin’s evolution with reflections on the development of technology. Butler wrote:
“The day after day of the car is gaining strength; day after day we become their servants; more and more people devote all our lives to their development and maintenance.”
“We ourselves create our successors, daily improving their physical organization, endowing them with the ability to self-regulation, which will become for them the same as the intellect is for the human race.”
Despite the warnings, Butler did not consider the future of cars a threat. He suggested that people, like domesticated animals, would find a new form of coexistence with cars. He wrote:
“Machines will take care of us how we care about horses, dogs, and livestock. They will provide us with all the best that we need, and their well-being will depend on our existence.”
Samuel Butler (1835-1902) – the figure of the Victorian era, whose interests covered literature, philosophy, music, fine art, and even photography. He became famous for his satirical novel Erewhon (1872), where he described a world that refused technology because of fear of their possible dominance. This novel was a kind of continuation of the ideas expressed in the letter from Darwin among cars.
Butler lived in New Zealand during the period of active colonization. His interest in Darwin’s theory was reflected not only in his letters but also in philosophical treatises. For example, he opposed orthodox religious views on evolution, supporting the idea that the mechanisms of natural selection can be applied to the world of technology.
Butler’s letter, written more than a hundred years before the appearance of the Internet, personal computers, and artificial intelligence, has become a prophecy. His ideas that machines can gain independence sound especially relevant in the era of the rapid development of technology. Modern studies in the field of AI, the concept of technological singularity, and issues of machine intelligence ethics directly echo his thoughts.
Today, Butler is recognized not only as a writer but