Lesson Report:
Title
Dystopia vs. Singularity: Technology’s Futures in Huxley and Kurzweil
In this session, students analyzed contrasting visions of technology’s impact on society and the body by close-reading excerpts from Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World and Ray Kurzweil’s writings on nanotechnology. Through guided reading, discussion, and a dialogic writing task, the class examined how technology can be framed as a tool for stability and control versus a means of medical enhancement and life extension.
Attendance
– Number of students mentioned absent: 0 (attendance sheet circulated; no absences noted)
Topics Covered
1) Welcome and Week-at-a-Glance
– Instructor set expectations for the day and the week.
– Writing deliverables:
– Essays: Instructor halfway through feedback; will finish reading during lunch; in-class work session after lunch; final deadline tomorrow (students can do last touches during the first session tomorrow).
– Portfolios: Introduced as the final program assignment to be developed later this week alongside lighter activities and games.
2) Warm-Up: Private Free Write (3–4 minutes)
– Prompt: Write about anything on your mind; if stuck, write about one thing that surprised you over the weekend.
– One-minute wrap-up before transitioning.
3) Housekeeping Note
– Russian placement exams to take place in this classroom (as per program scheduling).
4) Framing the Unit: Technology and the Future
– Shift from personal/community futures (last week) to a broader societal view focused on technology’s role.
– Two anchor texts for comparative analysis:
– Aldous Huxley, Brave New World (dystopian social control through biotech and conditioning).
– Ray Kurzweil, selections from The Singularity (optimistic vision of nanotechnology and human enhancement).
5) Close Reading I: Brave New World (Reader p. 133, right column)
– Popcorn reading starting from “Process is one of the major instruments of social stability.â€�
– Focus question: How does Huxley conceptualize technology’s role in society?
– Key concept: The Bokanovsky Process
– Student inference: Creates “identical people.â€�
– Instructor unpacking: Mass production of near-identical humans (e.g., “ninety-six identical twins working ninety-six identical machinesâ€�) to achieve efficiency and “social stability.â€�
– Framing: Policies are presented as pro-stability and pro-economy rather than explicitly authoritarian.
6) Close Reading II: Brave New World (Reader p. 141, right column; “Patiently the DHC explained…�)
– Popcorn reading of the DHC’s explanation of conditioning.
– Core passage analysis:
– Initial conditioning: Lower castes taught to love flowers/nature to “consume transportâ€� (i.e., spend money on travel).
– Problem identified: Nature is “gratuitousâ€� and unbounded; time in nature doesn’t drive ongoing consumption or factory output.
– Policy shift: Condition hatred of nature but love of “country sportsâ€� to maintain transport use and drive purchases (equipment, tickets), in time-bounded ways that return people to work.
– Vocabulary/economic literacy: “Consumeâ€� = spend/purchase (consumers), not literal eating.
7) Pair Work: Interpreting Huxley’s View
– Task: With a partner, revisit the two BNW excerpts (pp. 133 and 141).
– Guiding question: What is Huxley suggesting about technology and its societal future?
– Expected takeaways:
– Technology as an instrument of large-scale social engineering framed as stability/economic efficiency.
– Biologically and psychologically conditioned castes (e.g., Gammas, Epsilons) to meet predetermined labor needs.
– Ethical concern: Loss of autonomy, homogenization, and manipulation masked as public good.
8) Whole-Class Debrief: BNW Concepts
– Bokanovsky limits: If it could be applied “indefinitelyâ€� the “problemâ€� of instability would be “solvedâ€� (acknowledging technical constraints).
– Economic conditioning case study: Countryside/transport example reinforces theme of engineered preferences to serve macroeconomic goals.
9) Reflection Pairs: Fear vs. Hope
– Task:
– Identify one disturbing element in Huxley’s vision (e.g., engineered desires, class stratification, autonomy loss).
– Identify one current or near-future technology you are genuinely excited about (e.g., medical AI, assistive prosthetics, clean energy innovation).
10) Close Reading III: Kurzweil—Nanotechnology Overview (Reader p. 147, right column)
– Instructor read-aloud from “Nanobots in the bloodstream.â€�
– Key claims:
– Nanotechnology as “ultimate toy boxâ€� of atoms/molecules.
– Nanomedical interventions to arrest biological aging; decouple calendar age from biological age; potential 10x lifespan extension, pending risks.
– Envisioned maintenance model: periodic “checkups/cleanoutsâ€� to reset biological age.
– Text rendering activity: Each student selected one word that felt most futuristic/significant (e.g., “biological,â€� “patient,â€� “longer,â€� “aging,â€� “medicalâ€�), to foreground thematic vocabulary.
11) Close Reading IV: Kurzweil—Dialogue (Reader pp. 149–150, Molly and Ray)
– Two readers performed the dialogue.
– Topics covered:
– Nanobots as programmable, networked agents that can destroy pathogens (bacteria, viruses, cancer cells) and perform targeted repairs not limited by natural immune system constraints.
– Software control and safety: Parallels to mission-critical systems (ICUs, 911, nuclear plants, aviation, guided missiles); reliance on evolving security (VPNs, firewalls); acknowledgment that defenses are imperfect but benefits outweigh risks.
– Risk horizon: Software viruses and self-replicating nanotech are serious dangers requiring robust integrity and containment.
– Anti-aging toolkit:
– Biotechnology: RNA interference (gene silencing), gene therapy, therapeutic cloning for tissue regeneration, smart drugs to reprogram metabolic pathways.
– Nanotechnology: Bloodstream-traveling nanobots repairing membranes, correcting DNA errors, reversing atherosclerosis, modulating hormones/neurotransmitters, toxin removal—down to cellular/molecular levels.
12) Concept Clarification: What Are Nanobots?
– Student responses synthesized:
– Microscopic robots (blood cell scale) introduced into the bloodstream.
– Centrally managed via software; configurable to detect/target specific biological problems; can be turned on/off or reprogrammed.
– Function as a “robotic immune systemâ€� with precision intervention capabilities; promise of extended healthspan/lifespan.
13) Main Writing Activity (Begun; to be completed next session)
– Group formation: Groups of 4–6 formed in-place for minimal movement.
– Task: Compose a one-page dialogue between Aldous Huxley and Ray Kurzweil on the promises and perils of future technology.
– Structure: 8 total exchanges (4 lines per author).
– Aim: Write in the authors’ voices, integrating evidence from BNW excerpts and Kurzweil’s nanotech arguments.
– Deliverable: Draft started now; finish at the start of the next session.
Actionable Items
Urgent (Before/By Tomorrow)
– Complete essay feedback during lunch today (instructor).
– After-lunch session: In-class paper revision time.
– Finalize and submit essays by tomorrow; last-touch edits during the first session tomorrow.
– Resume and finish the Huxley–Kurzweil dialogue activity at the start of the next session; collect for review.
This Week
– Portfolio project: Provide guidelines, samples, and a work schedule; allocate in-class time later in the week.
– Plan and communicate the schedule for “fun games and activitiesâ€� that align with course themes (technology, futures, ethics).
Logistics/Coordination
– Russian placement exams: Confirm timetable and room usage for this classroom; ensure no conflict with planned class activities.
– Attendance: Verify the circulated sheet is complete; follow up on any missing signatures.
Homework Instructions:
NO HOMEWORK
The instructor specified that papers would be worked on after lunch with a deadline tomorrow but with “you guys can put the last touches on them during our first session,� and the Huxley–Kurzweil dialogue would “finish it during the beginning of our next session,� indicating all work was to be completed in class rather than assigned as homework.