אדריכלות ישראלית

2019

מאי

117

אדריכלות ישראלית

בין רחפנים ומרחפים

Today it is clear that the speculative

literature known as science fiction –

as opposed to fantasy – has been a

motivating force in everything related

to scientific development, such as the

invention of robots, space exploration,

research of the past, the future, brain

research, behavioral research, and the

research of a vision that has successfully

manifested in IMac, I-Digital, IPhone, and,

lately, I-Parcel, becoming an integral part

of our daily routine.

Since the world operates in three arenas

– safety, security, and control, one must

assume that the most difficult problem

constitutes limiting the freedomof aproduct

whose greatest advantage is (ostensibly)

freedom of movement, yet, its greatest

danger is loss of control over aerial space,

and, as a result, over sovereignty, privacy,

and spatial organization - traditionally the

role of architecture.

Hence, the threats to architecture’s ability

to provide privacy (its very essence)

were the aircraft developed at the end

of the nineteenth century (1887), first via

balloonsmade of flexiblematerials (rubber,

paper, etc.) and, at the beginning of the

twentieth century, with hard materials

like that of the Zeppelin developed

by Count Friedrich von Zeppelin in

Friedrichshafen (Germany), based on the

earlier development of Jewish inventor

(naturally), David Schwartz.

By the way, in Purim, of 1929, the German

Graf-Zeppelin flew over Tel Aviv without

any interference, to the sound of cheering

from those celebrating below, with some

of its Jewish passengers reading Psalms

and throwing down messages to the

audience. And if this is not enough, two

years later, another Zeppelin flew over

Jerusalem, a routine matter then, but one

that today would be perceived as the end

of the world.

Quadcopter developers today strive to

manage and coordinate all urban systems

via an algorithm – a new pen name for

artificial intelligence openly or covertly

controlled by Big Brother. And to make the

picture more attractive and user friendly,

they add robots that walk in an amusing

way, climb the steps, and knock on the

door to deliver flowers or pizza.

And this isn’t new either. Science fiction

has dealt with robots for centuries, and

even set rules to limit their ability. Famous

among these was the book "Three Laws

of Robotics" published in 1950 by science

fiction writer, Isaac Asimov under the title

"I, Robot". The first law states that Robots

must not injure human beings; the second

– a Robot must always obey human

instructions, unless they contradict the

first law; and the third – a Robot must

protect its existence, unless it conflicts

with the first and second law.

To return to the subject of being able

to convey oneself from one place to

another by clicking SEND – theories

developed since the 1980’s have tried to

explain the correlation between Quantum

Physics and Einstein’s "General Theory

of Relativity" based on Plato’s theory

whereby the material world is merely a

reflection of the world of ideas. The idea

is that every particle of the real world is

represented simultaneously in several

places, like sound waves that represent

a vibrating chord. The importance of all

these ideas is that one can think "outside

the box" while remaining inside the box -

that is - within the same paradigm.

The main problemwith all these inventions

is that they contradict Asimov’s third law,

it will sooner or later be impossible to

control them. And the story about a single

quadcopter that paralyzed London’s

International Airport for two days, speaks

for itself.

A no less fictitious field is that of "artificial

intelligence" (AI#77) which is starting to

jeopardize human ethics. Various high-

tech entrepreneurs are attempting to

compare the digital brain with human

intelligence, producing "fake news" and

fake profiles used by decision-makers.

However, thank God, Man still holds

the keys and all he has to do in order to

prevent a situation whereby "a computer

suddenly gets up one morning, decides

it’s a nation, and starts walking…" is pull

out the plug. After all, robots can tell jokes,

but they can’t understand them.

The correlation between knowledge

and control is traditionally based on the

relationships between decision-makers

and decision implementers: officers and

soldiers; doctors and nurses; architects

and technicians; Cohens and Gabais;

Priests and choirboys; and Rabbis who

control believers through the secrets of

the heavenly world and commandments

they impose on the nation.

In recent decades, the Cyber World has

entered the arena, shortening the way to

the world of knowledge, narrowing the gap

between hackers and (sucker) computer

users.

Australia has recently allowed the use

of quadcopters for food deliveries. It

isn't difficult to imagine the results of the

experiment, when one company attempts

to disrupt communication with competing

companies, and the basket of products

falls on the neighbor's lawn.

Whether hackers or suckers, we shall

continue to fantasize about a world in

which there are no traffic jams, when

the State concludes that it is far cheaper

to finance free public transport than

spend billions on wasted work hours,

fuel that pollutes the air and, primarily,

road accidents that essentially reduce

the population, while significantly raising

insurance premiums.