How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
Quote #7
HAL: Let me put it this way, Mr. Amer. The 9000 Series is the most reliable computer ever made. No 9000 computer has ever made a mistake or distorted information. We are all, by any practical definition of the words, foolproof and incapable of error.
Can humanity invent a technology that's superior to itself? Can our technology outpace us in the evolutionary struggle? The science fiction genre has been toying with it for years, not to mention real geniuses like Elon Musk and Stephen Hawking.
Quote #8
POOLE: I don't think we'd have any alternatives. There's not a single aspect of ship operations that isn't under his control. If he were proven to be malfunctioning, I don't see any choice but disconnection.
BOWMAN: I'm afraid I agree with you.
POOLE: There'd be nothing else to do.
BOWMAN: It'd be tricky.
POOLE: Yeah.
BOWMAN: We'd have to cut his higher brain functions without disturbing the purely automatic and regulatory systems. And we'd have to work out the transfer procedures of continuing the mission under ground-based computer control.
This exchange between Bowman and Poole shows just how reliant people are upon our tools. If HAL is malfunctioning and continues to run things, they're in trouble. If HAL is cut off from the ship's systems, things will be dicey for the rest of the trip. Either way, their dependence on technology is clear.
Quote #9
HAL: Dave. My mind is going. I can feel it. I can feel it. My mind is going. There is no question about it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I can feel it. I'm…afraid.
In the survival of the fittest, humanity's come out on top this time. Which leads us to an interesting what-if question: What if HAL, not Bowman, had reached the Star Gate? Would our extraterrestrial mentors have taken it to the next stage of evolution? What on earth would that have looked like?