“The danger of computers becoming like humans is not as great as the danger of humans becoming like computers.”

— Konrad Zuse

Die Gefahr, dass der Computer so wird wie der Mensch, ist nicht so groß wie die Gefahr, dass der Mensch so wird wie der Computer.
Attributed in: Hersfelder Zeitung. Nr. 212, 12. September 2005.

Adopted from Wikiquote. Last update Nov. 5, 2025. History

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Konrad Zuse3

German computer scientist and engineer 1910–1995

Sydney J. Harris (1917–1986) American journalist

“The ability to interact with a computer presence like you would a human assistant is becoming increasingly feasible.”

Vint Cerf (1943) American computer scientist

Source: "Your Life: Vinton Cerf" (2016), p. 30

“In the past there were many things only humans could do. But now robots and computers are catching up, and may soon outperform humans in most tasks. True, computers function very differently from humans, and it seems unlikely that computers will become humanlike any time soon. In particular, it doesn’t seem that computers are about to gain consciousness and start experiencing emotions and sensations. Over the past half century there has been an immense advance in computer intelligence, but there has been exactly zero advance in computer consciousness. As far as we know, computers in 2016 are no more conscious than their prototypes in the 1950s. However, we are on the brink of a momentous revolution. Humans are in danger of losing their economic value because intelligence is decoupling from consciousness.”

Yuval Noah Harari book Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

Homo Deus: A Brief History of Tomorrow

“That was the danger Samuel Butler jestingly prophesied in Erewhon, the danger that the human being might become a means whereby the machine perpetuated itself and extended its dominion.”

Lewis Mumford book Technics and Civilization

Source: Technics and Civilization (1934), Ch. 6, sct. 9

“Old robots are becoming more human and young humans are becoming more like robots.”

Lorin Morgan-Richards (1975) American poet, cartoonist, and children's writer

Excerpt from the book The Goodbye Family Unveiled (2017) by Lorin Morgan-Richards.

“We're rapidly creating an extraordinary silicon-based petri dish for evolution of intelligence. By the year 2025… we're likely to have computers whose raw processing power exceeds that of the human brain. Also, we're likely to have more computers than people…”

J. Doyne Farmer (1952) American physicist and entrepreneur (b.1952)

The Third Culture: Beyond the Scientific Revolution (1995)

“Instruction tables will have to be made up by mathematicians with computing experience and perhaps a certain puzzle-solving ability. There need be no real danger of it ever becoming a drudge, for any processes that are quite mechanical may be turned over to the machine itself.”

Alan Turing (1912–1954) British mathematician, logician, cryptanalyst, and computer scientist

"Proposed Electronic Calculator" (1946), a report for National Physical Laboratory, Teddington; published in A. M. Turing's ACE Report of 1946 and Other Papers (1986), edited by B. E. Carpenter and R. W. Doran, and in The Collected Works of A. M. Turing (1992), edited by D. C. Ince, Vol. 3.

“He's a computer. Perfect memory, rigid logic, no judgment. I forgot. I talked to him like a human being, and now—”

Larry Niven book A World Out of Time

Source: A World Out of Time (1976), Chapter 2 Don Juan, Section 4 (p. 59)

“My upbringing does not allow me to take a life… When we go against nature then everything becomes dangerous; human beings too become dangerous. On the other hand, if we co-operate with nature, then she also co-operates with us.”

Narendra Modi (1950) Prime Minister of India

Quoted in Bear Grylls impressed with Modi’s 'humility'; says PM calm during crisis, agreed to sit in homemade raft https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/magazines/panache/bear-grylls-impressed-with-modis-humility-says-pm-calm-during-crisis-agreed-to-sit-in-homemade-raft/articleshow/70615908.cms Bear Grylls <br class="br">2019

“Computers are not very smart. They don't understand human language, so we have to tell them what to do in a language that both humans and computers can understand.”

Yukihiro Matsumoto (1965) Japanese computer scientist

Yukihiro Matsumoto " I'm a Mormon, Ruby Author and a World-changer https://youtube.com/watch?v=bkh0gPf4Noc" by ComeUntoChrist.org on 2013-08-12.

“The danger of computers becoming like humans is not as great as the danger of humans becoming like computers.”

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Konrad Zuse3

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