One Billion Computers and Counting

More computers than people? Surely, a mere ten years ago the very idea of computers exceeding people would cause amusement and raised eyebrows, to say the least. As reported by Reuters, Gartner Research is now estimating there are over one billion personal computers in use around the world, a number that will probably double in the next five to six years

Where is the world heading to? Has it come to the point where people will be absolutely unable to survive without a PC? Do we go from one technological addiction to another as a species? The list is long: TV sets, calculators, computers, cell phones, blackberries, iPods, DVR's.

Computers have influenced modern life the most and have made a lot of things easier, there's no doubt about it. From distribution of information to communications to transactions of all kinds, everything seems to be faster and more efficient. Apart from the talk about all the e-waste and how we can deal with it, is it really so bad to have computers available for everyone and in the quantity that they want?

Is it really a bad thing to have something made by man multiply like flies?

Let's see, how many things can we come up with that have reached numbers fairly equal if not higher than those of human beings? The first things that come to mind are silverware, shirts, pants and various articles of the type. Books, notebooks, pots and pans, bars of soap. And who can deny that there are billions of chairs in the world?

The difference, one might protest, is that computers are artifacts with a certain degree of intelligence. Indeed they are a testament to our own intelligence. Perhaps they have already outnumbered calculators as the most abundant thinking machine in the history of man. It takes guts to create something that could potentially challenge your superiority -- even if only in science fiction books and movies.

Yes, we should find a way to control e-waste; after all, more than 180 million computers will be replaced only this year. And, yes, we should strive for a greener planet. But to think that the privilege of owning a personal computer should be preserved for only a small percentage of the population is truly unthinkable. Once things are set in motion, they cannot be stopped. And no one can predict the future better than the future itself. It is a fascinating world we live in after all, no matter how you look at it.