Informatics has changed the world. None would object to this declaration, but few truly realize the depths through which modern computational technology has changed the pillars of society. People build relationships in a different way, staying in constant contact and proximity. Conversations no longer have need to stop, only pausing while we change the device we’re using. Places of storing and sharing of knowledge are becoming increasingly digital, diminishing the number of people who use libraries and buy physical volumes. Untouchable jobs and positions are brought down under the tremendous weight of automation, while new careers are formed based on the exploitation of our growing needs of social acceptance. We trade social network profiles instead of phone numbers, we investigate the lives and relationships of anyone who’s connected. We get our news through a thousand unverified sources instead of the neighbourhood newspaper. We talk with our kitchens while they make soup and we watch recently released movies without leaving the couch. We plan laws for self-driving automobiles and discuss taxes for robot workers. Yes, the world has changed, and the change caused by informatics is exciting and scary, like change always is. It is up to computer engineers to ensure that through this change of paradigm of the functioning of society we don’t lose some important things. It is up to computer engineers to take responsibility by the dream for which they have studied and worked. This responsibility is however not always seen as a natural consequence of their efforts.

Often I observe that a certain level of disconnection exists between those that seek more technical occupations and that which their creations influence. Many engineers, not only in the field of informatics, believe that because they are in charge of the machine, of the mathematical and physical development of systems and solutions, they have no need to worry about the human factor of their use. Well, this cannot be so. The notion that the scientist and the artist, the humanist and the engineer are obligatorily different beings in essence is an ancient idea to be actively fought against. In this new era of connections between one and all we cannot have the luxury to allow these differences. The computer engineer in particular finds itself in the unique position of having to understand the totality of the problem he or she wishes to solve through their intervention, allowing for the accumulation of knowledge from different areas that have nothing to do with their own, which is both a burden and a privilege. The idea that the mathematician should also be a philosopher comes from ancient times, but has been abandoned as of late in the search of profound specialization in specific areas of knowledge. Even though this specialization has its merits, we cannot allow Man to become the machine that we have so strongly toiled to create, able to think only between specific parameters, of realizing a small array of tasks efficiently, of appreciating only a miniscule amount of stimuli. No. The engineer is not and must not aspire to be an automaton. He or she should possess vast knowledge of his field and many others, should develop interest for culture and literature and music, should have civic intervention and political ideals, should exist beyond their immediate function as a technician. As technology integrates itself ever strongly into the depths of our society, so must those that maintain and expand it do the same, adopting the example of great figures of industry and taking central stage on the great debates of our time.

We must also face the problem of relationships and communication between people, as well as that of the excess fascination of technology. The new means of communication marvelled the world with their accessibility and eliminated the notion of distance as an obstacle to contact between people, and yet we seem to be using them to disconnect from one another, creating mental distance where once physical existed. The news means of communication must not be used to divide people, to spread disinformation, to take from us the need of going out and interacting with others, but to unify and to open horizons. The network makes it so that the debating coffee place of days gone by can be open to everyone everywhere, bringing forth new and exciting possibilities to discuss and talk and to create bonds, but we cannot forget that that same coffee place still exists and has inherent value. The equilibrium between the virtual and physical worlds is necessary so that our society of mined cryptocurrency does not explode in a bubble of our own making. Technology is a tool that mankind possesses to improve their livelihood and to create solutions to problems that ails us, not and end in itself. Failing to recognize the dangers of unrestrained technological development is to accept the eventual coming of a reality similar to the great dystopian science fiction epics of Herbert and Asimov. I am not saying that we should deny technology, for that would be impossible and undesirable in general, but that we must embrace them with the determination necessary to face the issues that will no doubtfully arise. It is urgent to discuss and legislate, in order to prevent the impact that the revolution in many fields like transportation, energy and medicine will have on our lives.

It is in this position that computer engineers are found today, in the position of having both the duty and the ability to help society better itself through the wonders they helped to create. Man always tried to emulate God, and today we are closer than ever to the classic idea of divinity, mostly thanks to engineering. We must not forget, however, that even gods make mistakes, that Pandora’s Box is the corner of the room hoping to be open, and that without art and poetry even engineering is not worth much. We finally have all the tools necessary to make the world a dreamscape, a place where time and space are obstacles of the past. All that’s left is to take the leap, and get to work.