In this modern age, there are technologies coming to the fore with the potential to alter life on Earth irrevocably.   In particular, I’m talking about nanotechnology, genetic engineering and robotics. 

Since I’ve been working on an article relating to this, I’ve come across a piece by Bill Joy,  co-founder of Sun Microsystems, titled "Why the future doesn’t need us."  Joy is not, well, filled with joy, as he outlines a dystopian vision of the not-too-distant future that could scare George Orwell into Big Brother’s arms.  His piece is very long, over 11,000 words, but if anything can hold one’s attention, it’s this subject.  If you have the time, I recommend giving it a read.

It can be found here.