Technology has been advancing so fast that we have no way of knowing what lies ahead of us. Newton Theory of Gravity, Einstein's Theory of Relativity and Daguerre's daguerrotype photography have all paved the way for what we have today and what we will see in the future. It's been nearly seventy years now since Walter Benjamin published his essay at the age of mechanical mass production. So far human beings have produced two industrial revolutions. Whereas the fast communication and mass reproduction enabled by the first industrial revolution was based on iron and steam, the faster communication and larger-scale mass reproduction enabled by the second industrial revolution was based on cable and digital networks. In other words, whereas the former depended primarily on the mechanical and physical properties of steel, the latter is most commonly characterized by the flow of bodiless information. In the new world order established by the second industrial revolution, the physical world cannot operate effectively and efficiently without following instructions which often come in the form of immaterial data. The question we need to ask is, where does all this leave us now, and where will it take us to? We have no idea how the world will be in six or seven decades. While we all look forward to the positive elements that advanced technology may bring to us, we are equally fearful of the hazards that it may pose. For example, the technology of cloning implies that we humans are playing God. As soon as humans discovered the structure of atoms, they invented weapons that could devastate the entire world. Technological advancement seems to bring about liberation and devastation all the same time. Will another major catastrophe reduce the world to ashes? In the next century, will human beings be subordinated by all the technology that humans themselves have invented? These are all important questions that we need to keep asking. Admittedly, technology has taken us to a brave new world, but in what sense this world is brave and beautiful remains to be seen. I was impressed by an advertising slogan created for Nokia a couple years ago: “Human Technology.” The advancement of technology is indeed driven by human needs, but in the meanwhile, technology is also testing human nature. Where technology will lead us depends very much on the goodness of human nature. We need to ask ourselves what rules we have followed in creating ourselves. With the advancement of technology, we are moving towards a new world order. While we surpass ourselves, we are not sure if we will eventually be wiped out by what we will become. (Huang Zan Lun)