Editing Bill Joy (section)

==Technology concerns==
In 2000, Joy gained notoriety with the publication of his article in ''[[Wired (magazine)|Wired]]'' magazine, "[[Why The Future Doesn't Need Us]]", in which he declared, in what some have described as a "[[neo-Luddite]]" position,<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Why the Future Doesn't Need Us|language=en-us|magazine=Wired|url=https://www.wired.com/2000/04/joy-2/|access-date=2020-12-09|issn=1059-1028}}</ref> that he was convinced that growing advances in [[genetic engineering]] and [[nanotechnology]] would bring [[existential risk|risks]] to humanity. He argued that intelligent [[robot]]s would replace humanity, at the very least in intellectual and social dominance, in the relatively near future. He supports and promotes the idea of abandonment of GNR ([[genetics]], nanotechnology, and [[robotics]]) technologies, instead of going into an [[arms race]] between negative uses of the technology and defense against those negative uses (good nano-machines patrolling and defending against [[Grey goo]] "bad" nano-machines). This stance of broad relinquishment was criticized by technologists such as [[technological singularity|technological-singularity]] thinker [[Ray Kurzweil]], who instead advocates fine-grained relinquishment and ethical guidelines.<ref>[http://www.kurzweilai.net/are-we-becoming-an-endangered-species-technology-and-ethics-in-the-twenty-first-century "Are We Becoming an Endangered Species? Technology and Ethics in the Twenty First Century"], Ray Kurzweil, ''Essays'', November 20, 2001, originally presented on November 19, 2001 at Washington National Cathedral.</ref><ref name="globeandmail">{{cite news|last1=Valpy|first1=Michael|title=Will we invent our own worst enemies?|date=23 June 2001|url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/incoming/will-we-invent-our-own-worst-enemies/article762002/|access-date=12 June 2014|newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]]}}</ref> Joy was also criticized by ''[[The American Spectator]]'', which characterized Joy's essay as a (possibly unwitting) rationale for [[statism]].<ref name="globeandmail"/>

A bar-room discussion of these technologies with [[Ray Kurzweil]] started to set Joy's thinking along this path. He states in his essay that during the conversation, he became surprised that other serious scientists were considering such possibilities likely, and even more astounded at what he felt was a lack of consideration of the contingencies. After bringing the subject up with a few more acquaintances, he states that he was further alarmed by what he felt was that although many people considered these futures possible or probable, that very few of them shared as serious a concern for the dangers as he seemed to. This concern led to his in-depth examination of the issue and the positions of others in the scientific community on it, and eventually, to his current activities regarding it.

Despite this, he is a [[venture capital]]ist, investing in {{Abbr|GNR|genetics, nanotechnology, and robotics}} technology companies.<ref>[https://www.wired.com/magazine/2013/04/bill-joy/ "Bill Joy on Venture Capital, Clean Tech, and Big Boats"], Steven Levy, ''Wired Magazine'', April 16, 2013</ref> He has also raised a specialty venture fund to address the dangers of pandemic diseases, such as the H5N1 [[avian influenza]] and biological weapons.