5. Reading. Task 3.1. Pets In The Digital Age

The first part of the Reading Task 3

 

 

Our shared history with domestic animals goes back tens of thousands of years. However, technological advances in the last decades – computer, internet and social media – have revolutionized our means of communication and, particularly, our social lives. An obvious question is whether this technological evolution will also change human–animal relationships, and at the same time, the place of pets in human societies.

When considering this issue, it has been suggested that we should think about the 3Rs: refinement – not all species are suitable to be kept as pets, reduction – pet ownership as a luxury, and remote interactions with pets through technology and replacement – robot and virtual reality pets. 

Firstly, refinement could involve restricting animal use allowed by society. As an illustration, keeping highly intelligent species (e.g., primates) in captivity is becoming increasingly questioned as we are unable to fulfil their social or mental needs. Thus, keeping single parrots may become socially unacceptable. This view is probably not so reliant on technological advances as ethical change progresses on its own, partly driven by cultural change. Nevertheless, technologies could improve animal welfare or help facilitate interactions, for example, remote communication between owners and their dogs left alone at home.

Secondly, reduction is an interesting proposal as there is a conflict between our remoteness from nature, which appears to stimulate pet keeping, and the sustainability of pet keeping in a growing, urbanized society. Pets are common in Western cultures and on the rise in Asia. Yet, it is difficult to imagine how more than half of the 9.6 billion people of 2050 could still keep pets. Efforts to develop cities designed to be green and pet-friendly are ongoing. However, a more realistic future is that pets may become luxury possessions for people who can afford to sustain the costs and fulfil their needs in terms of space, social, and mental needs, based on possibly higher ethical standards demanded by future societies.

Artificial pet development and the underlying research remains in its infancy with much to be discovered. At present, artificial pets can be described as poor substitutes for their live counterparts. Yet, quick technological progress is to be expected, and this phenomenon raises many questions. Do animals make us human? Or are we witnessing a leap into what domestication always was: the selection of animals to be the perfect pets with a need to update the definition of pets as an animal or an artificial device? "Let the future tell the truth," to quote futuristic scientist Nikola Tesla.