---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What I worry about ultimately is that…"
description: "\"What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped of our privacy, when we're stripped of free will, when we start to merge with machines in a m..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png"
---

#  What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped…

![“What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped of our privacy, when we're stripped of free will, when we start to merge with machines in a more robust way, at some point, we'll cease to be identifiably human. And therefore, I think our humanity is, in some ways, the thing that's under…” quote by Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png)

> “What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped of our privacy, when we're stripped of free will, when we start to merge with machines in a more robust way, at some point, we'll cease to be identifiably human. And therefore, I think our humanity is, in some ways, the thing that's under existential threat.”

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Loss of privacy and autonomy, plus merging with machines, threatens human identity.

**In simple terms:** Tech erodes humanity.

Key Takeaway

Protect human uniqueness.

Themes

privacy technology humanity existential risk AI

Mood

cautious thoughtful

Type

ethical philosophical

When to use this quote

- policy making
- education
- personal data protection
- AI development

Key Concepts

ethics philosophy future studies

Questions to Reflect On

- What safeguards preserve humanity?
- How balance tech and identity?

A Different Perspective

Technology also offers benefits.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Computers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/) [Cybersecurity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cybersecurity/) [Humanity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humanity/) [Machines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/machines/) [Nature of man](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/nature-of-man/) [Privacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/privacy/) [Worry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/worry/)

## Related quotes

> [Every sort of seven billion human being have to think about the well-being of humanity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/every-sort-of-seven-billion-human-being-have-to-think-about-the-well/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Life pulls at bewildered humanity in so many ways! Blessed is the woman who makes her life a career of stimulating the courage of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/life-pulls-at-bewildered-humanity-in-so-many-ways-blessed-is-the/)

[Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/)

> [I'm a human who is aware of the history of humanity and the ways in which the movies touch on those things.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wesley-morris/i-m-a-human-who-is-aware-of-the-history-of-humanity-and-the-ways-in/)

[Wesley Morris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wesley-morris/)

> [The caliphate will have been dismantled. It will still be a problem, but that has been our focus because that is the greatest existential…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-biden/the-caliphate-will-have-been-dismantled-it-will-still-be-a-problem/)

[Joe Biden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-biden/)

> [I think we should be very careful about artificial intelligence. If I had to guess at what our biggest existential threat is, it's probably…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elon-musk/i-think-we-should-be-very-careful-about-artificial-intelligence-if-i/)

[Elon Musk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elon-musk/)

> [For those who control the levers of power in Washington, and for the global special interests, they partner with these people that don't have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/for-those-who-control-the-levers-of-power-in-washington-and-for-the/)

[Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/)

> [Around the world, climate change is an existential threat - but if we harness the opportunities inherent in addressing climate change, we can reap…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ban-ki-moon/around-the-world-climate-change-is-an-existential-threat-but-if-we/)

[Ban Ki-moon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ban-ki-moon/)

> [“It will work,” Sanha affirmed. “The A.I. was created to be good. Just like a human, it cannot fundamentally change that part of itself.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-simpson/it-will-work-sanha-affirmed-the-a-i-was-created-to-be-good-just-like/)

[David Simpson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-simpson/)

> [Well, Israel, obviously, thinks of the Iranian nuclear program as an existential threat to Israel.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-m-gates/well-israel-obviously-thinks-of-the-iranian-nuclear-program-as-an/)

[Robert M. Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-m-gates/)

> [The single biggest existential threat that's out there, I think, is cyber.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-mullen/the-single-biggest-existential-threat-that-s-out-there-i-think-is/)

[Michael Mullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-mullen/)

> [The financial system in its current condition poses an existential threat to Western democracy far exceeding any terrorist threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-lanchester/the-financial-system-in-its-current-condition-poses-an-existential/)

[John Lanchester](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-lanchester/)

> [Climate change is an existential threat to the health, national security, economic prosperity, and future of the American people and our planet. Our habitat…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-phillips/climate-change-is-an-existential-threat-to-the-health-national/)

[Dean Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-phillips/)

> [So when you're dealing with an existential threat like death or like climate change, if you see it as 'we are all toast anyway,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-inglis/so-when-you-re-dealing-with-an-existential-threat-like-death-or-like/)

[Bob Inglis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-inglis/)

> [My reading of the threat from Iran is that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, it is an existential threat to the State of Israel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mccain/my-reading-of-the-threat-from-iran-is-that-if-iran-acquires-nuclear/)

[John McCain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mccain/)

> [When we watch a play under the standard circumstances, we've lost volition and time is passing. A still play feels like an existential threat.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-greenberg/when-we-watch-a-play-under-the-standard-circumstances-we-ve-lost/)

[Richard Greenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-greenberg/)

## More by Franklin Foer

> [Once upon a time, if you were going to get a loan from me, I would have had to look at your file, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/once-upon-a-time-if-you-were-going-to-get-a-loan-from-me-i-would-have/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“But in the end, the hackers were misunderstood figures. They wanted nothing more than to belong, to subsume their brilliant selves in an even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/but-in-the-end-the-hackers-were-misunderstood-figures-they-wanted/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [Not even Trump's father's wealth, nor his father's faith in his son's destiny, could save Trump from incessant discipline. At the age of 13,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/not-even-trump-s-father-s-wealth-nor-his-father-s-faith-in-his-son-s/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [If I'm reading my Facebook feed, it's using algorithms, procedures, and methods to give me what I want, or what it thinks that I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/if-i-m-reading-my-facebook-feed-it-s-using-algorithms-procedures-and/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [Brazil is strewn with ruins of projects - refineries, power plants - begun but never finished. Most of this investment never landed in places…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/brazil-is-strewn-with-ruins-of-projects-refineries-power-plants-begun/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“More than any previous coterie of corporations, the tech monopolies aspire to mold humanity into their desired image of it. They believe that they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/more-than-any-previous-coterie-of-corporations-the-tech-monopolies/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [In mid-2014, 51 percent of American Republicans viewed Putin very unfavorably. Two years later, 14 percent did. By January, 75 percent of Republicans said…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/in-mid-2014-51-percent-of-american-republicans-viewed-putin-very/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“The Hoover experiment, in the end, hardly realized the happy fantasies about the Engineer King. A very different version of this dream, however, has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/the-hoover-experiment-in-the-end-hardly-realized-the-happy-fantasies/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [Putin has made a habit of supporting far-right candidates who undermine his foes in Europe; perhaps he never could have imagined such a character…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/putin-has-made-a-habit-of-supporting-far-right-candidates-who/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“There's a strange uniformity in the vocabulary European soccer fans use to hate black people. The same primate insults get hurled. Although they've gotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/there-s-a-strange-uniformity-in-the-vocabulary-european-soccer-fans/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [Google's ability to pick winners and losers in the information world is a menace. These companies have the ability to determine which media companies…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/google-s-ability-to-pick-winners-and-losers-in-the-information-world/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [One of Trump's vulnerabilities is that he doesn't always vet his people, whether it's business partners, the dubious characters he retweets, or the foreign…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/one-of-trump-s-vulnerabilities-is-that-he-doesn-t-always-vet-his/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“The dream of stitching the world into a global village has been embodied in the nomenclature of modern technology—the net is interconnected, the Web…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/the-dream-of-stitching-the-world-into-a-global-village-has-been/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“Soccer's appeal lay in its opposition to the other popular sports. For children of the sixties, there was something abhorrent about enrolling kids in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/soccer-s-appeal-lay-in-its-opposition-to-the-other-popular-sports-for/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

> [“As the Protestants celebrate a goal, they're egged on by the team captain, a long-haired Italian called Lorenzo Amoruso, who has the look of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/as-the-protestants-celebrate-a-goal-they-re-egged-on-by-the-team/)

[Franklin Foer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

[Explore all 126 Franklin Foer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/)

## More Computers quotes

> [I don't understand why we're all connected wirelessly via a little machine that goes in our pocket, to everybody in the world, and you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-m-chu/i-don-t-understand-why-we-re-all-connected-wirelessly-via-a-little/)

[Jon M. Chu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-m-chu/)

> [“Probably it goes without saying, but time machine guys don't get a lot of action. Had a one night stand with something cute a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-yu/probably-it-goes-without-saying-but-time-machine-guys-don-t-get-a-lot/)

[Charles Yu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-yu/)

> [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/)

[Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/)

> [Issac:"I dislike living in a world without Augustus Waters." Computer: "I don't understand-" Issac: "Me neither. Pause](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-green/issac-i-dislike-living-in-a-world-without-augustus-waters-computer-i/)

[John Green](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-green/)

> [“Note found in the patron suggestion box: "You have SIGNS up near the computers that say BE QUIET, but people don't be quiet. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-sheridan/note-found-in-the-patron-suggestion-box-you-have-signs-up-near-the/)

[Gina Sheridan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-sheridan/)

> [“You weren't born to be a cog in the giant industrial machine. You were trained to become a cog. There's an alternative available to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-godin/you-weren-t-born-to-be-a-cog-in-the-giant-industrial-machine-you-were/)

[Seth Godin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-godin/)

> [If you stood me in a costume next to a computer graphic of the same-looking character, I think there would be a difference. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warwick-davis/if-you-stood-me-in-a-costume-next-to-a-computer-graphic-of-the-same/)

[Warwick Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warwick-davis/)

> [The corporate state is an immensely powerful machine, ordered, legalistic, rational, yet utterly out of human control, wholly and perfectly indifferent to any human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-a-reich/the-corporate-state-is-an-immensely-powerful-machine-ordered/)

[Charles A. Reich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-a-reich/)

> [The display is the computer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jen-hsun-huang/the-display-is-the-computer/)

Jen-Hsun Huang

> [The popular mind often pictures gigantic flying machines speeding across the Atlantic carrying innumerable passengers in a way analogous to our modern steam ships.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-henry-pickering/the-popular-mind-often-pictures-gigantic-flying-machines-speeding/)

William Henry Pickering

> [“Alan Turing proposed the Turing Test: a computer is intelligent if you can't tell it from a human when you talk with it. No…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cjs-hayward/alan-turing-proposed-the-turing-test-a-computer-is-intelligent-if-you/)

[CJS Hayward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cjs-hayward/)

> [Computers can be taught that certain tune or certain chords changes will sound pleasant together, but I don't think it's going to reach a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonobo/computers-can-be-taught-that-certain-tune-or-certain-chords-changes/)

[Bonobo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonobo/)

> [Can you imagine any better example of divine creative accomplishment that the consummate flying machine that is a bird? The skeleton, very flexible and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/guy-murchie/can-you-imagine-any-better-example-of-divine-creative-accomplishment/)

[Guy Murchie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/guy-murchie/)

> [“According to this model, human beings are, at least in one aspect, sensation-receiving machines; and although our receptory apparatus is competent to select and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cruce-stark/according-to-this-model-human-beings-are-at-least-in-one-aspect/)

Cruce Stark

> [As in any machine, all the wires must be connected to the mains through one main wire. In the same way, you all must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nirmala-srivastava/as-in-any-machine-all-the-wires-must-be-connected-to-the-mains/)

[Nirmala Srivastava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nirmala-srivastava/)

[Browse all 9,389 Computers quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/computers/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped of our privacy, when we're stripped of free will, when we start to merge with machines in a more robust way, at some point, we'll cease to be identifiably human. And therefore, I think our humanity is, in some ways, the thing that's under existential threat.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Franklin Foer"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-when-we-re-stripped-of-our/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Computers"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-when-we-re-stripped-of-our/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2b3/franklin-foer-3604_computers_what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-wh_2720994.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What I worry about ultimately is that when we're stripped of our privacy, when we're stripped of free will…” — Franklin Foer",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Franklin Foer",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/franklin-foer/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What I worry about ultimately is...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-when-we-re-stripped-of-our/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/franklin-foer/what-i-worry-about-ultimately-is-that-when-we-re-stripped-of-our/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
