Someday

“Someday” highlights the importance of humanity retaining control over the technology it creates, or else the resulting systems may take precedence over their creators. In this context, author Isaac Asimov questions how humanity’s Dependence on Technology, if too great, could shift the power balance toward technology. While Niccolo seems to know a bit more about human history due to the Bard’s stories, he still expresses shock and confusion that humans once survived without computers. Such a possibility is unthinkable. For Niccolo, technological dependence is unconscious and embedded; he is unaware of just how pervasive computers are due to them comprising the very fabric of society. Technology, in this story, is not just a passive force or mere tool; it has come to govern many aspects of society.

Overdependence on technology in the world of “Someday” has resulted in technology taking over the role of problem solver. Computers are in charge of managing humanity, effectively undermining human ingenuity as a result. In explaining programming to Niccolo, Paul makes mention of “Multivac” (31). This fictional supercomputer, which Asimov references in several of his stories, controls the global economy and shapes human development. Paul’s role, as a programmer, will be to challenge such computers: Programming is “when you set up problems for the giant Computers like Multivac to work on” (31).