Are We Being Enslaved by Our Machines?

"The human dilemma is as it has always been, and it is a delusion to believe that the technological changes of our era have rendered irrelevant the wisdom of the ages and the sages." ~Neil Postman

From Jason Ohler's site:

Twenty Five Questions to Ask About Technology

See Technology's Effects

"In the past, we experienced technological change in the manner of sleep-walkers. Our unspoken slogan has been "technology über alles," and we have been willing to shape our lives to fit the requirements of technology, not the requirements of culture. This is a form of stupidity, especially in an age of vast technological change. We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we may use technology rather than be used by it." ~ Neil Postman

MARTI Session: "The Future"

Discussion "Are we being empowered by technology or enslaved by it?"

Workshop Session Link

Just the Facts, Ma'am

One of the effects of living with electric information is that we live habitually in a state of information overload. There's always more than you can cope with. ~ Marshall McLuhan

The question is this: What should we know in our own heads and what should we simply leave to a machine's storage device?

Joe Makley has a fascinating post on this very subject titled, "Platitudes and Orthodoxy in Web 2.0." But Joe goes beyond whether a fact is completely necessary to learn. He speaks to the issue of focus and contemplation in this world where we are bombarded by so much information that we often operate on an instant-to-instant crisis basis rather than through deliberation and thoughtfulness.

Are we in danger of losing both our roots and our wings? Our souls? Any thoughts about taming the technology beast?

Taming the Beast - Choice & Control in the Electronic Jungle by Jason Ohler.
The Idea of Global Collective Memory
Artificial Intelligence at LIM Resources Wiki

Home

The network begins at home. Isn't there MUCH more we can do to make the existing learning environments more social, collaborative and meaningful whether electricity is involved or not? Why do we constantly jump from melodramatic tales of school to some utopian world of online alchemy?

~ Gary Stager

The quote above is from a recent post by Stager at Stager-to-Go.

IMHO, these are essential questions that are increasingly being dismissed by technocrats and other true-believer change enthusiasts.

To once again quote Neil Postman in Informing Ourselves to Death:

Here is what Henry David Thoreau told us: "All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end." Here is what Goethe told us: "One should, each day, try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it is possible, speak a few reasonable words." And here is what Socrates told us: "The unexamined life is not worth living." And here is what the prophet Micah told us: "What does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?" And I can tell you -- if I had the time (although you all know it well enough) -- what Confucius, Isaiah, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha, Spinoza and Shakespeare told us. It is all the same: There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory.

Even the humblest cartoon character knows this, and I shall close by quoting the wise old possum named Pogo, created by the cartoonist, Walt Kelley. I commend his words to all the technological utopians and messiahs present. "We have met the enemy," Pogo said, "and he is us."

Are we hoping that technology will SAVE the world?

What IS progress?


Related Links:

Technological Singularity
Ethics of Technology

Taming the Beast

There seems to be a coming-of-age event that people of my generation are increasingly experiencing, if not thoroughly enjoying. I am speaking of the wondrous colonoscopy. I will spare you the specific details, but suffice it to say, should you have airs of self-righteousness or a certain holier-than-thou dignity, it certainly quite effectively pulls you back down to earth. I speak from personal experience over the past 2 days. :)

But on a high note . . . I also finally got my chance to read Jason Ohler's Taming the Beast - Choice & Control in the Electronic Jungle (1999) which I had bought months ago on Amazon. I had frequently visited Ohler's website, so I was no stranger to the questions he has been asking. Both his work and that of Neil Postman play much into my own thinking about the place of information and technology in our schools and culture. My view: Jason Ohler gets it!

Sure would be great to have him as a conference speaker in Maine for a refreshing viewpoint. What do you think?

More Jason Ohler Links

Medical Sites:

eMedicine
Mayo Clinic
Medicine.net
Jackson GI Care
Medicine Plus

Technology . . . Friend or Foe?

The Law of Accelerating Returns ~ Ray Kurzweil

"An analysis of the history of technology shows that technological change is exponential, contrary to the common-sense "intuitive linear" view. So we won't experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century -- it will be more like 20,000 years of progress (at today's rate). The 'returns,' such as chip speed and cost-effectiveness, also increase exponentially. There's even exponential growth in the rate of exponential growth. Within a few decades, machine intelligence will surpass human intelligence, leading to The Singularity -- technological change so rapid and profound it represents a rupture in the fabric of human history. The implications include the merger of biological and nonbiological intelligence, immortal software-based humans, and ultra-high levels of intelligence that expand outward in the universe at the speed of light."

We seem to worship technology. The equation seems to be: More Technology = Improved Lives. Yes, we love our gadgets and our systems and our data. We believe that science and technology will provide the answers to our problems.

Will it?

Singularity
Technological Determinism
Informing Ourselves to Death
Chandler: Technological or Media Determinism
Technological Determinism of Marshall McLuhan
KurzweilAI

We Have Met the Enemy . . . Cloaking Ourselves in Technological Glory

"Here is what Henry David Thoreau told us: 'All our inventions are but improved means to an unimproved end.' Here is what Goethe told us: 'One should, each day, try to hear a little song, read a good poem, see a fine picture, and, if it is possible, speak a few reasonable words.' And here is what Socrates told us: 'The unexamined life is not worth living.' And here is what the prophet Micah told us: 'What does the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?' And I can tell you -- if I had the time (although you all know it well enough) -- what Confucius, Isaiah, Jesus, Mohammed, the Buddha, Spinoza and Shakespeare told us. It is all the same: There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory.

Even the humblest cartoon character knows this, and I shall close by quoting the wise old possum named Pogo, created by the cartoonist, Walt Kelley. I commend his words to all the technological utopians and messiahs present. 'We have met the enemy,' Pogo said,'and he is us.'" ~ Neil Postman

Neil postman gave a speech in 1990 called "Informing Ourselves to Death" which I keep returning to because I find it so current and so important. If you haven't had a chance, read it and let us know what you think.

Questions:

Do you believe science and technology will solve the important issues of our world?

Do you think collaborating through web 2.0 tools will make us more caring individuals?

"In a modern society people can live without hope only when kept dazed and out of breath by incessant hustling." ~ Eric Hoffer