portrait of this blog's author - by Stephen Blackman 2008

Tuesday, May 16, 2017

as there is no human interaction here [or kept at a minimum anyway] and only an occasional person actually drops by to comment I can this assume that all the over 140, 000 visits to date must be by automatons or robots, so this article from David Byrne yesterday is particularly apposite  . . . . . 

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ELIMINATING THE HUMAN


I have a theory that much recent tech development and innovation over the last decade or so has had an unspoken overarching agenda—it has been about facilitating the need for LESS human interaction. It’s not a bug—it’s a feature. We might think Amazon was about selling us books we couldn’t find locally—and it was and what a brilliant idea—but maybe it was also just as much about eliminating human interaction. I see a pattern emerging in the innovative technology that has gotten the most attention, gets the bucks and often, no surprise, ends up getting developed and implemented. What much of this technology seems to have in common is that it removes the need to deal with humans directly. The tech doesn’t claim or acknowledge this as its primary goal, but it seems to often be the consequence. I’m sort of thinking maybe it is the primary goal. There are so many ways imagination can be manifested in the technical sphere. Many are wonderful and seem like social goods, but allow me a little conspiracy mongering here—an awful lot of them have the consequence of lessening human interaction.
I suspect that we almost don’t notice this pattern because it’s hard to imagine what an alternative focus of tech development might be. Most of the news we get barraged with is about algorithms, AI, robots and self driving cars, all of which fit this pattern, though there are indeed many technological innovations underway that have nothing to do with eliminating human interaction from our lives. CRISPR-cas9 in geneticsnew films that can efficiently and cheaply cool houses and quantum computing to name a few, but what we read about most and what touches us daily is the trajectory towards less human involvement. Note: I don’t consider chat rooms and product reviews as “human interaction”; they’re mediated and filtered by a screen.
I am not saying these developments are not efficient and convenient; this is not a judgement regarding the services and technology. I am simply noticing a pattern and wondering if that pattern means there are other possible roads we could be going down, and that the way we’re going is not in fact inevitable, but is (possibly unconsciously) chosen. Keep reading at davidbyrne.com!

2 comments:

Jobe said...

First off I guess I'm just as guilty as many of the others as far as not leaving a comment, however I do check your blog daily. But you knew this job was thankless when you took it. I just posted 20 or so things over at the Wagon and I get nothing, but it's ok. I do it cause I love it. And I get it's nice to know that your work is appreciated, but I can't help but feeling hypocritical that the people I criticize for being upset that they don't have enough likes on their facebook page for whatever trivial bullshit they've just posted is the same as me asking for comments on something I've just posted over at our site and then feeling rejected for not even getting a thanks. So I've come to the conclusion that I no longer care if someone thanks me, or comments or not, I'm gonna keep posting. I can't be a hypocrite in this day and age when our supreme being is the biggest hypocrite of all. Bill Maher did a great monologue on his show last Friday night, right after "New Rules" that addresses the very subject that David Byrne is talking about. If you get a chance check it out. So in closing please don't think the title of this blog is taken literally, cause I'll be here tomorrow to see your next post on albums you bought the day they came out.

Jobe

Andy Swapp said...

Wow that caught me on the hop Jobe! Well done and well said . . . .Much appreciated!
;)