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"I’m concerned that such a focus on comfort and instant gratification will reduce us all to those characters in “Wall-E,” bound to their recliners, Big Gulps in
by forrestbrazeal 10y ago
"I’m concerned that such a focus on comfort and instant gratification will reduce us all to those characters in “Wall-E,” bound to their recliners, Big Gulps in hand, interacting with the world exclusively through their remotes."
I found this quote puzzling in light of the rest of the article. The author's main argument seems to be that tech "innovators" are focused on providing frivolous solutions to imaginary problems, while society crumbles in the background. But this quote -unless I'm misunderstanding it - ascribes a hugely far-reaching, dystopian power to technology that undercuts her overall point.
You can't have it both ways. Either tech products are mostly irrelevant, or they are fundamentally changing the most basic aspects of our existence. Which is it?
- throwanem 10y agoYou certainly can have it both ways. Tech products are mostly irrelevant; those which are not irrelevant are fundamentally changing the most basic aspects of our existence. Hundreds of millions of people, at least, now experience a social world whose existence and interactions are mediated by a single, rather secretive, advertising company. I'd call that both a relevant and a fundamental change.