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^ This. I was actually quite disturbed with the Apple unveiling of the watch, I know it has been expected and what not. But a device that is literally monitori

by jawr 12y ago

^ This. I was actually quite disturbed with the Apple unveiling of the watch, I know it has been expected and what not. But a device that is literally monitoring my heart rate constantly all day, guiding me down a street with "gentle taps like a person" to tell me which direction to go. I feel like a small part of humanity is being optimised away. It's an incredibly scary thought.

prawks 12y ago
These kinds of things have been happening to the human experience for some time now. I don't need to ask anyone how to get anywhere, or figure out how to navigate there with the rise of GPS on devices I have with me all the time. I can have food brought to my doorstep without ever talking to anyone. At the same time, it's enabling exciting new possibilities. I can meet people with shared interests in a huge multitude of ways. I can talk to practically anyone I've ever met within a minute. I can learn how to do almost anything at a basic level given some modest interest and an Internet connection. I think people are only beginning to realize the all-encompassing nature of how technology is affecting how we live, because it has become so incredibly pervasive and is moving so quickly. The human experience is most definitely changing, but it's not all for the worse. It's easy to be sentimental about the past, but the possibilities are often too enticing to hold onto those relics in favor of new things.
tcc2161 12y ago
The taps guiding someone down the street struck me as being useful to blind people. Imagine if white canes became museum pieces in our lifetime because the blind become equipped with GPS enabled wearables.
- aetherson 12y ago
  Well, white canes are more about locating curbs and fire hydrants and other people than they are about finding where you are on a map. But we can and should imagine a future in which blind people have prosthetic aids that give at least limited senses of sight to the blind, enough to avoid tripping and obstacles (and the white cane). That seems eminently within reach in the next couple of decades, if not the next five years. Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis
- jawr 12y ago
  I don't necessarily think that these advancements are entirely a bad thing; I just think that there is the strong possibility that they could encourage negative traits with future generations. Using technology to better peoples lives is a tremendous thing, but using it as a crutch to enable accidie is worrying. Perhaps I'm just a pessimist.

by jawr 12y ago

prawks 12y ago

These kinds of things have been happening to the human experience for some time now. I don't need to ask anyone how to get anywhere, or figure out how to navigate there with the rise of GPS on devices I have with me all the time. I can have food brought to my doorstep without ever talking to anyone. At the same time, it's enabling exciting new possibilities. I can meet people with shared interests in a huge multitude of ways. I can talk to practically anyone I've ever met within a minute. I can learn how to do almost anything at a basic level given some modest interest and an Internet connection. I think people are only beginning to realize the all-encompassing nature of how technology is affecting how we live, because it has become so incredibly pervasive and is moving so quickly. The human experience is most definitely changing, but it's not all for the worse. It's easy to be sentimental about the past, but the possibilities are often too enticing to hold onto those relics in favor of new things.

tcc2161 12y ago

The taps guiding someone down the street struck me as being useful to blind people. Imagine if white canes became museum pieces in our lifetime because the blind become equipped with GPS enabled wearables.

aetherson 12y ago
Well, white canes are more about locating curbs and fire hydrants and other people than they are about finding where you are on a map. But we can and should imagine a future in which blind people have prosthetic aids that give at least limited senses of sight to the blind, enough to avoid tripping and obstacles (and the white cane). That seems eminently within reach in the next couple of decades, if not the next five years. Here's a link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visual_prosthesis
jawr 12y ago
I don't necessarily think that these advancements are entirely a bad thing; I just think that there is the strong possibility that they could encourage negative traits with future generations. Using technology to better peoples lives is a tremendous thing, but using it as a crutch to enable accidie is worrying. Perhaps I'm just a pessimist.