I recently completed a five-course series on neural networks and deep learning where I built smaller versions of the AI that is on self-driving vehicles, chatbots/LLMs and other platforms. While waiting for my million-dollar job offers from OpenAI, Anthropic and others, I have a few thoughts on technology.
BTW, that introduction is intended as a subtle reminder that I am not exactly ignorant when it comes to technology and science. I am fascinated by these topics and I find it compelling to understand as much as possible about them, but I also find myself less and less interested in using ‘tech’ – the ever-growing intrusion of apps and devices that overwhelm all of us and consume so much of our time and resources.
We have become accustomed to the steady onslaught of tech into our lives since the arrival of the personal computer and the Internet. And we readily acknowledge the level of addiction that has accompanied it. Who doesn’t feel anxiety if they leave the house forgetting their smart phone? How often does one see couples or entire families ignoring one another and mesmerized by their phones at a restaurant? How long can one resist the insistent urge to check emails, texts, Instagram, Facebook, or either tech offerings?
The number of devices that deliver this technology is growing fast – computers, tablets/iPads, smart phones, watches, ear or headphones, eyeglasses, doorbells, thermostats, home security devices. It isn’t hard to imagine a time in the near future where we may choose to have a device implanted in our body.
There is no doubt that these advances have brought compelling changes to both our work lives and our leisure time. Google maps make navigation much easier and less prone to error; ride-sharing and room-sharing apps make travel and vacations easier to plan and execute; Amazon makes every possible purchase simple to find and available in a day or two; music, videos and films can be streamed at any time; social media delights us with an endless stream of clever thoughts, photos and videos, and informs us of every event in the lives of friends, acquaintances and celebrities.
Tech is portrayed as making life easier, saving us time, making us more productive and providing entertainment. But we also embrace it as a status symbol, an indication of how clever we are and, perhaps most tellingly, as a necessary investment to avoid being left behind – the dreaded FOMO.
There is a herd instinct in tech usage that is cultivated by the massive marketing efforts of major tech companies and amplified by social media. Even traditional news media hop on the bandwagon with endless ‘gee whiz’ reporting in their efforts to remain relevant.
And now the age of AI is upon us. We stand in awe of the chatbots and their uncanny ability to respond humanlike to our queries and serve up endless delights with only the tiniest effort on our parts. We quickly abandon the more rigorous web searches for information, relying on the AI summaries. We begin to allow AI agents to attend us. They will manage our work and home life and make us more efficient, more productive, healthier and happier.
But will they really do this? And at what cost? At what point does technology become more of a burden than a blessing? What do we lose in the bargain? Is there a healthy balance, or is technology ultimately a black hole that will suck us in and transform us into soulless creatures with no agency in our lives?
These are the questions I want to study in the next part of this essay. I am no tech luddite now, but I see warning signs on the horizon and I think they bear careful analysis.
No comments:
Post a Comment