“Reality” vs. Technology (Technology: good, bad, neutral?)

Hello my fellow ATS-ers. I made this audio video to discuss this topic. I explain why in the video.

Cross-examining: The good and the bad of technology's increasing by Claude Solnik

It was an open-and-shut case. A black man in his 20s was convicted of robbing a liquor store after the victim identified him live and on video. The man was in jail ever since, serving a 25- year sentence - until technology showed a different truth.

findarticles.com...

Improving the view of the world; law enforcement and augmented reality technology by Thomas Cowper

Today's rapidly changing society is driven by higher and higher levels of technological advancement. For good or bad, technology brings change. The events of September 11, 2001, have served to fuel the debate concerning the role that technology should play in people's lives, particularly future battles against terrorism in a free society.

findarticles.com...

Technology; Carving Out Real-Life Uses for Virtual Reality By JOHN HOLUSHA

Virtual reality, the use of electronic sensors and computer-generated images to give people the illusion of participating in fabricated events, is moving beyond the game room and into practical applications in medical schools and other real-life settings.

query.nytimes.com...

Now Playing: Reality Without the Downside By MICHEL MARRIOTT

RUNNING at remarkably steep angles up a grassy hill, Melinda Gann glanced over her shoulder and caught a glimpse of the beach falling far away from her as she recently made her way to the summit. She was alone and exhilarated. The view, she recalled, was almost as stunning as her achievement: leaving behind her body -- disabled with lupus and arthritis that has confined her to a wheelchair -- to enter a newly created, computer-generated world called There.

It is a meticulously designed, three-dimensional virtual reality, or metaverse. In it people are represented by avatars, cartoonlike figures that move about like marionettes speaking through great bubbles of text appearing over their heads. Consumers using high-speed broadband connections can chat -- not just in text, but by voice as well -- and even share streaming music with one another as they talk and play.

query.nytimes.com...

Note: Some of the articles I posted were published this year and some are more than ten years old. The reason I picked them was because I think they perfectly expressed some of the good and bad of technology and the progressiveness of technology, and how that progressiveness has increasingly blurred the lines between reality and fantasy.

good bad or indifferent it truly does not matter there is only one direction to go and that is forward. When civilizations stop advancing they begin to fall apart it has happened time and time again through out history. As we become a global civilization (which has already began) it will only accelerate our advances. My suggestion to anyone who feels badly about our increasing trust and dependance in technology is get over it and enjoy the ride



CW OUT!!

Originally posted by constantwonder
there is only one direction to go and that is forward.

I have to wonder though if this ability was taken away from us and our modern conveniences were no longer functional, how many of us would survive? How would we cope with the shock? We depend so much on technology, every year we become more dependent and less self efficient. Then there is always the growing danger of possible artificial intelligence that could one day wipe us out.

People are resourceful when they have to be. I would like to believe that we could cope fairly well with the loss of technological infrastructure. However what i want to believe and what we are capable of may not be in perfect harmony. As for self efficiency I must ask if you believe you are any more prepared than the rest of us? What suggestions can you make that would make a simpler life more bearable. Have you ever considered that a loss of technology may actually be good for many people. Life has become a hectic day to day shuffle, maybe its time we all got back to the basics anyways. I can't see less people on their bums in front of the computer or the idiot box as a completely bad thing. If nothing else perhaps it would strengthen the human populous by getting back to good ol' Darwinian evolution survival of the fittest. Then again I find a strong healthy mind much "sexier" than a bombshell with air between the ears . So much for evolution

As for self efficiency I must ask if you believe you are any more prepared than the rest of us?

I think I'm one of the most ill prepared people on the planet actually, that is why this question intrigues me.

Have you ever considered that a loss of technology may actually be good for many people.

Yes, sometimes I think people would appreciate each other and communicate better if our current technology didn't exist.

The new factors in the equation of the balance of mankind and the rest of nature are the technological advances that have changed how political and social chaos can develop, and the advances in industry that have the potential to inflict serious environmental alterations. Threats of nuclear war, biological catastrophe, and climate change now bring into question as to how humanity can continue to survive.

Personally, I think that with the growth of true threats to survival, there has been growth of human ingenuity as well. We have yet to release a monster of technology upon the world. Despite the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, there has been no global nuclear warfare. Medical research is in a renaissance of advance. Climate change remains a concern, but I believe that we are an adaptable species, as we have adapted before and will again.

The larger question is how will humanity survive? It's very likely that the resources of today may no longer be available in a century. But consider the resources available today that were not available a century before. As stated before, we are an adaptable species, and when one window of resources closes, it's likely that other windows will be opened.

Why do I place this faith in humanity? Because I must. Without the belief that we will continue to grow and overcome the pains of chaos as we mature as a species, we might as well not have any faith at all. I'm not talking religion (although that may or may not be a part in its current forms), but simply the same belief that we will survive just as much as the sun will rise the next day.

All one can do is rely on the self. Only you can preserve your life (or at least can be trusted to do so). Be ready for whatever may happen. We are a social and adaptable being, so even if it came to catastrophe you wouldn't have to do it alone, and I find that comforting.