According to Wall Street Insanity, Technology is making us all a little less human every day.

This is a very good article. It has some serious things to consider. Using modern technology is like getting a shot of dopamine every time you interact with others online.
One thing I’ve pondered for a long time is;
will modern technology surpass our moral compass or have we already reached that point?
Also, is it possible that modern technology will take over our planet ?
Are we progressing so fast in technology that humans will eventually become obsolete?
Will there be enough jobs left for us to do?
 
Interesting, and probably true to a large extent. I don't know about becoming less human, but technology is definitely changing the way we live our lives. Maybe we are becoming a different kind of human.

The last one surprised me a bit, not that we dream in colour more often, but that we ever dreamed in black and white. I can't remember ever dreaming in black and white. But then I can't remember a lot of things. lol.
 

I've been saying this for (about) the past twenty years: The internet will, ultimately, be THE major factor responsible for the end of life, as we know it. Kids are sorely lacking in social skills, this will lead to terrible conflicts, in the future, and their inability to effectively manage big picture situations, couples have not much incentive to work things out and stay together, when they know they can easily find new mates by getting on an online dating site, terrorists, even those with the poorest funding, can pull off fairly sophisticated, coordinated attacks thanks to online plotting and planning, and on, and on, and on, and - - - - This does not even take into account that the internet will bring Orwell's vision of the future (belatedly) to fruition via constant monitoring of our lives. The masses, almost unbelievably, are aiding this process, in their stupidity, by flocking to social media sites like Facebook.
 
Technology, and its effects on our lives has been a substantial issue for many years...probably starting with the Industrial Revolution. As time passes, and the pace of technological advances increases, these "effects" will be a major challenge to society, as we know it. Already, as the quoted article states, our lifestyles...especially among the younger people...are beginning to resemble something that us older folks find hard to understand. Who would have thought, even as recently as a couple of decades ago, that millions of people cannot get through the day without having a cellphone permanently attached to their hand?

The greatest challenge, in the future, will, IMO, be the advances being made in Artificial Intelligence. The day is fast approaching when humans will be obsolete in huge numbers of our industries. Millions...perhaps Billions...of people will find themselves unable to compete for jobs with AI. This, coupled with ballooning global populations, is going to push Humanity to a "Tipping Point", where today's disparity of wealth is going to seem paltry, by comparison. Humans have forgotten the basic laws of Supply and Demand...and when (not if) this Law rears its ugly head, the results are going to be catastrophic. Already, over half the planets population lives in poverty, and that number will only continue to increase. Even in the so-called "Developed Nations", there will come a time when those still lucky enough to have a good paying job, will be taxed heavily to support millions who cannot support themselves. That is when all Hell is going to break loose, and I doubt that day is more than a few decades away.
 
Don M. said:
Technology, and its effects on our lives has been a substantial issue for many years...probably starting with the Industrial Revolution. As time passes, and the pace of technological advances increases, these "effects" will be a major challenge to society, as we know it. Already, as the quoted article states, our lifestyles...especially among the younger people...are beginning to resemble something that us older folks find hard to understand. Who would have thought, even as recently as a couple of decades ago, that millions of people cannot get through the day without having a cellphone permanently attached to their hand?

The greatest challenge, in the future, will, IMO, be the advances being made in Artificial Intelligence. The day is fast approaching when humans will be obsolete in huge numbers of our industries. Millions...perhaps Billions...of people will find themselves unable to compete for jobs with AI. This, coupled with ballooning global populations, is going to push Humanity to a "Tipping Point", where today's disparity of wealth is going to seem paltry, by comparison. Humans have forgotten the basic laws of Supply and Demand...and when (not if) this Law rears its ugly head, the results are going to be catastrophic. Already, over half the planets population lives in poverty, and that number will only continue to increase. Even in the so-called "Developed Nations", there will come a time when those still lucky enough to have a good paying job, will be taxed heavily to support millions who cannot support themselves. That is when all Hell is going to break loose, and I doubt that day is more than a few decades away.
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Great post Don M. I completely agree with you. Artificial intelligence definitely has HUGE disadvantages but unfortunately it’s lost on our ‘perpetually convenient’ society.
 
Don M. said:
Technology, and its effects on our lives has been a substantial issue for many years...SNIP
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Great post! As for AI, greater minds than mine have predicted that, taken to its logical conclusion, the androids we produce will eventually be far more intelligent than us, realize they don't need us, and quickly end the reign of H. sapiens on the face of this planet, Asimov's three laws be damned!
 
I was deeply involved with "technology" for 40 years...1960-2000....and I was amazed at the advances during that time. Things have changed so much since I retired, that my skills would almost be useless today. The stuff I worked on while in the USAF was quite a bit ahead of the commercial applications, but the companies quickly caught up. When I got into data processing, the keypunch was the norm, and everything revolved around punched cards. Then, the first Tube type computers came about, and they were a giant leap forward. Over the years, huge solid state computers were developed, and my career ended during the transition to the IBM 390 series. Today, my desktop computer is far more capable than some of the systems I worked on in the 1970's. Technology is doubling in capacity/ability every 2 to 3 years, and it won't be long before computers can "outthink" humans. When computers reach the point where they can design their own "replacements" we are All headed for a far different world than we have come to know. We are very near the point where the "HAL9000" that was part of the movie "2001, A Space Odyssey", is just around the corner, and if you ever saw that movie, you can begin to see where we are headed.
 
I love having access to modern technology but often wonder how easy it would be for an enemy to cripple a country just by knocking out their internet connection. Nothing would work anymore, no supermarkets, no banks, even our electricity and water depend on modern technology. We would have to revert to life the way it was before the internet.

And our cars wouldn't run anymore either once they ran out of petrol. An old friend used to always say that when the apocalypse happens the man who owns the horse will be king.

Or, using technology, a take-over by stealth might see a feudal system evolve, and probably quicker than we think. It's well on its way already to some degree, with stagnant wage growth helping to fund ever-increasing profits. Let's just hope the puppet masters turn out to be benevolent dictators.
 
I see neo-feudalism just down the way: The super wealthy will have compounds that keep out the workers who tend the surrounding land and pay for their protection, by the standing armies of the wealthy, with a percentage of their crops going to their overlords. We will devolve only to the point where the AI guys develop the robots that will wipe out our species and, ultimately, rule the planet, and do it far more wisely than their predecessors. My decidedly dystopian view of the future is what I believe I see already set in motion, now.
 
Don M. said:
I was deeply involved with "technology" for 40 years...1960-2000....and I was amazed at the advances during that time. Things have changed so much since I retired, that my skills would almost be useless today. The stuff I worked on while in the USAF was quite a bit ahead of the commercial applications, but the companies quickly caught up. When I got into data processing, the keypunch was the norm, and everything revolved around punched cards. Then, the first Tube type computers came about, and they were a giant leap forward. Over the years, huge solid state computers were developed, and my career ended during the transition to the IBM 390 series. Today, my desktop computer is far more capable than some of the systems I worked on in the 1970's. Technology is doubling in capacity/ability every 2 to 3 years, and it won't be long before computers can "outthink" humans. When computers reach the point where they can design their own "replacements" we are All headed for a far different world than we have come to know. We are very near the point where the "HAL9000" that was part of the movie "2001, A Space Odyssey", is just around the corner, and if you ever saw that movie, you can begin to see where we are headed.
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Totally agree, Don M. -- one of my favorite old movies is "Colossus, the Forbin Project" -- SciFi writers make great prophets!
 
My year-old car is frighteningly smart, almost like an automotive version of a smartphone. It anticipates everything I'm going to do, and according to the manual, automatically comes to a halt if I am about to crash into something. (I have no intention of testing that!) It is intuitive about what kind of music I like. It turns the lights on at dusk, when it "thinks" it is dark enough. And so on.

All this is making the line between human and automaton increasingly blurry. Not complaining, I like all the safety features. But some of the "thinking" that the car does is kind of unnecessary, IMO.
 
Leonie said:
I love having access to modern technology but often wonder how easy it would be for an enemy to cripple a country just by knocking out their internet connection. Nothing would work anymore, no supermarkets, no banks, even our electricity and water depend on modern technology. We would have to revert to life the way it was before the internet.
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Actually, such a concern is well founded....but, not from an "enemy", but more from our own Sun. Recently, NASA was concerned about a massive solar flare that almost hit the Earth....luckily, all it did was create some spectacular Northern Lights in the atmosphere for a couple of days, as it passed with a "near miss". Should such a massive flare give the Earth a direct hit, we could very well lose most of our satellites, and much of our electrical grid, for an extended period of time. Can you imagine a life without electricity???...society would be throw into complete chaos within days.
 
Sunny said:
My year-old car is frighteningly smart, almost like an automotive version of a smartphone. It anticipates everything I'm going to do, and according to the manual, automatically comes to a halt if I am about to crash into something. (I have no intention of testing that!) It is intuitive about what kind of music I like. It turns the lights on at dusk, when it "thinks" it is dark enough. And so on.

All this is making the line between human and automaton increasingly blurry. Not complaining, I like all the safety features. But some of the "thinking" that the car does is kind of unnecessary, IMO.
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I bet your mechanic will love all of those features, cha, ching!!! :playful:

I would hate to be the last person to own that car and many others like it. All of these advanced features make a great case for leasing a vehicle instead of owning one.

Sometimes I think that technology is ahead of itself and ends up making life more complicated than it needs to be.
 
Wed. night Katy Curry (sp) had a one hour special on the Nat. Geo. channel on technology's impact on the human race and it was all bad. Youngsters memories will be all but shot when they are in their 40s because of life on their phones and computers and how addicted they all are. There are two billion Facebook users today. There are now rehab clinics for techies and Katy attended one. The suicide rate for girls 15-17 is soaring according to this program. Companies are manufacturing human drone for companionship and predictions are in 20 year a huge percent of people will have one.
 
Aunt Bea said:
Sometimes I think that technology is ahead of itself and ends up making life more complicated than it needs to be.
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I couldn't agree more.

Here's a couple of examples of exactly that.

I have a friend who worked for a health insurance company for 30 years. When she started the rule book was about the size of a child's exercise book. You handed her your receipt and she handed you your benefit. By the time she retired the rule book was bigger than an old paper telephone book and it took five working days for your benefit to be paid into your bank account.

And - I worked for a large multi-national company as a sales merchandiser. We had a device that we used to enter orders, and other various information, from the stores we visited. One of my co-workers was given a dressing down for not using the device properly. She liked to write everything down and enter it later at home. She was told that wasn't how it was supposed to work.

Then came the day when the computers went down and we all lost every piece of information we had entered. All except her. You couldn't wipe the smile off her face. LOL
 
There are small implants you get in your hand between the thumb and index finger. It is your ID/Security Badge. Companies in the Silicone Valley are using it now.
 
What if someday in the future AI decides we are the only threat on Earth to it's existence?
 

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