While, yes, it might seem like technology has taken over our generation and our lives, I don't think technology is our life. Like Zadie Smith said, no computer can replace a human, and of course I agree with this. I personally do not think technology or things like Facebook are replacing humans in any way mostly because a computer cannot have/feel emotions like humans do. Zadie said that when a person becomes a set of data like on Facebook, they are reduced. I think this is a very interesting point because no matter how much Facebook tries to make a timeline of our life, there are still things about each person that are not displayed on their profile. You could stalk someone's Facebook for years and still not know that person completely without actually meeting them and getting to know them. When it comes to someone's profile, "they are more interesting than it is. They deserve better;"there is a lot more to each person than their profile lets on.
I find this whole idea of people just being a set of data very uncomfortable, it reminds me of Ray Kurzweil and his whole idea that biology and technology will fuse together. As much as I love technology, i really don't like the thought that people will become technology/computers. I think the reason it makes me so uncomfortable is because when people become computers, nothing is personal, private, or emotional anymore. People would no longer think or feel for themselves; they wouldn't be human any more, they'd just be another piece of technology.
(Ironically as I was writing this last part of this post, the song "Human" by Christina Perri came on which repeatedly says the phrase "I'm only human." This is ironic because this phrase would no longer be valid if humans and technology fuse like Kurzweil suggests.)
Thursday, February 27, 2014
Friday, February 21, 2014
#6 You can make money without doing evil
Number five on Google's list of things they know to be true is "you can make money without doing evil." I think this says a lot about Google as a company; they aren't trying to trick anyone or use them for the company's own personal benefit. Google tries to be a true and honest company to their users. This reminds me of religion in relation to the idea of "being a good christian." A good christian, or anyone who follows their religion well, would be true and honest and not do any evil like Google. Evil and religion are obviously closely intertwined with one another but it is interesting to examine the concept of evil through Google as a tool for the choosing Self.
Human dystopia
Today in class we watched the Ray Kurzweil video which led us to talk about the Singularity idea and about technology merging with biology to a point where our lives are run on technology. During this whole discussion all I could think about were the people from the movie Wall-e. In the movie earth is completely desolate and all humans live on this spaceship thing called "Human dystopia." Everyone living on Human dystopia is completely reliant on technology to the point where they don't even walk to interact with other people face to face (its all done through computers and screens). I think this says a lot about where technology could be taking us in this world. The name "human dystopia" itself even implies something unpleasant, dystopia is the opposite of utopia. I personally do not like this whole idea of biology and technology merging because it makes me think life would be like in Wall-e, which really scares me.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Battle of the CEOs: Google vs Apple
After reading all about Steve Jobs, it's hard to go through I'm Feeling Lucky without comparing Larry and Sergey to Jobs. While both company's CEOs are highly involved in their companys, their styles are veryyyy different. Apple has always focused on perfecting every detail of every product, but Google has lived by a different motto: "good enough is good enough". Rather than getting caught up in every little detail about every little thing, Google keeps moving forward, they "spend time doing, not deciding." I think these two mottos are what make Google stand out so differently from other companies like Apple. Google has no problem making products that aren't 100% perfect when they first come out (no shame in beta versions). Google is more concerned with keeping things moving forward and providing their customers with what they want which is why if you look at all the projects Google Ina's going on now, the list is long and only getting longer!! I think Google takes pride in putting out beta versions of their products to later improve with feedback from users/customers.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Google Doodle
If you googled anything today (which is highly likely), you would have noticed that today's google logo on the homepage looks a little different. Its not the Goggle logo, its the Google Doodle for the 2014 winter Olympics.
A team of Google doodlers work together to brainstorm and design doodles for the Google homepage to celebrate holidays, anniversaries, and the lives of famous artists, pioneers, and scientists. Some days the doodles are informative or educational and other days they are fun and interactive. Even though we might not all know what they're called, everyone knows about the ever changing Google Doodle. So far Google has created over 1,000 doodles so far, but here are a few of the ones I liked.
Being the geographically challenged individual that I am, Google maps saves me. Even when I'm talking to my older brother about pretty much anything, if I don't know what something he said means or don't know where a place is that he's talking about, being the teacher he is, he tells me to learn for myself and go google it. I honestly cannot remember the last time I went a day without googling something. Google is a medium that has become a way of life for our generation.
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