This is Gedanken's core mission, as we live in a world of increasing automation David Cliff explores the impact of how humans and technologies interact.
“I found a silver needle, I put it into my arm, it did some good, did some harm”, Leonard Cohen lyrics assert. Without doubt technology is a two-edged sword. On the plus side it increases productivity, connects people in global ways that was hitherto unprecedented, informs and educates, shares trends and enhances awareness. On the other hand, it has the capability in the wrong hands of shaping and defining who we are, what we are, distort reality, create new realities and render people vulnerable to fraud and manipulation.
Behind the hardware, is increasingly sophisticated software technologies including algorithms that as yet have little moral compass, often created by the technically gifted rather than the ethically adept to pursue the financial goals that are endemic in how the entire system of internet-based trade is based.
Jean Baudrillard talked about the notion of simulacra, wherein the story itself becomes a reality. Let’s face it, with so many influencers, distractions, fake news, Meta worlds and commercial hyperbole, consciousness is shaped for many in the virtual world, against which the actual world is found wanting. Recent postings on the cosmetic face improvements created by TikTok filters, alarmed many to the potential for people using technology to selfmisrepresent and attempt to gain advantage thereby.
You wouldn’t give a child a circular saw plugged into the mains without a lot of supervision and instruction, yet many will throw cell phones and tablets at our children expecting them to somehow evaluate and police themselves in terms of the content they receive. The convenience of so many of these technologies continues to sell them but the less positive counter narratives are often played down until we see some tragic story on the television of how some young person was groomed to radicalism, changes of identity, affiliation or even suicide.
For many, their self-image is increasingly based on the impact of audience response, something that only people on the screen and stage experienced hitherto. Meantime, the refinement of face-toface social skills and understanding the complexities of the longterm relationships, rarely feature in e-communication rendering relationships increasingly transactional and egocentric rather than evolving and mutual.
Stimulus response psychology has been around since the late 19th/early 20th centuries and there is much in the technology we use to condition us. Engagement with commercial enterprises involve systems of rewards, feedbacks or algorithmic reminders to encourage participation. This exploits the addictive nature of humankind when it comes to anything that affects reward centres within the brain and it’s very much “be there or be square”, combined with the modelled behaviours of others who never seem to be away from the screen. Indeed, IT can very easily become a 24/7 practice, interfering with the emotions, taking attention away from the physical relationships around you and leaving you with living in an increasingly virtual world that appears to require only a few button clicks, but actually requires all of you to participate.
Small wonder we have the concept of the ‘digital detox’ or even, abandoning platforms altogether. The off grid population has increased exponentially in the last few years as psychologically minded people realise the trade-offs that occur between the use of technology and the acknowledgement of their core humanity.
This isn’t going to go away anytime soon. There is too much investment in technology to do that and we cannot dismiss its benefits. Somehow a balance has to be sought between our technologies serving us rather than ruling over us. Just as in business every strategic decision is a financial decision, so in technology every engagement has moral and ethical consequences with significant and growing corporate social responsibility for companies. Indeed, governments are catching up on the impact of technology across populations, both social, psychological and fiscal including taxation!
More recently AI such as Chat GPT, have raised new debate again as authentic, heartfelt lived experience narratives give way to ‘original content’.
For all of us, we need a digital awareness and the personal discipline to use technology rather than be defined and manipulated by it. We need to ask ourselves some basic questions, here are but a few?
Do we spend more time with technology than with humans?
Can we switch our phones off through critical meetings, meals and at night (you shouldn’t be exposed to RF radiation anyway, so keeping the phone within 10 feet of you is probably unhealthy).
Do we actively look at our children’s online behaviour and have those difficult conversations which they don’t want about what real relationships are like and the skills involved in the face-to-face encounter?
Do we encourage downtime amongst our staff where technology is not a feature, do we prioritise being present at meetings rather than simply responding to what flashes up on a screen or the call that one must take. Is there really ever a call that won’t wait?
Can we stop using technology at a certain time of night to ensure our natural human diurnal rhythms are maintained?
When we are on public transport and other places do we screen ourselves and the people around us or do we experience what’s going on in the real world instead of retreating into our favourite playlist.
Do we cross busy roads, travel escalators et cetera, with headphones on that preclude any auditory signals of the people around us.
Do we feel a compulsion to look at notifications?
When we communicate well-being issues with our clients and staff, are these technology-based or are these tactile, human face to face encounters?
How good are staff engaging with customers and stakeholders on the face-to-face encounter or is there an over use of emails with people that if asked would prefer a face-to-face encounter.
The list could go on, my purpose here is to open the debate about how do people retain their humanity in this busy world…