Thursday, January 29, 2009

I'm Lost!

A relatively recent piece of technology that takes away from the intrinsic value of exploration is a GPS system. I started thinking about this during the first week of classes when we were asked to list technological items that we use on a regular basis. Over break, when I told my parents that I was going on a walk when I was in Chicago, they immediately insisted that I take the GPS. A little extreme, right?

Two months into my job over the summer I realized I was still very dependent on my GPS to get me to and from work. The one day I forgot the GPS I was late, but really believed it was worth it. I realized I passed a golf course, bowling alley, two (what turned out to be delicious) restaurants, without realizing it. I had not appreciated what Richmond had to offer until I was forced to slow down in a society that idolizes fast-paced lives. Yes, I understand the argument that restaurants and bowling alleys could not exist without this technology, but I do believe there is a stopping point, and that we’ve surpassed it this millennium. Unlike the U.S., many other countries offer a much more relaxed pace of living, which I have heard from many friends who have studied abroad in Europe. Is the tradeoff worth it? With amazing advances in medical technology, I’m sure we will continue to save more and more lives, but will the quality of our lives diminish even further?

I’m worried that as humans, we will become much less social and personable and more robotic. I don’t need to call someone when I’m lost because I have a GPS. I don’t need to call someone to see how they are doing because there are Facebook status options. My 4-year-old cousin in Detroit told me that we don’t need to see each other often because he can show me his toys and games on Skype, and that I can play the Wii with him online. I don’t remember what crunching leaves or trees swaying in the wind sounds like because I’m too busy listening to my Ipod when I go for a run outside. I was watching a “How I Met Your Mother” episode online, when a pop-up offered me to watch it in an online viewing room with strangers, just in case I felt alone.

I understand the argument that this technology allows the human race to become more productive. Economically, we are much more efficient, and thus the pie that we share is much larger. But, we don’t share that pie equally, so is that what is making the rich even richer, and poor even poorer in the U.S. and other countries? Are we reaching or surpassing a point at which our desire for technological advances is blinding us from much more pressing social needs?

According to utilitarianism, can these advances be justified as moral actions, since the time, money, and effort used towards such technology could be used instead for more pressing issues, like universal education? Would Kant agree that it is good will from which these actions stem-- that it is to make human life (or a select group of lives, rather) better or that it is merely an insatiable and selfish desire to explore the limitless field of technology?

25 comments:

  1. I think that these actions stem from good will for the most part. I don't think someone is intentionally building a computer to kill someone unless you count weapons but even then they might just say they are doing it for protection and see it as a good. I'm sure though that there is some research that someone is doing that really won't make human life better and they are just doing it to see what happens, but for the most part I think most of the ideas that technology stems from is from people thinking that it would be awesome to not have to go to the theater to watch a show and then creating a tv. As for utilitarianism, since these advances make our lives more comfortable it could assumed that they make us happy since now we don't have to go through the trouble of actually having to be in the presence of the person we want to talk to. Of course there is the other side. Technology disconnects us instead of bringing us together and makes it so we have serious trouble functioning without it like you getting lost without your GPS. Some could say that this is bad, but I don't think that if the good and the bad of technology was morally weighed, the good would out measure the bad. But maybe I just think this way because technology makes life so easy that I can't image it being morally judged wrong.

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  2. I thought that was a great post. It's really crazy to see how dependant we are on technology! Im also taking a Teen health and the media class through the Journalism school, and we are focusing a lot on how adolescents spend most of their day with some form of technology. It has gotten to the point where we use GPS and mapquest in order to find things a couple miles away. It does make life easier, but it also takes away some face to face interactions. and the world does pass us by! Utilitarianism helps us to think for the good of the greatest number of people. all of these technologies are great for a lot of people and help everyone save time and make life easier... but like you said, your nephew (or cousin?) said you dont have to spend time with each other in person because of all the technologies that are available. i just cant imagine us sitting in a bubble by ourselves one day but being more connected to people via technology than we are today (i know this is extreme, but who knows what is next!!!) :)

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  3. Ooh I agree, this is a great post. I can definitely see what you mean with the GPS 'not noticing my surroungdings' issue. Having technology to do the work for you can definitely make you miss things. I think in the U.S. we probably don't need it as much as in other places of the world because our streets are pretty clearly marked and we can probably find directions to wherever we're going online with Google maps or something if we really needed. I do think though that some countries, like Japan, do benefit greatly from using GPS. I was there last semester and my host-mom was the only person I knew who didn't have a GPS. This led to her getting lost and a bit frustrated several times. Oddly enough (from our viewpoint at least) Japan doesn't really have street names. The only way you'd find something on your own is by using landmarks or just memorizing the route itself. So in this case, I feel GPS does more to help than harm.
    In regard to another issue you raised about worries that as humans we will become much less social and personable due to technology, I can see that as well. I often worry about the effects of so much lack in real human contact. Having friends you only talk to online opens up a whole box of worms in regard to how you treat that person. As sad as it may be, somehow this online-only relationship lessens the guilt we'd feel from lying to someone to their face. Just choosing not to talk to them/changing your screen name when you no longer like conversing with them is easy because you don't see the consequences of your actions. The U.S. is already a 'throw away' society in so many ways; I can't help but worry that, with the aid of technology, we'll start to think that way about people as well.

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  4. I couldn't help but become interested in this post. With all the talk in class about the first week about the technology we use on a regular basis many items ran through my head. Over Christmas break I purchased a Mac Book. This is where I become hesitant in deciding what form of communication is “better” to use “skype” or the old fashioned cell phone! When you are using “skype” and have a camera accessible you are able to see the person on the receiving end of the conversation (as you all know) opposed to the cell phone in which you can not. So when in comes to advancements in technology being the cause for us to become distant would that hold true for devices such as webcams or cameras installed in computers? I like Amber feel that advancments in technology occur because of advancements within our societies.

    There is a point when I feel applications in technology are too much. With status changes in Facebook people are about to track your every move (well as much as you allow them too). But it is the individuals who can choose whether or not to post things. You are about to control your settings and the pictures others can view. So in this sense I feel that although technology allows for all of this to become a reality we are able to place a limit.

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  5. Like everyone else that has commented, I thought this was a spot-on post. Even though, I'm somewhat reluctant to admit it because I'm guilty as charged. Obviously I don't know what I would do in my life without my Crackberry, laptop, Google, etc.
    I definitely feel that while the devices can be distracting, they are very beneficial--having information at your fingertips 24/7 and the ability to communicate with people all over the world--what more do you want?
    However, as Dhivya pointed out, humans are definitely becoming much less social. Instead of calling, people now text or send a Facebook message. We have lost human-to-human contact but still know when and where any of our friends are at any moment because of status updates and instant messenger away messages. Some restaurants have even gone so far as to now have a no cell phone rule because diners were simply sitting across from each other typing instead of having engaging conversation. Plus, human social interaction via technology loses the human voice--have you ever read a sarcastic text message the wrong way because you couldn't hear the intonation of the sender's voice?
    In any event, technology definitely has benefits--and a lot of them. But we shouldn't let technology run our lives. Put down the Blackberry and go have a cup of coffee with an old friend.

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  6. I can’t agree more with this post. Similar cases (or problems?) happen around me all the time. I bought a GPA as soon as I moved to North Carolina, and I started to rely on my GPS a lot, losing my ability of recognizing directions. However, GPS greatly helped me when I was first here. Many times I could barely see any directions after I exited highways due to the dim lighting systems on the road. At this time, GPS served not only the best guide giving the right directions, but also reduced the accidents that people might have when they were trying to search the correct directions in the dark. Google Map is another example. Even though it helps people recognizing directions when visiting new places, it turns out to be insecure when it comes to national security issues. No countries would be willing to reveal every single detailed information on the Google Map, which could be so easily googled by everybody.

    This is an undeniable fact that people nowadays live with high technologies, and highly depends on the convenience brought by them. Kantiansim might not be applied to all high-tech applications today because the universal moral guidelines might not be able to consistently apply to every situation. For example, I do believe that the invention of Google Map was to meet the demands of humans, bringing more convenience to our daily lives. However, designers cannot control “how” people use the product. They cannot ask people to apply the same moral standard or ask people to follow the original intention as they do either.

    Utilitarianism, on the other hand, might face the same situation. As the original intention of creating a high-tech product might be to increase the happiness of humans, more and more discontent about the product might occur when it is used more often. Furthermore, harms might occur at the same time. At this moment, Utilitarianism might be challenged. However, I still believe that, most technologies are created and designed based on the demands of humans. The primary intentions are often good, yet the side effects induced by how people use these technologies might not be positive all the time.

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  7. I agree that these concerns exist, and from time to time I wonder if I am loosing touch due to my reliance on technology. The key to keeping your technology beneficial relies on the consumer as the utility diminished you must decide if the value still exists. For example GPS made my ski trip to West Virginia very easy to navigate, and while there we were able to easily locate places to eat, food, and things to do without wasting valuable time or gas. Most other days my GPS stays in my glove box because I don't need it to get around in my day to day driving.

    Likewise human interaction becomes easier from a distance, but it is up to you to decide when the value no longer exists in using the technologies to communicate and meeting in person is worth the time and effort it takes. The problem that is resonated through out this strand lies in how users accept the technology rather than the development of the technology itself.

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  9. As almost a perpetuation of the other posts I've made and read, I really do like what Dhivya said about just everything we seem to fill our lives up with technology wise. In response to studying abroad in Europe, I was in Copenhagen, Denmark for about 5 months and for the most part, I seemed to really slow down my life. To be honest, I couldn't have been more pleased though. While I was there, I actually spilled hot chocolate on my computer and it took 2 months to get it fixed, but life without it was awesome. I didn't worry about anything related to staying connected, I didn't mind missing calls on my crappy Euro cell phone, I didn't bother spending much time on the computer but rather got out and experienced the city for what it was worth. I really enjoyed that experience and even though I've gotten back into a fast-paced American mentality, it really is nice to ride my bike to class sometimes and "here the crunching leaves or trees swaying." Sure Utilitarianism might suggest that we should keep up with all the technology for the greater human good, but its really on us as individuals to stay focused on whats really important in our individual lives, which hopefully doesn't involve technology at all. I mean hell, we would probably talking about this in person right now if it wasn't for the Blogging generation right?

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  10. It is very true that technology has taken over our lives. We have become so dependent on technology now a days when something fails or we lose something we become helpless. I don't own a GPS, even though I'm dying to get one, but I feel like if I did I would be very dependent on it. I just mapquest everything now, which is replacing the need of one technology for another. This exact topic came up when me and my group were discussing our project for this term in Comp. We are doing centralized medical databases, which is where your medical records are all on computers. You can send records or prescriptions out faster and more efficiently. It seems technology and internet is completely taking over how our very personal information is shared. The old paper records are now a thing of a past and frankly it is a bit... scary.
    Sure it is nice to not depend on technology for a period of time but it never lasts long. I feel like we will always go back to our technology dependent lifestyles.

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  11. I agree with your comments on the unequal access to technology. Constant access to the general knowledge database that is the internet is terribly convenient (though debilitating to one's immediate awareness as you say), saving the tech-savvy time, money, and, often, use of the brain. But only the affluent can afford state of the art stuff. By utilitarianism, though, I would argue that the money and effort put into these advances can be justified because in the long run, these technological breakthroughs will be available to nearly all people, improving their qualities life (depending on your definition of a good quality of life).

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  12. We have already faced the severe problems with identity protection and theft over the Internet and it would be wise to learn from those problems and make sure the GPS implementation comes with inbuilt safeguards and checks to ensure that the rights and privacy of the individual are not sacrificed to technology.

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  13. Though I love the level of technological advancement that our society has achieved, I also agree that it is affecting the way that humans interact. It is a scary thought to think the world is becoming so impersonal and detached. Technological advancements are definitely a leading reason for this as well. With every new upgrade, we literally need less and less help from people in real life. It is because of all this that I believe technology to have very significant pull over people's acts and emotions.

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  14. My dad wanted to get a GPS for the family, mostly for my mom, so we recently got a Garmin. We live in a really small town, and some of the streets that have been around since I was younger don’t even shown up on the GPS. We tried using it to get from downtown to our home, and the Garmin did not help arrive at the correct destination. I think a GPS system is only really useful when you’re traveling to a new place that you don’t frequently visit, and even then you might get lost. I like using paper maps, so I can see the whole area and possible alternative routes all at once; however, I do frequently print out maps from the Internet.
    Our society has become very impatient and very fast paced to where we expect to have things when we want them or within a short period. Many other countries do run at a much slower pace, and can be hard for American tourists to handle. For example, examining people at meal times illustrates both these points. My sister recently returned from Kenya and told me that everything moves slower there, especially at meal times. She said that when they went out to eat lunch at noon and it took 3 or 4 hours before they even saw their food. She stayed in a hotel and even when they ordered something easy like grilled cheese, it took over an hour to receive it. In the US, especially in the South, people expect to have quick and amazing service and would be appalled at having to wait over an hour for food. This can be seen just by looking at the vast number of fast food restaurants and chains that exist in the US.
    The American people have developed shorter attention spans, and need technology to give us that instant gratification we crave. Think about the cell phone, not even a Blackberry or any other type of phone that allows you to get Internet, but a simple phone that makes calls. If you have a question or just need to talk to someone about something you can just call them. How helpless do you feel when you leave that phone at home or lose it? I personally hate talking on the phone and dislike texting, because I’m slow at it; however, I feel uncomfortable and sometimes helpless without my cell phone. It’s almost like we’ve lost our ability to communicate with each other unless we have technology.

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  15. One aspect of your post deals with people becoming more dependent on technology, specifically with getting lost without your gps. Humans have always been dependent on technology, and we are not becoming moreso. It just happens that our technology has developed to become integrated with different parts of our lives. Before the gps, we navigated with the map. Before the map, the average person did not navigate. While using a gps might cause us to eventually lose our ability to fluently use a map, we do not need to raise alarms. That knowledge might just disappear, just as common knowledge regarding constructing one's own furniture, for instance, has disappeared with better technology and diversification of skills.

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  16. I agree with Dhivya's feeling of dependence on technology and how it causes one to often miss out on the things around them. I myself have suffered this experience but did not realize it until after I was forcibly disconnected. I spent two months in Ghana last summer where internet access is not found in any homes, with internet cafes being the primary source of access. While this in itself was a dramatic change, I then spent an additional three weeks in an incredibly rural town with absolutely no internet access. Combined with me being the only American for several hundred miles, I felt completely alone for the first few days and constantly felt like I was missing out on life. However, I eventually began to adjust to this and started integrating into the community. For me, this is proof positive, that we are incredibly dependent on technology for the preservation of our relationships.

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  17. I'd have to agree with this post. This summer, my parents and I took a roadtrip from San Francisco to Seattle, where my two good friends at UNC are from. At one point, we were in the car with my roommate, who has lived in Seattle most of his life. We were on the highway, heading to my roommate's house, and my dad had his trusty GPS leading the way. As we approached an exit, my roommate said that it was the fastest way to go at that time of day because we'd be able to skip city traffic. But my dad didn't even notice he was talking. When he's in the driver's seat, I think he only hears the weird, robotic GPS voice. We passed the exit and proceeded to get stuck in a lot of traffic. My dad insisted that the GPS knew the best way to get around. My roommate thought it was funny.

    I think this kind of behavior has become more and more common these days. As technology becomes more "intelligent" and more present in our day-to-day lives, we become more trusting of it and more dependent on it. It's incredible that my dad trusted a machine over a HUMAN. In this case, the human had lived in this area for years and knew the traffic patterns. The machine had no idea that it was 5 in the afternoon and that traffic would therefore be nightmarish in the downtown of a large city. But my dad has taken many road trips and has come to trust the GPS because it always helps him when he's lost and gets him to where he needs to be. As we use technology more and more, we need to be careful to understand that we can't always blindly trust these gadgets and software. There are times when the "old fashioned" way of doing things is simply better. For example, most girls would rather be asked out on a date in person or over the phone rather than through a Facebook message. Human contact needs to prevail despite infinite technological advances.

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  18. Reliance of technology and the way it dehumanises people has always been a hot topic of debate the world over since the advent of the simplest gadgets.

    The printing press and the creation of books was lamented over, as people worried about the deterioration of the populace's ability to remember things without having them printed on paper.

    I would say that technology does not neccessarily make things more impersonal, but rather, creates different ways with which we can express ourselves. Reliance is somewhat inevitable since technology has always been the crutch of humanity. Remember the wheel?

    Every new piece of technology comes with its own controversies. Which is exactly what explains the existence of this course we're all taking. The computer, the new super gadget of this era, is truly a multipurpose tool, allowing it many avenues for good, as well as evil. Therefore, disscussion of the ethics of such technologies would not be one without merit.

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  19. Unfortunately, becoming dependent on GPS does not just impact the GPS owner but it can also have an impact on people who expect you to know your way around. I was traveling to DC last month for inauguration and I got lost upon entering the city. I called my friend that I was going to be staying with but she couldn't direct me to where she was because only knows how to get around using her GPS. It was an extremely stressful experience that probably wouldn't have happened if GPS didn't exist. I think it is important for people to take advantage of every aspect of technology. Conversely, it is also important to retain a certain degree of practical knowledge in the event of technological failure.

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  20. I think that Kant would agree that the GPS was made in order to help people, and in that way it is a good intention, but I also think it was made to make money. It is unclear to me which way Kant would ultimately decide, because there are multiple aspects to the GPS concept. I use my GPS all the time,and I am constantly looking for a faster, easier way to get somewhere. I do not think it is a bad thing, and honestly I have the worst sense of direction, so I really need a device such as a GPS to help me reach my destination.

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  21. I enjoyed this post because it demonstrated the dependency people have on technology. I personally do not own a GPS, and I am not the most efficient person with computers in general, however, I find myself always listening to my ipod, and like you said completely missing the sights and sounds of everyday life. However, i still feel as if Kant would agree to an extent with this reliance on technology as it allows for the facilitation and in the end is useful to humans. however, i'm sure Kant would frown upon the thought of GPS as a means to make money.

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  22. I can completely empathize with you Dhivya. Whenever I started my job this summer I had to move to Tallahassee. When I got there I was asked to go get cash to put in the pot for lunch. When told the directions I was so frazzled and nervous on the first day that I didn't understand where the secretary was telling me to go. So my immediate action was to grab the GPS off the dash in my car and follow it. I couldn't believe I had stooped to that level. Unfortunately that is the double edge sword that is technology today. We thirst for more convenience but at the same time we're losing a sense of independence and confidence in our own human abilities.

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  23. Recently, I met someone who refuses to even store contacts in his phone. He has all the numbers in his head just fine so doesn’t see the need to bother with technology on his camera-lacking phone. Overall I believe technology has enhanced human life, but possibly to avoid the downside of depersonalization we might all need to make personal limits on how far we let technology run our lives just as the phone number guru has done. As for myself, I really can’t stand to see people walking around campus headphones in and oblivious to the world. In four years I’ve seen 3 close calls with pedestrians and buses, been completely ignored by zoned-out friends, and have seen people quite frankly making complete fools of themselves jamming and dancing away on the corner while waiting for the light to change all thanks to music on the go. As for the GPS… I have a roommate who couldn’t tell her mom how to get to our dorm from Holly Springs. Four years and can’t verbally give directions without the thing mounted in her car. So to reference a previous post, technology seems to be making society slightly more stupid and a little more oblivious.

    Sorry if this post seems slightly unrelated… just needed to rant.

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  24. I think that all of this technology, while a tremendous asset to everyone with the means to buy it, is a big hindrance on human interaction and social skills. The two main examples that I have seen in this string of posts are the GPS and the IPod (including IPhone, or even Blackberry).

    Nothing is more annoying than the random dude strolling down the brick paths in Polk Place with no regard to any of his surroundings. It could be raining human excrement, but he wouldn't realize what was going on because he was too wrapped up in listening to the latest Deathcab for Cutie (or whoever) single. Stop, pull the earbuds out, and walk while enjoying your surroundings. Perhaps (gasp!) find someone with whom you could carry on a conversation on the way to class, or back home.

    I celebrate music, the arts, and anything else enriching and helpful to daily life, but there must be a line drawn somewhere. At some point technology impedes a person's ability to realize what is going on in the world (don't get me started on how dangerous driving a car with headphones is). How can we stop this...can it be stopped? Just another rant, but I hope that it holds some truth to others.

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  25. Take a walk or ride a bike through Chapel Hill without a destination--for the sheer enjoyment of the ride--and your eyes will be opened to the miraculous architectures that line the streets surrounding campus. Our fast-paced daily living and dependency on the automobile for transportation have blinded us to so much that is worth being noticed, and modern technologies, such as GPS and the iPod have furthered those observational limitations.

    Sure, there are endless benefits to these technologies, but it is also important that we continue to think for ourselves and avoid our dependency on these technologies to recall two-turn directions or calculate a simple tip percentage. We should also avoid sole dependency on these technologies for entertainment, as the action of a natural field setting at the emergence of the spring season is often underestimated.

    These technologies causing conformity to an extent that individuality is becoming rapidly less abundant. They are determining the way we live our lives, leading to robotic behavior throughout modern-day human societies. They certainly have their benefits, but it is important for humans to recognize the limitations caused by these technologies, and escape their grasp.

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