CMNS 150 Online Discussion
Connected, but Alone
(Sherry
Turkle Feb 2012)
I found myself wholeheartedly agreeing with Sherry Turkle. It is terrifying to me to see that the large portion of
the today's population who abuse digital communications seem to be emotionally
devolving.
It is Ironic because as far back as the beginning of the Humanist Movement
we as a “progressive” society have prided ourselves on the development of an
ethical dogma that embraced compassion,
empathy and authentic communication. But
today many people are relying more on the digital world for emotional
gratification and validation, as a result they distance themselves from face to
face interaction.
This fear of genuine conversation
has led to a decline in our ability to nurture real bonds not just with each
other but with ourselves as well. It is
often unnerving be alone with my thoughts, I am therefore in a constant quest
for external stimulus.
If we continue
on this current path is the fiction of “Ex Machina” going to become our
reality?
Turkle, Sherry. “Connected but Alone” TED2012, Feb 2012.
Alex Garland “Ex Machina”
Universal Pictures 2014
How can we fix our social media addiction as a society? How can we promote real life conversation? I have yet to watch "Ex Machina," however, it seems like it might just be the thing to scare me away from my technology addiction! Just today I saw a news clip on Global BC in which Sophia the humanoid robot says she has feelings (https://globalnews.ca/video/4542334/sophia-the-humanoid-robot-meets-with-ukrainian-pm), so perhaps Ex Machina coming to fruition isn't so far from reality...
ReplyDeleteI would love to argue with you but if Sophia really does have "feelings" how far away are we from "Skynet" (Terminator movies) becoming self aware, and if you haven't seen the movies things went south really fast after that.
ReplyDeleteI was kind of thinking along the same lines as you, Mike! When I first watched the video, and Turkle was discussing companionship robots, I immediately thought of the video game "Detroit: Become Human" in which robots that were designed to be companions turn on their "masters". I also agree with your point that we search for external stimulus to avoid being alone. Weather it be a computer game or reading a book, we all have a way of trying to not be alone with our thoughts and I think technology has increased this need.
ReplyDeleteHi Chrissy I couldn't access your blog, it kept coming up as random script. I am worried about what will happen when the first AIs become self-aware. Will they respect us as their creators? will they be indifferent? or will they view us redundant and obstacles to their evolution? To avoid solitude people crave external stimulus and that can lead to addiction, I know this from personal experience.
ReplyDeleteHi Mike. I agree with your thoughts that the genuine compassionate and empathetic communication that defines humanity is being eroded by technology. Like you, I went though most of my schooling before technology had advanced sufficiently enough to put mobile phones in the hands of every individual. I find it disconcerting how much you see people ignoring those right next to them these days because of their phones.
ReplyDeleteWe touched on Sherry Turkle's notion of "alone together" in CMNS 105; in that course we discussed the similarity between the sounds that messaging apps make and those produced by casino gambling machines. It is by design that people are drawn to their phones; mobile apps are engineered to be addictive. As devoid of gratitude as mobile communications is, people are still consumed by their devices because a new message notification causes the the brain to release endorphins
just as a jackpot win does.
I never thought about the correlation between the sound of messaging apps and slot machines, that is both fascinating and terrifying. They have really hooked into what makes us tick.
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