Sherry Turkle's Alone Together is an interesting read. In my opinion, it was a lot different from the other readings that we have had throughout the semester thus far. The other readings were focused on how technology is making life easier for us. But, this reading discusses how technology is similar to a human with regards to its interactions.
This reading made me think about the movie Her because of the close interactions with technology. The movie is about a human having a relationship with technology and this idea relates closely to this reading. This is the case because some people turn to technology to experience that companionship, instead of turning to other humans. This idea does not bode well for me because I believe relationships are meant to be with other humans, not technology. I personally do not see how technology can be able to provide a specific stimulation compared to what a human can offer.
Going off of that idea is the fact that our society has so much belief in how robots can fill certain voids in our lives. We turn to robots because they are considered advanced technology, but they simply cannot get the job done. Nothing in life is perfect and this concept goes for robots too. Human error is a fact of life and robots are intended to fill that human role, so who says that they too cannot make mistakes? Making mistakes and learning from them is part of the growing process and how we learn. Honestly, I believe we are able to learn more when we make mistakes and learn from them. This idea is why robots do not have to be involved in our lives as much as some people say that they do.
In conclusion, I do not agree with this readings perspective. I believe that face-to-face interactions with people are important in development and growth. Adding robots to this mix will just create problems because robots lack the feelings that humans possess. Our society is suffering as it is when it comes to how we communicate, add robots into the mix and we are doomed. Do you honestly believe robots will make life easier for us?
This reading was of huge interest to me. I like that you bring up the movie Her. As I was reading Turkle's piece I was reminded of this film. I thought that this movie was extremely believable. While I don't think I would fall in love with the OS, I definitely could see how the main character builds a relationship with the operating system. This reminded me of online relationships. Even though there is a human on the other side of the screen, your only real interactions going on are through text. An online relationship is essentially like dating your phone or computer.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment Eden! I completely agree with what you said about an online relationship because it is similar to dating your technology. It's crazy to fathom that this is what our world has come to.
DeleteThis was a good post. I agree with what you said in your post. I don't think robots would make life easier. I think they are kind of creepy actually. I remember my brother had this toy robot that could carry things to you and you could control it from a remote. However, I am always convinced that they have a camera in them or something. Robots are just another reason that people avoid interaction in person which I think that is something people struggle with. In my public speaking class, we discussed how people are becoming so afraid of face to face interaction and talking in person. Some people are even afraid to make phone calls today. I can't even imagine how people would talk today if we did not have cell phones in college. We would all be fighting over the hall phone. Another invention of technology in society like robots is just over the line I think. It also makes people more lazy today too if they are doing all this work for us.
ReplyDeleteWow, you definitely hit the nail on the head with this comment. I couldn't agree more with you because I believe robots will destroy how we interact. I'm not looking forward to this day if it ever comes.
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