"Where does human infatuation with technology lead?"

• has technology dramatically changed our lives?
• in what ways are we infatuated with technology
  
• we pay attention to technology and neglect other things
  
• do we focus on technology more than on other things that change our lives?
  
• when we want to solve a problem do we favor technological solutions? (technological fix)
  
• do we we tend to focus on technology too much
  

Where will human enthusiasm for technology lead us?

• do you think we are too enthusiastic about technology?
• the singularity  (Ray Kurzweil)
  
• Kurzweil on Colbert
  
• computers smarter than humans by 2029
  
• computers are already smarter than humans in tasks with clear rules and facts
• computers can beat the best humans at chess, and even at the game of Go
  
• we can now program computers that learn
• take data and figure out patterns for themselves
• the problem is there is inevitably bias built into the data
  
• computers can figure things out for themselves--neural networks
  
• and computers that are at least somewhat creative
• at present a lot of new uses of computers to generate new mixes of ideas (in art or writing)
  
• but computers don't have intuition, or do they?
  
• some problems are at least in part mathematically solvable--eg. Atlanta traffic
• computers are increasingly able to come up with the solutions to complex problems with the best measurable results
  
• for those kind of problems, at some point computers will be able to make better decisions than humans
• this is real enough that we need to take it seriously
  
• computers able to design better computers (self-replicating)
• computers can do the work and we will have more leisure
  
• use technology to improve humans
• would you upload your brain into a robot to live forever?
• Kurzweil is an example of someone who is infatuated with technology
  
• sometimes do we hope technology will give us an easy fix for our problems, that might be solved better another way?

consider a spectrum from rejecting technology (eg. Amish) to technology will allow us to do everything (eg. Kurzweil)

• where do you fall on that spectrum
• Where does Nye fall on that spectrum

or another spectrum of how quickly you adopt new technologies:

• innovators try things first, but their friends don't listen
• early adopters/opinion leaders try something new and their friends listen
• early majority
• late majority
  
• laggards
  

but what about the direction of change?

technological progress in a particular direction is not inevitable
but because of human enthusiasm change is rapid
yet we have trouble updating our vision (understanding) to how the world has changed

We think technology gives us freedom, wealth..., but does it really?
(We easily see these benefits of technology, but what potential problems should we pay attention to?)

• in some ways yes, but there are also limits/problems/side effects
• technology gives us some things, allows us to do some things, but there are other things that are important too
• we may pay less attention to other things than we should
  
• there are a lot of different things we can do
• technology seems like the easiest and most predictable way of improving something
• or we could try to improve community, but changes that aren't based on technology are more controversial and it is harder to know whether they will work
• we are biased towards technological solutions
• are there things that we can do that aren't technological that might be more important
• or are there ways to use technology more wisely towards broader goals
  

What has Nye told us about technology (review)

• technology is a fundamental human expression
• the path of technological growth is not inevitable, in fact it isn't even predictable
• historians find technologies are shaped by their context, they are not independent of society and do not transform the world from outside
• people can use technologies for many ends, and people usually prefer variety
• consider next what about the problems technology causes:
• does technology make us wealthy, or does is give us more material things but reduce our quality of life in other ways
• how is it going to affect other people with different cultures or opportunities
  
• are we going to need to reduce resource consumption or the damage we do to the environment?
• can we solve such problems simply by inventing better technologies or will we need to consume less?
• does technology take away jobs?--not so far, but it changes jobs
  
• does technology reduce or increase our freedom?
• reduces freedom by making things more the same or by making us dependent on it
  
• increases freedom by allowing us to do more
• we have more information, is that always a good thing? does that give us more opportunities for self-expression
  

What can we do to increase the benefits of technology and decrease the negative effects? Understand that we have choices
How do we make decisions and put those decisions into effect about what technological direction to go in?

• since the direction of technology is not inevitable, it is possible and necessary to make decisions
• we make those decisions for ourselves by asking good questions (thinking critically about technology)
• we start with our values, examine whether a particular technology will serve or act against those values
• how do our individual choices have any impact--how do we put them into effect
  
• we can make wise choices of technology for ourselves, as consumers
  
• can we simply trust the marketplace?  Nye says no because corporations don't necessarily develop the technologies that would benefit us most
  
• is government control a better alternative?  Nye says not with the institutions we have now
  
• he would like to see citizens have more voice in choosing where we want technology to take us

do people know enough to make choices between technologies?

• are choices available and visible?
• can we understand enough to know what risks we take?
• understanding the science and technology--sometimes called technological literacy
  
• having information on the consequences of different choices
• having thought about what kind of society we want
  
• do we think the technologies we have grown up with are natural and not question them?
• we very quickly take technologies for granted and don't question them
• watch out for the human tendency to naturalize things

How do we live well with change?

• recognize that the world is always changing and we need to be aware of new understanding and ways of doing things
  
• being willing to choose what works for you, not just follow what is around you
• build community around what is important to you, use technology to do what you value
  

can we improve how we choose and use technology to make our lives better?

• start with watch out for the negative side effects of technology
  
• Nye--we don't have to do everything we can do
  
• we can evaluate new technology critically, thinking about whether we want the ways it changes our lives
• shape the technology and the way we use it to benefit us more
  
• we can choose the technologies we want
• by consumer choice
• by regulation
• by seeking the kinds of technological opportunities we want
  

How does technology make us more creative?

• the internet allows many more people to write or compose music or make art and share it with the world
• you can find communities around whatever you are excited about
• maker movement--we don't have to be passive consumers
• the internet gives us an alternative way to learn skills such as cooking, carpentry, or car maintenance
• The maker movement seeks to reclaim making things ourselves
  
• 3d printers allow us to creatively make objects at home and allow more flexible manufacturing
• you can make your own design or download open source designs
• home printers are not expensive, and the Watt Center has printers for students to use
  
• you can upload your design to sites like Shapeways for printing at reasonable cost in materials you can't afford to work with at home
  
• Etsy, Artfire and other web sites allow people to easily sell things they make
  
• bio-hacking: people who try to adjust their bodies with food choices and supplements
• individual creativity, more opportunities for artisans and craftspeople
• open source movement: make software and other designs free and modifiable instead of patented and sold for a profit (some people doing this are hobbyists, others
  
• we have more room now to be creators, not just consumers

Will the effect of technology in the future be different from its effect so far?

• Science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke expects that human infatuation with technology will lead to intelligent machines that will replace us (or that we will merge with).
• Bill Joy, Why the Future Doesn't Need Us
• David Lloyd, And They All Lived Technologically Ever After
  

We have many possible futures made possible by technology.
Which one do we want?