A recent article by the BBC (titled “Hi-tech aims to improve lifestyle“) got me thinking about technology over history. I mean beyond my previous articles about the web, and actually about technology in general.
Historically, technology has been developed for one of the following purposes:
- To automate what would have been done by (costly) human hands
- To provide more information
- To make things easier, and hopefully making money along the way
But has sometimes left us with these side effects:
- Information overload
- Extreme amounts of advertising
- Job loss and bizarre positions
- Extreme energy consumption
- Procrastination
It is about time that technology started to work in the favour of the natural human being, as well as nature in general. I’d like to see technology which is able to work out methods which create more energy than it actually uses. I’d like to see technology which allows human society get fitter. I’d like to see technology which helps humans use telephones instead of relying on web-based/textual communication. I’d like to see technology which removes us from the screen. I’d like to see technology which gives us worldwide freedom.
Maybe we’re on the way there…. or maybe my dream is only possible by devolving technology and going back to basics by working the land with our hands. Let us hope it is the first, because it is probably too late for the latter.
