What technology wants
-Hello I'm a Verizon FIOS customer service representative.
-No. You are not. You are a machine. Can I speak to a real person?
-I can help you.
-No. You can not. We tried it before and you could not help me. I want to speak to a human being. Take me to your leader!
-Please listen carefully because our menu options have changed...
-I don't care about your menu options! I care about my problem! You don't understand it because you are a stupid robot! I want to speak to an agent! A Human! Flash and Blood!!!
-I don't understand!
-YOU IDIOT!!! GO AWAY!!! GIMME HUMAN!!! HOMO SAPIENS!!! AAAAAHHH!!!
... and then the voice answering service turned passive-aggressive on me. It turned the elevator music on and became unresponsive. There's a happy end to this story, but first let's talk about what technology wants.
"What Technology Wants" is a book by Kevin Kelly, a founding editor of Wired magazine. If you read it you'd learn that Technology is very old and very important entity, with mind of its own. KK would try to convince you that the best thing you could do is to embrace the Technology, and give it what it wants. But I did not buy his book. I don't like his magazine either. The Wired magazine is just like technology: it's cool, sleek , shiny and dull. I think the coolest technology is duller then the dullest person's pinky.
People have this spark of uniqueness. People are interesting because they are imperfect and unpredictable. Technology is also interesting, but only as a reflection of this spark, only as an imprint of this imperfection.
So my answer to KK's question is: Nothing. Technology wants nothing because it has nothing to want with.
On the other hand what we want from technology is a more interesting question. People who produce and sell technology want to sell more of it. People who consume technology want it to solve their problems and go away.
There's a real need behind every technology out there. But we tend to overdo things that work, and that pushes us to consume more than we need.
One of the first technologies out there is cooking. It turns inedible into edible, it makes hungry people satisfied.
But we tend to eat more then we need. And cooking is pushing us to eat more or to crave a better cooking. If you could contain your meal where it belongs, in your belly, not in your heart or brain, you'd control the technology and not the other way.
Another old technology, money, is serving a real need. It's a bloodstream of society. It gives us security and freedom of choice. But we also abuse it: we race to make, spend and save more of it. If you can keep your money in your pocket, not in your head or soul, you'll enjoy it more.
And finally the internet is also serving a real need. A need for learning something new all the time. A need for sharing. A need for connecting with others. But it's not the best choice. I always prefer to get people over machines. Keep the internet in your pocket, but don't reach for it too often. Reach out to a human being, it's so much more satisfying!
Imagine yourself on a tropical island. A white sandy beach. Clear water. Blue sky. You touch a person next to you and you say: "I'm hot. Let's go for a swim".
Where is technology in that picture? Right. It's not there. You don't need technology in Paradise. But how did you get there? You flied on a jet, you bought the tickets on the internet and you payed for the tickets with money. Moreover the person next to you might say: "I'm hungry" and you'll need to cook something.
We're not in paradise yet, and technology is here to make the place we live in look and feel a little better.
...after screaming at robots for half an our, I finally reached a real Person and her name was Delila. "Please don't leave me" - I begged. She said she was sorry that I was having problems with my FIOS. She said she would help to solve them. She did. And then she did not. FIOS broke down again. And again. But I am thankful for Delila, because she is human, she is interesting and imperfect and she spent some time talking to me and being empathic. And it's not like I was having some real problem: it's just the internet service, a mere technology.
-No. You are not. You are a machine. Can I speak to a real person?
-I can help you.
-No. You can not. We tried it before and you could not help me. I want to speak to a human being. Take me to your leader!
-Please listen carefully because our menu options have changed...
-I don't care about your menu options! I care about my problem! You don't understand it because you are a stupid robot! I want to speak to an agent! A Human! Flash and Blood!!!
-I don't understand!
-YOU IDIOT!!! GO AWAY!!! GIMME HUMAN!!! HOMO SAPIENS!!! AAAAAHHH!!!
... and then the voice answering service turned passive-aggressive on me. It turned the elevator music on and became unresponsive. There's a happy end to this story, but first let's talk about what technology wants.
"What Technology Wants" is a book by Kevin Kelly, a founding editor of Wired magazine. If you read it you'd learn that Technology is very old and very important entity, with mind of its own. KK would try to convince you that the best thing you could do is to embrace the Technology, and give it what it wants. But I did not buy his book. I don't like his magazine either. The Wired magazine is just like technology: it's cool, sleek , shiny and dull. I think the coolest technology is duller then the dullest person's pinky.
People have this spark of uniqueness. People are interesting because they are imperfect and unpredictable. Technology is also interesting, but only as a reflection of this spark, only as an imprint of this imperfection.
So my answer to KK's question is: Nothing. Technology wants nothing because it has nothing to want with.
On the other hand what we want from technology is a more interesting question. People who produce and sell technology want to sell more of it. People who consume technology want it to solve their problems and go away.
There's a real need behind every technology out there. But we tend to overdo things that work, and that pushes us to consume more than we need.
One of the first technologies out there is cooking. It turns inedible into edible, it makes hungry people satisfied.
But we tend to eat more then we need. And cooking is pushing us to eat more or to crave a better cooking. If you could contain your meal where it belongs, in your belly, not in your heart or brain, you'd control the technology and not the other way.
Another old technology, money, is serving a real need. It's a bloodstream of society. It gives us security and freedom of choice. But we also abuse it: we race to make, spend and save more of it. If you can keep your money in your pocket, not in your head or soul, you'll enjoy it more.
And finally the internet is also serving a real need. A need for learning something new all the time. A need for sharing. A need for connecting with others. But it's not the best choice. I always prefer to get people over machines. Keep the internet in your pocket, but don't reach for it too often. Reach out to a human being, it's so much more satisfying!
Imagine yourself on a tropical island. A white sandy beach. Clear water. Blue sky. You touch a person next to you and you say: "I'm hot. Let's go for a swim".
Where is technology in that picture? Right. It's not there. You don't need technology in Paradise. But how did you get there? You flied on a jet, you bought the tickets on the internet and you payed for the tickets with money. Moreover the person next to you might say: "I'm hungry" and you'll need to cook something.
We're not in paradise yet, and technology is here to make the place we live in look and feel a little better.
...after screaming at robots for half an our, I finally reached a real Person and her name was Delila. "Please don't leave me" - I begged. She said she was sorry that I was having problems with my FIOS. She said she would help to solve them. She did. And then she did not. FIOS broke down again. And again. But I am thankful for Delila, because she is human, she is interesting and imperfect and she spent some time talking to me and being empathic. And it's not like I was having some real problem: it's just the internet service, a mere technology.