Technology

I think this headline is slightly misleading. Here are some better ones:

• Reclaiming Humanity in the Age of Overbearing Technology
• When Convenient Tech Becomes a Burden: A Call for Human-Centric Design
• How Modern Tech Erodes Human Interaction

Imagine VR so real that someone severely allergic to cats can know what it's like to give one scritches and feel it purr. Imagine someone who is paraplegic knowing what it's like to swim or climb a mountain. Now imagine how much money Mark Zuckerberg will make when it's $22.95/month with ads and requires you to put in your Social Security Number.

I watched a documentary about the Unabomber and had the same thought

I don't want to read this article, because I know it's right, and it's depressing.

Scenario1:

"Um, hi. Can I just order here inside? Thanks. I'm really hating the apps now. For sure: one medium cold-brew, please. Yes, thanks, to go. Okay; tap here? Excellent. Oh. Put 'guppy' on the cup. Thanks! [pause] Oh, perfect. Hey, thanks again for letting me skip the app. Those are so frustrating! I'm really starting to avoid any place that uses them, and I'm so grateful I can still come in. Have a great day!"

Scenario2:

"Um, hi. Can I just order here? No? Just the app? That's too bad: I'm really getting frustrated with the app and I'm starting to avoid places that need them. Nope, that's all I needed, sorry. Thanks anyway, and have a great day!"

I like this idea because

1. you're affirming the target behaviour
2. you're getting a coffee and going
3. you're being chipper so they don't feed off your grumpy face
4. you're providing feedback without being too much 'that guy', I hope, to the serving staff.

In all things, you don't wanna be That Guy, because you know servers don't need that shit. But, while the odds are slim of feedback getting up the chain of command, you're being clear (and probably more concise) as to how to get more of your business in case the feedback DOES go up.

Yep, I also been growing older and I have nostalgia for old times. But I'm well aware that grass is only greener on my memory, as it has always been.

I like playing video games...

I'm tired of people saying "technology" when they mean an application of a narrow subfield of technology. Even worse is when they're not even talking about the tech at all, but instead the practices, leadership, or stock market performance of some corporation that happens to apply some technology in the course of its business.

I do share the sentiment in this article, though. There's way too much stuff that we don't need, often making our lives worse, being pushed at us in order to extract wealth or power.

Tech definitely is. Gate-keeping, stupid pricing, etc. done by few corporations and individual isn't.

I work in a coffee shop; I already feel sufficiently dehumanized by the amount of people who answer my "how are you today?" with "cappuccino to-go". I would hate to work in a café where you order via your phone.

Ah look, it’s in Antwerp. Wolstraat to be exact.i used to work in front of that place.

I saw the writing on the wall when we started getting itunes updates that no one wanted.

God, same. I'm to the point where I don't even want a phone at all anymore. I'm so tired of just... everything.

Tech was ruined in the 90s when capitalistic influences (microsoft being the dominant force but far from the only one) propagandized the industry and eventually populace at large with the idea that competition in the industry is what drives innovation.

Granted, much of their work was already done for them thanks to western influence perpetuating this ideal for ages. But when the frameworks for open standards, interoperability, and collaborative development were being proposed and put into place they were shot down and/or actively sabotaged

As a result 40 years later we have this mess. A landscape filled with nightmare tech. Fragmentation everywhere, design heavily influenced by a small handful of sociopaths with no empathy and active disdain for users, the idea of open standards is something that requires government intervention (and still rarely occurs), interoperability is something that has to be hacked around and frequently breaks as a means to encourage purchasing a competing product.

What could have been. Tech designed for people’s needs rather than tech designed to extract income

Tech could make our life easier, if only the fruits of increased efficiency would go towards us all instead of the few rich people at the top.