You have to imagine that most people in our rapidly changing world have at least a touch of technology paranoia. It’s hard not to.
“AI is coming for you” appears as the newest force to radically modify our lives. Perhaps this will be true, perhaps not. There is no question it already is being applied and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
When technology jumps into play where it previously hadn’t ventured (or simply didn’t exist), humans tend to take a big gulp. I know I do. “Gulp, what’s next? How’s this going to affect me? Can I keep up? Can I even remotely come to understand how this stuff works? Does it matter?”
You look at bad outcomes. You foresee disaster.
Regardless of your perspective, there are phases we go through: recognition; adaptive; rejection (or acceptance); learning; understanding. I just made all those up and throw them out there for your pondering moments.
There is an element of paranoia that can creep into your thinking process, similar to the Buffalo Springfield line, “Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it creeps.”
Recently, for example, my wife began to receive online mail updates from the USPS on what items will be deposited into our mailbox on any given day. Yes, maybe this is a good technology invention if you’re concerned about mailbox theft.
But, also, it’s paranoia inducing because of EXACTLY what they say is going to arrive in your mailbox on the day they say those pieces of mail are supposed to arrive, you get concerned that something wrong has happened. Theft, for example. Ineptitude by the USPS. Or, maybe the mailbox blew open and the letter that was supposed to arrive is now fluttering on the wind waves of North Dakota.
In a recent personal case, I was supposed to receive a check for my writing work. The USPS notification said the check was arriving Tuesday. Nope. The next day, no dice, mailbox empty. My wife, who set this notification up, is the one who has informed me of this.
Now, in general, I don’t worry about these glitches. F-ups happen all the time – everywhere and in every profession. It’s no big deal for me; I cut them slack.
Since two days in a row have elapsed though, and no paycheck, there’s the little paranoia thing creeping into the back of my brain. “Do we have a mail stealer in our neighborhood? Is the post office hiring losers who have a friend at a bank who will help them cash a check not made out to them?” These odds are very, very slight, and typically my rational side dominates and I’m able to blow off the concerns. Technology anxiety was ascending though.
Another example came recently as I switched from a Windows-based desktop computer to an Apple-based one, after input from my family and listening to the experts at Best Buy. I knew there would be some issues to work through, but accepted these, despite my technology-phobic bent. It was a hard decision for me, swayed by others who knew what was best for me in the long run.
I plunged, made the switch, and yes, it’s mostly good. I still have to figure some things out about how pictures are stored on Windows vs. Apple, and how I can access my old files and properly term new ones so I can pull them up quickly without going through a massive brain hemorrhage.
Venmo is another one that really isn’t at all difficult to adopt, but is one more example of new technology penetrating your day-do-day. For many summer league basketball games that I officiate, you now must use Venmo to get paid. That’s caused some back and forth communication issues with the payer, that ultimately worked out satisfactorily, but didn’t assuage the worry when the problem was occurring. In those moments, all you think about is, “Am I going to get paid? When am I going to get paid? Is this technology really going to work or am I going to get screwed and have to follow up again and again?”
One of my great friends is an avowed Luddite – non-technology adopter. I love his approach. I’m not in his league, but understand his value system. It makes life safer in many ways. Yet, technology continues to intrude, so the best adaptive measure is probably going to be to remain vigilant, learn what you need to learn, discard the bells and whistles. Keep it simple as best you can, staying with what you can wrap your mind around.
“AI is coming for you” appears as the newest force to radically modify our lives. Perhaps this will be true, perhaps not. There is no question it already is being applied and will continue to do so in the years ahead.
When technology jumps into play where it previously hadn’t ventured (or simply didn’t exist), humans tend to take a big gulp. I know I do. “Gulp, what’s next? How’s this going to affect me? Can I keep up? Can I even remotely come to understand how this stuff works? Does it matter?”
You look at bad outcomes. You foresee disaster.
Regardless of your perspective, there are phases we go through: recognition; adaptive; rejection (or acceptance); learning; understanding. I just made all those up and throw them out there for your pondering moments.
There is an element of paranoia that can creep into your thinking process, similar to the Buffalo Springfield line, “Paranoia strikes deep. Into your life it creeps.”
Recently, for example, my wife began to receive online mail updates from the USPS on what items will be deposited into our mailbox on any given day. Yes, maybe this is a good technology invention if you’re concerned about mailbox theft.
But, also, it’s paranoia inducing because of EXACTLY what they say is going to arrive in your mailbox on the day they say those pieces of mail are supposed to arrive, you get concerned that something wrong has happened. Theft, for example. Ineptitude by the USPS. Or, maybe the mailbox blew open and the letter that was supposed to arrive is now fluttering on the wind waves of North Dakota.
In a recent personal case, I was supposed to receive a check for my writing work. The USPS notification said the check was arriving Tuesday. Nope. The next day, no dice, mailbox empty. My wife, who set this notification up, is the one who has informed me of this.
Now, in general, I don’t worry about these glitches. F-ups happen all the time – everywhere and in every profession. It’s no big deal for me; I cut them slack.
Since two days in a row have elapsed though, and no paycheck, there’s the little paranoia thing creeping into the back of my brain. “Do we have a mail stealer in our neighborhood? Is the post office hiring losers who have a friend at a bank who will help them cash a check not made out to them?” These odds are very, very slight, and typically my rational side dominates and I’m able to blow off the concerns. Technology anxiety was ascending though.
Another example came recently as I switched from a Windows-based desktop computer to an Apple-based one, after input from my family and listening to the experts at Best Buy. I knew there would be some issues to work through, but accepted these, despite my technology-phobic bent. It was a hard decision for me, swayed by others who knew what was best for me in the long run.
I plunged, made the switch, and yes, it’s mostly good. I still have to figure some things out about how pictures are stored on Windows vs. Apple, and how I can access my old files and properly term new ones so I can pull them up quickly without going through a massive brain hemorrhage.
Venmo is another one that really isn’t at all difficult to adopt, but is one more example of new technology penetrating your day-do-day. For many summer league basketball games that I officiate, you now must use Venmo to get paid. That’s caused some back and forth communication issues with the payer, that ultimately worked out satisfactorily, but didn’t assuage the worry when the problem was occurring. In those moments, all you think about is, “Am I going to get paid? When am I going to get paid? Is this technology really going to work or am I going to get screwed and have to follow up again and again?”
One of my great friends is an avowed Luddite – non-technology adopter. I love his approach. I’m not in his league, but understand his value system. It makes life safer in many ways. Yet, technology continues to intrude, so the best adaptive measure is probably going to be to remain vigilant, learn what you need to learn, discard the bells and whistles. Keep it simple as best you can, staying with what you can wrap your mind around.