Techno-Danger…

Good evening dear reader & welcome to my world this week. In my last few articles I have been discussing the need one should take for reflection, & in today I thought I should respond to some feedback. I offered an opinion regarding technology & particularly the new buzzword out there: Augmented Intelligence.

Firstly let me say I do not actually dislike the age of technology. To the contrary, I actually love some gadgets. I love being able to communicate by e-mail & I regularly use Mailchimp for. I love being able to WhatsApp my grandchildren in Japan.  I love apps which help me organize my world.  I love being able to bank online. I would love to use google maps to get where I want to go ~ when I learn to use it properly…

But not all uses of technology are so noble or beneficial. The implications of technology & having a healthy soul are staggering.  Having a soul at peace requires space, quiet, stillness, “presence” & PAUSE.  And all of our gadgets fight to consume every morsel of time & attention in our lives.

I know I do not probably need to talk to you all dear readers about the benefits of technology, & there are many. In terms of extending the reach of our own worlds, many advancements have been an incredible gift. We are experts at maximizing technology, but perhaps not so good at managing it. We are good at leveraging technology, & again not so good at limiting it.

Technology is overtaking every area of life & the speed of advancement is mind blowing.

In 1958, a scientist at Texas Instruments developed the first-ever integrated circuit. It had two transistors (the more, the better) with a "gate process length" (the smaller, the better) of about ½ inch. Fast forward to 1971 The Intel 4004 had 2,300 transistors with a gate length of 10,000 nanometres, & computer power of about 740 KHz. By the way, a nanometre is one billionth of one inch.

In 2012, NVidia released a new graphical processor unit (GPU) with 7.1 billion transistors, a gate length of 28 nanometres, & processing power of 7GHz. We are using better & faster tools to design & build better and faster tools.

Following a recent article I was reminded about the advance of technology which essentially concluded: "We will not experience 100 years of progress in the 21st century ~ it will be more like 20,000 years of progress.”

In human history, the dawn of the internet was a total game changer. The advent of technology brought a tectonic shift in our culture. We will not turn back the clock to a quieter, simpler, slower, more “unplugged” time.  The blessings & burdens of technology continue to work their way into every nook & cranny in our lives. It is no wonder Americans spend an average of eight hours every day staring at some kind of screen.

• Of those 18-24, 75% said they check their phone before they get out of bed.
• Once out of bed, we check our phones once every 4.3 minutes, or 221 times a day.
• It is hard to believe that the internet has been around 50 years.