As more of our lives become automated, do we somehow feel more connected to our devices than we do to each other? I know I'm taking a chance here and sounding like an old lady yelling at the kids to stay off her lawn, but allow me to explain my reasoning. I love technology, but sometimes I'm not too fond of it. For example, I want to talk to someone in customer service and not a chatbot. My issues are never in the drop-down menu, and I end up on the phone repeating the words customer service and hitting zero until I get a real person to help me. I want to understand how any of this is efficient. I don't see the difference between using the self-checking kiosk when a cashier inevitably has to come over and fix the various problems with my purchase or having the cashier ring me up. (Who then has to ask a supervisor to fix whatever the register has messed up.)
We have the capability now of doing our own illustrations without having any artistic talent by using A.I. (Artificial Intelligence). I don't believe it will be the end of artists, but it's probably not helping their industry. We can write essays, reports, and endless content with the help of A.I., and I find myself on the fence about it. On the one hand, it's absolutely amazing and fascinating, but on the other, will we end up relying on these programs and lose our creativity and individualism? If we're all relying on A.I. for marketing and branding, does anyone stand out anymore?
Like everything else in this ever-evolving world, it takes time to adapt. But, our individual experiences and perceptions cannot be replaced by automation. Only we can relay, embellish and dramatize our past heroics. Of course, with Alexa and Siri listening in all the time, they may be able to tell our stories better than us someday. (And by someday, I mean tomorrow.) Maybe I'm old-fashioned, but I still like talking to people, whether it's in person or (Gasp!) on the phone. Texting is fine, but I'm not about to have a full-blown conversation. I don't have the patience for the little bubbles to resolve into a sentence I must then decipher. Letters and sometimes whole words are missing, and I can't tell if the person is trying to be funny or insulting. (It's official, I'm old.)
I'm writing this post using the Grammarly app to proofread my article. It does help to get another set of 'eyes' on it and ensure my punctuation is correct. It's already corrected me several times and apparently doesn't like it when I refuse to use its suggestions. (It just told me to remove the word 'apparently' so I can come across more confident.) But I'm determined to be my own person and fight the machine. I want my voice to be heard, even if it isn't perfect.
I'm for the advancement of civilization and hope for a world where we can have the time to enjoy ourselves. In many ways, technology has given us incredible tools to communicate and gain instant knowledge of just about everything. Unfortunately, it seems we're working harder than ever and finding less and less time to be together. A little awareness goes a long way, and we do have the capacity to set our phones down when we're with our friends and family. If someone calls you, don't worry, your watch will let you know who it is. (Hey, I didn't say put down all devices, I'm not a caveman.)