The Alternate Reality
Though I get up every morning and go about living pretty much as I have done for the last 30 years, each day I feel more and more like I'm wandering blind in a scary, alternate universe. On the surface, it seems to be the world I know, but it's really not.
It has changed.
Not that it shouldn't change. That's just about the only constant in life. Change is inevitable. So there's no sense fighting it. No matter how much I liked go-go boots, fountain pens, Pizza Pie Man, dinner theatre, and Barry Manilow, those are trends. I can live with them giving way to new ones.
The change I'm struggling with has to do with people. Though there are many, many wonderful human beings in the world, they are becoming increasingly overshadowed by a terrifying number of immoral, amoral, dishonest, ruthless, thoughtless, self-serving individuals, who are kicking the rest of us to the curb. Moreover, these people seem bent on destroying the planet we live on.
I believe television and computer technology are largely responsible for this situation.
Television has made the world smaller, bringing global events right into our living rooms. Consequently we witness things we shouldn't. Drug dealing, terrorism, riots, mass shootings, bombings, and natural disasters have become daily viewing fare. Reality TV celebrates people behaving badly so often that such behaviour has become acceptable, and something too many people emulate. Television means we don't have to go to war to be part of it. We can watch people die on our television screens every day, not just in fictitious dramas, but on actual battlefields -- or worse in people's neighbourhoods. As a result, we are no longer horrified by death. It somehow isn't as real or as tragic as it should be -- especially for young people, who were born to television, and often raised by it.
Computer technology has made matters even worse. It has created devices that allow us to take cyberspace everywhere we go. Who doesn't own a laptop computer, iPad, or smart phone? Go into any restaurant or airport and scan the crowds. Chances are there will be more people on devices than not. Not only is technology with us constantly, it has given us the means to interact with it (anonymously if we choose). That allows anyone to comment on anything on the internet, regardless of their ability to express themselves knowledgeably or coherently. (We won't even get into the lack of courtesy.)
The irony is that though we now have access to the whole world and all it encompasses, we are rapidly losing our ability to socialize. For the most part, we are alone with the world. People are so busy taking selfies and photos of food that they are not in the moment. Their biggest concern is getting their photos up onto social media. Facebook friends have become more important than real ones.
I'm not saying computer technology isn't amazing. It has many wonderful applications, but like so many scientific advances, it also has the potential for harm and misuse.
At this point in time, my complaint lies with the scourge of humanity who use their brain cells to create ways of cheating and duping others. I'm referring to those perpetrating scams, spam, phishing, hoaxes, viruses, cyber stalking and bullying, fraud, and the theft of personal information through technology. People have to be fairly intelligent and knowledgeable about technology in order to come up with the elaborate schemes they implement, so my question is -- why? Why use your brain power to hurt others? Wouldn't it be just as easy and profitable to use your smarts to create something positive for society?
As if things aren't bad enough, we now have AI to cope with. Those who promote and/or use it must have their heads in the sand or simply refuse to acknowledge its dangers, so they can access the positive aspects of it without feeling guilty. Nice try, but you can't justify it. You either support AI or you're against it. If you're willingly using it in any way, you are part of the problem. You can't get the worm out of the apple.
All I know is that thanks to technological crime and AI fabrications, I no longer know what or who to believe, and as a result I have become skeptical about most everything. And that is not who I want to be.
My apologies for the downer blog, but I'm sure I'm not alone. And if your view differs, consider this:
“If you convinced me And I convinced you, Would there not still be Two points of view?”
Talk at you next month.
Kristin, you are not alone in your feelings. It is shocking that so much energy is being given to and is being taken by those seemingly bent on hurting others. As you say, we are at a point now in history, where it is difficult to know what the truth is.
However, today, I felt a bit of hope when the head of Anthropic suggested that the heads of the other AI developers get together and slow the pace down. They need to put guard rails on AI. It was suggested that this field should be regulated like the banks. Hopefully, sooner than later.