Technology, perception & hope.

Permanence and change are two aspects present in human experience. When we contemplate a flower we are not contemplating the same flower as our ancestors, since our flower or rather, our concept of flower is different from what a person could have say five hundred years ago.

Our concept is not necessarily better or worse, it is simply different, the flower is still flower and the human remains human, but in reality we are not the same.

Our concepts and paradigms change over time and through different circumstances, personally I will focus for now on how technology (which in itself is a large issue) transforms our concepts, models and the way we perceive the world.

Nowadays we are exposed to amounts of information never before seen, this information is not only too much, but it is filtered for us in such a way that we only see what we show interest in.

Today, seeing the flower we can extend our flower concept immediately by just entering a search. The flower, or our flower concept is now much wider but not ours at all.

Our ancestors, alone in the field, contemplated the flower under their own concepts, with their own eyes. But we do not do it that way anymore, we observe the flower under the perspective of others, many others and it is increasingly difficult to conceive of one’s own concepts.

Technology empowers us and offers greater possibilities of survival in many ways, it transforms us exponentially.

Is technology going to make us better or to destroy us? The answer to that question I do not think depends on technology but in us, artificial intelligence for example presents a paradigmatic change in the models of production and services, as Carl Sagan said: We are a civilization highly dependent on science and technology where in reality most individuals know very little about science and technology.

The changes that artificial intelligence brings and how they will be applied will be by those who manage to master technology, and most people will have to adapt to these changes that in the end are decided by a few. Regulation will be necessary but difficult to achieve in a world where politics rules with blind ignorance on many issues.

For better or for worse? well… there will be both, better for some, worse for other but in the human history always is in that way, sadly.

Today, unlike our ancestors we observe our world with a more robust understanding but not necessarily with the same depth, not necessarily with the same freedom, nor with the same hope. However, it does not stop being fascinating as something that is a product of us has the power to submit us or lead us to reach the limits of the universe.