Last month I wrote about the power outage in the valley in Montana while we were at our cabin, and the importance of having reliable energy sources. One thing that stood out in addition to that was the technology we use to make our lives more and more convenient..As I mentioned, I knew what to do when the power went out and found I didn’t need technology to pass the time..I was alone with my thoughts and as I walked around our little cabin, I began to wonder ‘Just how much technology is too much’ technology?.With the implementation of new advances such as AI, the need for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to run consumer products, right down to the convenience of ordering almost everything online, I can’t help but wonder: Is there potential for a technology catastrophe? Is it growing too quickly and is there a breaking point’?.Why was I wondering? A key reason is, back in Calgary, Suncor was dealing with a cyber-attack which to date has cost the company more than $1 billion in losses to correct. And, to date they are still not back to full operation..Take a look at the items in your home that now run off technology and are no longer manual..The technology industry has grown so large we are constantly updating to conveniences such as exterior and interior security cameras, doorbells with cameras, electronic thermostats, home assistants and appliances that are connected via Wi-Fi, water leak detectors, adjustable lighting and blue tooth speakers. The list goes on and on with new items under development daily..Think of the wearable technology we have including smartwatches, fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, VR headsets, Bluetooth headsets, glucose meters, it’s endless. Use one of those and your health information is collected and stored in ‘the cloud' somewhere on this planet..Let’s talk about the arrival of AI and its growth..Elon Musk and 1,000 other tech leaders have signed an open letter urging a moratorium on implementation of more AI, due to concern of potential human ramifications. Obviously, they too are concerned!.Consider what is happening in Hollywood..Actors and writers are on strike because of the potential for AI to replace them with holograms and other technology..Let’s consider what will happen when the first fully-created AI music star appears on our screen. Are humans becoming obsolete in certain jobs with more to come?.Who wants to hear more mechanical sounding voices in retail outlets thanking you for using their checkout machine and inviting you back? Where are the missing faces and smiles? Will they soon flash smiling robot faces for those of us who like a human face and ‘some electronic chit chat’ while completing our transaction?.What about the impact on our mental health due to ‘screen time’ growing by the day for some of the simplest personal tasks to work obligations using our laptops and/or smart phones?.Is anyone other than me ‘tired of impersonal conversations with Siri’? Now AI Chatgpt is writing letters for executives and worse yet, papers for students; where will that end?.Calculator use in grade school has taken away the need of students to do mathematical computations in their head. Exams have been written with calculators in hand for some time..Will students forget how to assess/analyze a topic and create their own papers? It appears some universities are now accepting AI written papers. Will they lose their ability to structure proper sentences and achieve academic merit on their own? Throw in social media and you’ve created a dependency comparable to a drug..If I sound a little bit crazy it is more ‘crazy with concern’..Our world used to be much simpler, and slower paced. We all envision more conveniences to save time, blaming employers for expecting us to show up for work because we want to fulfil our definition of ‘quality of life’, not necessarily to include collaborating with co-workers..It can all be done via phone and emails they say. All of this technology is presumedly there for convenience and promises to give us more of our lives back. But has it?.Have we lost the ability to communicate on our own and be self-sufficient? What have we given up to achieve this ‘extra time’. For me, as an admitted techno geek, I feel maybe things are too convenient. Are we slowly losing touch with other humans? It has started to feel like technology is running and controlling my life..I wondered if other people felt the same way as me, so I went to the internet to hopefully find some answers..According to a survey conducted by the marketing company Edelman, public trust in technology, including social media, has decreased globally and support for calling for regulation of the IT sector is increasing..The survey claims trust in technology has decreased by 4% internationally and growing. By Edelman's analysis, the trust erosion highlights the necessity for technology businesses to be open about any potential drawbacks of their products..Some 54% of survey participants said they would be more likely to trust technology companies if they disclosed these drawbacks. More than 34,000 respondents from 28 markets throughout the world completed this survey. I found the results Interesting, but also worrisome as it appears more people might be thinking like me..So how do you limit technology and scale back your digital life?.I found that to reduce my reliance on technology, my everyday routine and mentality has to change..• I set screen time limitations for myself, partook in tech-free activities such as reading, going for walks, or socializing with other humans without consistently looking at my smart phone..• I made in person encounters a priority to re-bond with family and friends..• I dusted off my notebooks and writing notes versus texting. I admit I haven’t begun to use paper maps again because Goggle maps is just ‘too darn convenient.'.• I am taking time to enjoy more manually skill-based pastimes such as art, gardening or writing..Other steps I have yet to implement is setting up tech-free zones in my home to encourage family involvement; but it is on my list..Others include practicing digital detox by occasionally completely unplugging for a day or a weekend, using mindfulness and meditation to regain focus and reduce digital distractions..Or, just simply making deliberate choices to use less technology to help me find better balance and regain control over my time and focus..I’ve physically began to regularly purchase items at the store with cash rather than debit or credit. It’s almost humorous to see the reaction by some cashiers when you say “I will pay with cash”. At very least it creates good conversation..Talking to humans on the phone or face-to-face to book a service brings life and emotion back into one's life. It’s something being sorely missed in this fast-paced technological world..To be perfectly honest, taking the time for all this has proven beneficial, not only from a mental health perspective but I am gaining back missing human connections, and ‘feeling like myself’ again..Back to my original comment of how technology has become too much for me, it of course depends on the individual and the conveniences or freedom one want in their lives..In my case, going forward, I’m going to try to ‘dummy-it-down’ to a more comfortable level that doesn’t require me to feel the need for a USB port to be installed in my brain.
Last month I wrote about the power outage in the valley in Montana while we were at our cabin, and the importance of having reliable energy sources. One thing that stood out in addition to that was the technology we use to make our lives more and more convenient..As I mentioned, I knew what to do when the power went out and found I didn’t need technology to pass the time..I was alone with my thoughts and as I walked around our little cabin, I began to wonder ‘Just how much technology is too much’ technology?.With the implementation of new advances such as AI, the need for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth to run consumer products, right down to the convenience of ordering almost everything online, I can’t help but wonder: Is there potential for a technology catastrophe? Is it growing too quickly and is there a breaking point’?.Why was I wondering? A key reason is, back in Calgary, Suncor was dealing with a cyber-attack which to date has cost the company more than $1 billion in losses to correct. And, to date they are still not back to full operation..Take a look at the items in your home that now run off technology and are no longer manual..The technology industry has grown so large we are constantly updating to conveniences such as exterior and interior security cameras, doorbells with cameras, electronic thermostats, home assistants and appliances that are connected via Wi-Fi, water leak detectors, adjustable lighting and blue tooth speakers. The list goes on and on with new items under development daily..Think of the wearable technology we have including smartwatches, fitness trackers, heart rate monitors, VR headsets, Bluetooth headsets, glucose meters, it’s endless. Use one of those and your health information is collected and stored in ‘the cloud' somewhere on this planet..Let’s talk about the arrival of AI and its growth..Elon Musk and 1,000 other tech leaders have signed an open letter urging a moratorium on implementation of more AI, due to concern of potential human ramifications. Obviously, they too are concerned!.Consider what is happening in Hollywood..Actors and writers are on strike because of the potential for AI to replace them with holograms and other technology..Let’s consider what will happen when the first fully-created AI music star appears on our screen. Are humans becoming obsolete in certain jobs with more to come?.Who wants to hear more mechanical sounding voices in retail outlets thanking you for using their checkout machine and inviting you back? Where are the missing faces and smiles? Will they soon flash smiling robot faces for those of us who like a human face and ‘some electronic chit chat’ while completing our transaction?.What about the impact on our mental health due to ‘screen time’ growing by the day for some of the simplest personal tasks to work obligations using our laptops and/or smart phones?.Is anyone other than me ‘tired of impersonal conversations with Siri’? Now AI Chatgpt is writing letters for executives and worse yet, papers for students; where will that end?.Calculator use in grade school has taken away the need of students to do mathematical computations in their head. Exams have been written with calculators in hand for some time..Will students forget how to assess/analyze a topic and create their own papers? It appears some universities are now accepting AI written papers. Will they lose their ability to structure proper sentences and achieve academic merit on their own? Throw in social media and you’ve created a dependency comparable to a drug..If I sound a little bit crazy it is more ‘crazy with concern’..Our world used to be much simpler, and slower paced. We all envision more conveniences to save time, blaming employers for expecting us to show up for work because we want to fulfil our definition of ‘quality of life’, not necessarily to include collaborating with co-workers..It can all be done via phone and emails they say. All of this technology is presumedly there for convenience and promises to give us more of our lives back. But has it?.Have we lost the ability to communicate on our own and be self-sufficient? What have we given up to achieve this ‘extra time’. For me, as an admitted techno geek, I feel maybe things are too convenient. Are we slowly losing touch with other humans? It has started to feel like technology is running and controlling my life..I wondered if other people felt the same way as me, so I went to the internet to hopefully find some answers..According to a survey conducted by the marketing company Edelman, public trust in technology, including social media, has decreased globally and support for calling for regulation of the IT sector is increasing..The survey claims trust in technology has decreased by 4% internationally and growing. By Edelman's analysis, the trust erosion highlights the necessity for technology businesses to be open about any potential drawbacks of their products..Some 54% of survey participants said they would be more likely to trust technology companies if they disclosed these drawbacks. More than 34,000 respondents from 28 markets throughout the world completed this survey. I found the results Interesting, but also worrisome as it appears more people might be thinking like me..So how do you limit technology and scale back your digital life?.I found that to reduce my reliance on technology, my everyday routine and mentality has to change..• I set screen time limitations for myself, partook in tech-free activities such as reading, going for walks, or socializing with other humans without consistently looking at my smart phone..• I made in person encounters a priority to re-bond with family and friends..• I dusted off my notebooks and writing notes versus texting. I admit I haven’t begun to use paper maps again because Goggle maps is just ‘too darn convenient.'.• I am taking time to enjoy more manually skill-based pastimes such as art, gardening or writing..Other steps I have yet to implement is setting up tech-free zones in my home to encourage family involvement; but it is on my list..Others include practicing digital detox by occasionally completely unplugging for a day or a weekend, using mindfulness and meditation to regain focus and reduce digital distractions..Or, just simply making deliberate choices to use less technology to help me find better balance and regain control over my time and focus..I’ve physically began to regularly purchase items at the store with cash rather than debit or credit. It’s almost humorous to see the reaction by some cashiers when you say “I will pay with cash”. At very least it creates good conversation..Talking to humans on the phone or face-to-face to book a service brings life and emotion back into one's life. It’s something being sorely missed in this fast-paced technological world..To be perfectly honest, taking the time for all this has proven beneficial, not only from a mental health perspective but I am gaining back missing human connections, and ‘feeling like myself’ again..Back to my original comment of how technology has become too much for me, it of course depends on the individual and the conveniences or freedom one want in their lives..In my case, going forward, I’m going to try to ‘dummy-it-down’ to a more comfortable level that doesn’t require me to feel the need for a USB port to be installed in my brain.