Tick-Tock arrows on the Clock .. Tick-Tock to the Future Shock.. (Blog #2)

First off, my initial response to watching the videos.. I almost was put to sleep watching them.  But when I was not half asleep, I enjoyed what I was listening/watching.  The video made several valid points about technology.  It was interesting to me that this was over 40 years ago and this was made.  This man thought so in-depth into the future that he knew how rapid technology was becoming and tried to describe this to the people.

The quote mentioned on Moodle... "We must begin to say 'no' to certain kinds of technology and to begin to control technological change because we've now reached the point that technology is so powerful and so rapid that it could destroy us unless we control it." ...  is powerful in its own sense because of the use of technological advances we have made since the time these videos came about.  I am a big supporter of technology and cannot wait until the next "big thing" comes out.  I love to see where the world is headed next.  

People need to say no to some of the technologies coming out.  I feel that life is a competition and whoever buys the new technology first wins the competition. That person is the first one to show it off to his/her friends.  In this case, the technology is similar to an alcoholic.  I say this because what does an alcoholic do?  He or she spends most of their time at a bar drinking alcohol.  Now, how does this relate to new technologies?   Most likely, the person that goes and buys the new technology first, has had a history of being #1.  That person has probably had every version of the iPhone and other new technology.  So, in reality it is like that person is addicted to the newest technology.  I believe these kinds of people cannot control what they are doing because it has become such a way of life.  So, who is really in charge of their life? Technology has, basically, taken over.

I found a piece of information talking about the future for technology.  According to IBM...

"This year IBM thinks very soon people will never need passwords; mind reading will happen; the so-called digital divide will cease to exist and junk mail will become important.  You will never need a password again because of what IBM calls "multi-factor biometrics." Smart systems will be able to use retina scans and other personal information in real-time to make sure whenever someone is attempting to access your information, it matches your unique biometric profile. IBM scientists are among those researching how to link your brain to your devices. If you just need to think about calling someone, it happens. Or you can control the cursor on a computer screen just by thinking about where you want to move it."

To me, these advances in technology blow my mind.  If I think about something on a computer in my mind, the computer will do it for me.  This does two things for me: 1. The technology is insane that we can be able to accomplish this. 2. This might make people even lazier than they already have become. This new technology might destroy how we communicate with other people and we will not be able to control it.  I think this example is perfect for the videos about Future Shock and to the quote mentioned above on Moodle.  This topic really puts things into perspective for me.

Cooney, M. (2011). IBM predicts five big technologies of the future. Network World. Retrieved December 20, 2011, from http://www.networkworld.com/news/2011/122011-ibm-predictions-254274.html