Contactless

It didn’t take mankind very long to realize that machines were a boon that served to provide leisure and efficiency in a way that was amazing. From the wheel to the cotton gin it was clear that labor saving machines were a special gift to human culture. An arc of development from the earliest machines to robotics and AI is easy to trace but the effects of the developments are a bit harder to assess. Today, I can have my groceries delivered, my banking done and my car self-driven. I can shop and use the self-checkout while listening to music that I have pre-programmed for maximum entertainment. We live in a world that is careening toward the “contactlesss.” Soon, we will not have to talk to anyone or encounter them in real time. Steven Hawking warned us that, “the development of artificial intelligence could spell the end of the human race.” Hawking also warned us that, “we must learn to avoid the risks” that AI represents. The risks include our growing reliance on systems that have no ethics, emotion or creativity … on systems that render human contact unnecessary.

Automation is, of course, deeply tied to the profit motive. A drastic reduction in labor costs will always sweeten profits. The self check out murders wages. The Automat was invented in Berlin in 1895. Food was dispensed without the hassle of waiters, busboys and hostesses. Profits soared and so did food costs. Imagine putting 60 quarters into a machine to secure a $15.00 Reuben sandwich. When food was cheap, small change made the automat work, proving that forms of automation change with the times. The five cent apple is no more. While automatons reduce mistakes they are limited in times of great change. (no pun intended) Autopilot is useful on long haul flights over the oceans, it allows the pilot to rest and refresh… but I want a hand on the stick while landing in a fierce crosswind. Much of life is -precisely-landing in a fierce crosswind. In short, we need to learn how to avoid the risks that our disconnection presents. Automation works, until it doesn’t.

We don’t need to be Luddites but we do need to cherish connection in all of its forms. There has to be room for a full array of emotions that occur when we encounter our fellows in the course of our lives. There is meaning in the smiles, rants, info exchanges and barters that only occur when we meet each other. We should cherish the chats we have at the cash register, the talk in the doctors waiting room and the exchange of information when we ask for directions (sorry google maps). Our humanity occurs when contact happens. Our current interest in the spiritual and in joining clubs and churches is partially due to our insulation from others. Our efficiencies are killing us slowly and certainly so we must embrace the antidote of multiple relationships on many levels.

When I feel alone and out of sorts it pays to check my connections.