Tools That Change The Way We Think

"Back in 2004, I asked [Google founders] Page and Brin what they saw as the future of Google search. 'It will be included in people's brains,' said Page. 'When you think about something and don't really know much about it, you will automatically get information.'

'That's true,' said Brin. 'Ultimately I view Google as a way to augment your brain with the knowledge of the world. Right now you go into your computer and type a phrase, but you can imagine that it could be easier in the future, that you can have just devices you talk into, or you can have computers that pay attention to what's going on around them and suggest useful information.'

'Somebody introduces themselves to you, and your watch goes to your web page,' said Page. 'Or if you met this person two years ago, this is what they said to you... Eventually you'll have the implant, where if you think about a fact, it will just tell you the answer."

-From In the Plex by Steven Levy (p.67)





My Opinion: Technology's advancements over the years have evolved rapidly and only made "positive" changes to our society, or so it's often thought. Personally, I believe that having developed such a large amount of power to devices that we aren't experts with, is a scary concept to grasp. When I sit to try and start my homework I go off into the world of wonders that the internet provides for me and lose all my train of thought. It's somewhat mind-boggling how anyone can achieve any work while using technology. Although, it certainly does provide an easier strategy for us to make any progress, considering we can subtract any type of serious thought process that we would regularly need. It has gotten to such an extreme point that at times i'll sit in front of the screen hoping that my homework would do itself and that way I could be all the more lazy. It's not healthy for students, or anyone at that, to be leaving all the "hard" work for the computer, cellphone, etc. to do for them. Our brains are being cooped up because some people decide to use theirs a little too much and invent new stuff.
I think that our society isn't ready or responsible enough to handle all that's heading our way. If it were to continue on the path that we've been on, technology may form itself into the most powerful form of life. It's frightening to think that once we give them the power to do the thinking for us we're going to end up in a black pit of shame and failure.