Tech Utopia or Dystopian Nightmare? One Exhibit Asks the Question We're All Avoiding
Okay, so another "technology is going to save us" exhibit, huh? Give me a break. I just saw some PR fluff piece about LG Display stock surging because of OLED advancements. Are we really celebrating brighter screens while the world burns?
Hands-On With Our Imminent Doom?
This "Super Human: Power of Technology" exhibit at the Great Lakes Science Center… let's be real, it's probably just another glossy, shallow look at how robots are going to take our jobs and augmentations will turn us into cyborgs with crippling social anxiety. Yay.
They let some journalists from GIE Media preview it – Clare Scott and Eric Brothers. Lucky them. Thirty seconds to attach digital implants to a body? Sounds about right. That's how long we'll have to adapt before we're obsolete. A hands-on look at technology and the human condition
And a robotic hand controlled by sensors? Cool, I guess. Until the robots decide they don't want to be controlled. Then what? We're screwed.
I saw another article about PM Modi talking about India becoming a "pioneer of technological transformation." He says their R&D expenditure has doubled. Okay, great. More money for AI to write clickbait articles and deepfakes. Is that really progress?
The Illusion of Control
This whole thing reminds me of that virtual jetpack Scott tried out. We think we're in control, soaring through the skies, but we're just strapped into a machine, pretending to fly. And who's programming that machine? Who's deciding where we "fly"?
They're spinning wheels displaying different types of lenses. All these different ways to see the world, but are we actually understanding it any better? Or are we just getting more distracted by the shiny objects?
And the robotic exoskeleton to pick up virtual pallets… that's the perfect metaphor for the future of work, ain't it? We're just extensions of machines, moving virtual boxes around for some unseen corporate overlord.
I saw another headline about office technology news. Some company called Visual Edge IT appointed three new executives. I'm sure they're all very excited about "synergy" and "disruption." Meanwhile, real people are getting laid off. Offcourse, they staffed a booth at some expo. Priorities.
But Wait, Is This Progress?
LG Display is focusing on TFT-LCD tech too, apparently, because it's "cost-effective." Translation: OLED is too expensive for the masses, so they'll keep churning out the cheap stuff for the rest of us. A balanced strategy? Or a two-tiered society, where the rich get the fancy displays and the poor get… well, you know. LPL News Today: LG Display Sees Unexpected Surge Amid Technology Advancements
And all this "innovation"… what's the point if it doesn't make our lives better? Are we happier with our faces glued to screens 24/7? Are we more connected, or just more isolated?
Then again, maybe I'm the crazy one here. Maybe I'm just a grumpy old man yelling at clouds. But I can't shake the feeling that we're hurtling towards a future where technology controls us, not the other way around.