Now that all of the slobbering and adulation over Steve Jobs is ebbing (and some of you in the media need to take a long, hot bath), it is worth pondering automation in our lives, which is what Mr. Jobs specialized in delivering.

I do not wish to sound like the patriarch in The Mosquito Coast nor Ted Kaczynski and I must admit, I have never used any of the I-[products] that Mr. Jobs and the tech industry rolled out, but it is becoming quite apparent that the latest gadgets are not only becoming a part of our lives, but a part of us.  They are our id; our identity; our appendages; who we are, at least in part.

Think about it.  Most people think far more about the device they use than any message they may compose and transmit on it.  I witnessed the newest release of an I-[Latest] with a level of energy and interest that, if focused properly, could solve world peace and the cure for cancer, with some change back.  And how many people can walk a park, down a country (or any) road or in the open fields, and entertain and enjoy their thoughts and ideas without an I-[Whatever]?

None of this is Steve Jobs’ blame any more than the gun manufacturer is responsible for a criminal who misuses its product.

But in lionizing Mr. Jobs, we implicitly condone people being an I-me, instead of the good old-fashion me.

The biggest concern is not that people are becoming robots, but that robots are becoming a part of us.

-I.M. Windee

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 18th, 2011 at 6:25 pm and is filed under Ruminations. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.