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Robots Without a Cause

Posted by michael on from the second-law-applies dept.

WG55 writes "Have you noticed that more and more technology is more ingenious than useful? Stuart Jeffries of The Guardian writes in his article Robots without a cause that much technology produced today will change our lives little, if at all. He writes, 'Our response to being bored and rich is not to discard our possessions and live more simply, but to buy more stuff to reduce the space in which we might contemplate our shame.'"

2 of 450 comments (clear)

  1. Really. by foo+fighter · · Score: 4, Informative

    Only after widespread network and Internet adoption did personal computers realize the productivity gains that had been promised for three decades.

    This question should have been answered fifteen years ago when the question "when will PCs fulfill there promise" was first asked. No one answered it then and I really doubt anyone will provide an insightful or informative answer now.

    J. Bradford DeLong has an excellent article in the current issue of Wired discussing this very topic.

    I used to wonder why Wired didn't have a "Comment on This Article" link after their postings. Then I realized that Slashdot provides that service for them.

    I belive the answer is this: people who are pushing the boundaries pursue what is interesting to themselves. Many of these interests will be obscure and useful to only a few; that's human nature. But occasionally someone will come up with a brilliancy that affects all of humanity profoundly.

    Electric and steam powered engines did that for the Industrial Revolution. The Internet and networking did that for the Personal Computing Revolution. What ever the next revolution is it will come faster and harder than any revolution in the past.

    --
    obviously no deficiencies vs. no obvious deficiencies
  2. Don't knock the wind-up radio by Hittite+Creosote · · Score: 5, Informative
    but I want a wind-up radio even less. If it isn't likely to sell, who will pay for development?

    ~The wind up radio? Trevor Bayliss developed it at his own cost, and Christopher Staines and South African entrepreneur Rory Stear put up the finance to make production a reality. Previously, people had to spend more on batteries than they did on the radio. Batteries are more expensive and less reliable in rural Africa than they are in the rich parts of the world.

    Are they any use? Read this and make your mind up. But I'd say they're a damn sight more useful to many more people than a 3G phone.