Wednesday, 9.53pm
Sheffield, U.K.
Technology is a useful servant but a dangerous master. – Christian Lous Lange
Technology should make our lives easier.
And it does.
But we also experience the unintended consequences of using technology.
Figuring out how to integrate technology into our lives without compromising the quality of our lives is a challenge more and more of us face.
An interesting example.
Yesterday, one of the not-so-small people in the house asked for help with his French homework.
I don’t speak French.
His pronunciation sounded problematic.
I took a picture of the page he was trying to practice, written in his handwriting.
ChatGPT transcribed it flawlessly.
Another AI generated French speech, complete with the right accent.
I sent the mp3 to his phone, and he had everything he needed to practice and learn the text.
Handwriting transcription would help me immensely.
Typing by hand makes my wrist hurt.
I’ve typed a lot of words in my time – and RSI was perhaps inevitable.
I work digitally because it’s efficient and because I don’t need paper.
But if I could just write by hand and get a decent transcription, then maybe I’d reduce wear & tear on my wrist.
That would be good, wouldn’t it?
The thing that worries us about technology is its impact on children.
We see them engrossed in devices, watching for much longer than we think is safe.
We see them move through a virtual world that is more pleasurable and fulfilling than the real world.
We fear they may get lost and never return.
Then there is technology that just makes things worse – like some workplace technologies.
The kind of technology that is about controlling and surveilling the worker rather than automating repetitive work.
Tech that prevents us getting work done, and instead pretends that process is the same as progress.
But there is progress.
And I remain optimistic that technology can do more good than bad for so many of us.
Cheers,
Karthik Suresh
Handcrafted insight 