The Growing Technology Clipboard

Here is a list of things that have been sitting and growing on my clipboard of ideas and concepts that I have wanted to post full topics on but have been unable to find the hours required to a solid report on each of them.  I will have to leave them each with a few details and leave it for future expounding.

I. Social Capital - The influence of technology.  A few years ago I read an amazing book on Social Capital called "Bowling Alone" by Robert Putnam and wrote a full essay on the affects of technology to Social Captial.  He talks about how over time the balance of society has changed and social capital has been affected by changes in technology.  He discusses the phenomenon of how more people go to the bowling alleys but yet less join actual bowling teams or groups.  He takes this and then goes off and talks of a lot of other more political institutions and connections that have undergone change.



II. Apocalipsis - Marco Denevi.  For my Spanish composition class during the summer I read and critically analyzed an article called "Apocalipsis" or Apocalypse by Marco Denevi from Argentina.  He writes of how over time the machines we create will take over all the tasks.  We as humans will no longer have a need to do anything and will become lazy.  And then he goes on to describe how Artificial Intelligence will become so intelligent that it will no longer need us.  And in the end - just like I-Robot - we will be eliminated and technology will rein.


III. New York Times - Can't focus.  A few weeks ago I read a very interesting article in the New York times entitled Attached to Technology and Paying a price.  The article addressed the issues of the connection to the digital world and disconnection to the people who live around us.  Its addresses a family who through there new toys like Ipads and their limitless connection with wireless technology have unlimited connection to the net.  But at the same time they are losing a lot of the basic bonds and connections of having a family.  Its like the story of two roommates sitting back to back or side to side on two computers and sending messages over the computer instead of vocally speaking to the person sitting right next to them.