Is communication no longer human? | Nolen Gertz vs Julia Hobsbawm
87Philosopher Nolen Gertz and writer Julia Hobsbawm debate how communication technologies are or are not taking over our lives, and what implications this has.
Do we need to limit our use? Ban some technologies?
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The digital revolution transformed our capacity to communicate. Email was at the heart of that change with more than 300 billion sent daily. At the outset, it was said to herald a new era for the economy akin to the industrial revolution. But the predicted improvements in output and efficiency have not materialised. Critics now question whether these technologies improve our economy or our lives at all. Research at the University of California Irvine demonstrated that employees in 'no email' conditions, were more focused and less distracted. They also had lower stress levels. Leading entrepreneurs have gone further, British inventor James Dyson has banned staff from writing memos and discourages digital communication, limiting his own inbox to just 6 emails a day.
Instead of seeing email, WhatsApp, Messenger, and Slack as digital advances should we see them as distraction devices that undermine achievement and destroy well-being? Should we set about removing them from our working and personal lives? Or is this Luddite paranoia, and digital communication powerful technologies that will evolve further and enhance our experience and our activity?
In partnership with Deloitte.
#technology #future #futuretech
Nolen Gertz is an Assistant Professor of applied philosophy at the University of Twente. He is the author of the books Nihilism, and Nihilism and Technology.
Julia Hobsbawm OBE is an award-winning writer and broadcaster who captures the zeitgeist about work, life, and technology. Her books include "Fully Connected" and The Nowhere Office which is now a popular podcast.
Katie Farrell is the lead of the brand practice at Deloitte Digital, she works with executive teams to develop and build influential ideas for organisations.
Shini Somara hosts.
The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! https://iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube
00:00 Introduction
00:20 We over-rely on technology
02:03 No we don't
04:45 The right to disconnect
08:20 Phones in schools
09:20 Banning them is not enough
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