New . . . and Improved?

Some folks say they hate change. Others claim to enjoy it. I always counted myself in the latter group. I like to explore new places, research new topics, and drive home by an unfamiliar route. When it comes to digital technology, though, I’m becoming one of those old people who can’t keep up with the changes and resent being asked to.

Technological change is as old as the hills. Sailing ships replaced galleys; steam replaced sails. Gutenberg’s printing press replaced rooms of scribes copying by hand. Gains in speed, cost, or capacity often came at the cost of people whose livelihoods depended on the older technology. Luddites in the Industrial Revolution smashed textile machinery that put skilled spinners, weavers, and knitters out of work.

Unlike modern stereotypes of the Luddites, I don’t hate technology as such. In high school in the 1960s, I joined the student projection crew to operate the reel-to-reel movie projector at a classroom teacher’s request. I appreciate being able to wash dishes and laundry by machine, drive a car to the store, and connect with far-away friends by email.

The difference between my projection crew experience in high school and my technological discomfort now—besides that I was younger then—is that the projector I learned to run as a sophomore was still the same my senior year. Today, no sooner do I acclimate to a platform or screen layout than it changes. Billboards from the San Francisco airport to my Oakland destination last week touted “AI-assisted,” as if technology were itself a virtue rather than a tool for some useful end. New? Maybe. Improved? It all depends.

Image: Photo by Jason Leung on Unsplash.