I’ve just been reading about how in the future, AI will allow us to speak with animals, and people will be able to communicate telepathically and live in their own VR worlds. (etc., etc.)
Man, this isn’t a world I want to live in. I’m so tired of the constant paradigm shifting that you have to put your brain through with each innovation. I wish technology just stayed frozen in the 1980s – there would be so much less uncertainty in my life and I could just focus on being a human.
Innovation keeps being forced on you and I just feel tired. >!And I’m only just in my 20s!< Is this ok? Is this valid? When resisting it is a loser’s game…
My issue with technological progress is that at this point most of it seems like it is no longer of benefit to the average person. Rather it is more about ways for corporations and governments to control us or extract more (e.g. money, data) from us. Most consumer tech is trending towards enshittification.
The exception to this is medical advancements.
Sounds like maybe a bit of depression could be hiding behind your anxiety about tech (if so, talk to a professional). I agree with some other takes that getting offline can be helpful. I got offline (as much as I could) for two weeks and it did a good amount to improve my mental health.
The irony is the use of technology to ask the question. Your level of tech use and engagement is a personal choice. You can minimise or stop anytime. Most choose to minimise, I’d suspect because some innovations are quite useful.
Also, in an existence where the only constant is change, where every moment and conscious perspective is uniquely different and where novel complexity only increases, it would be wise to cultivate patience and a neutral perspective on change.
Most of the tech in my house is at a minimum 3 years old. It all still works just fine, I don’t need new tech.
My phone? 3 years old.
My laptop? Probably 6 years old.
My television? At least 13 years old. HD too. Doesn’t even have the smart TV features that are usually way too slow anyway.
My fridge? Probably older than my sister.
My other computer? As old as the telly. I might need to go fix it since it basically stopped working, and maybe upgrade some components, at least it’s future-proof for as long as it runs a currently up to date supported operating system. Hey, I might put Arch on that, btw.
My microwave? Duh, my whole life, I’ve only had three. And the latest one is 9 years old.
Animals use a lot of body language. So, if AI could lift your tail to “speak” cat, i would finally get impressed by AI.
