Technology has given us so many great inventions that can improve our lives.
Many of these inventions that we use today we take for granted.
Some inventions aid us to get things done and others help us to find answers we need.
Take for instance a calculator. A calculator helps us find mathematical answers but does it make you understand math better?
No. The more we depend on using calculators the more we become dependent on calculators.
I see the same thing when I am copy-pasting words that I have to Google, because English is not my native language. I forget the words more easily.
We program computers to become smarter but most of the time we don't think about making computers that make us smarter. This is te difference between A.I, artificial intelligence and I.A Intelligence amplification.
This reminds me of a question about war that was asked to Neil DeGrasse Tyson:
Is it possible to create super soldiers and what research is there done?
He answered that any time a change needed to be made in order to improve survival chances in space those changes were made external by engineers instead of biological.
Which means that spacesuits were made and improved, The space stations were improved, the way a space shuttle take off, travels and lands are improved. All external to the body.
Why? Because when something happens the health risks are smaller and easier to repair.
So in some situations externalizing aid is not only optional but essential.
Nevertheless outside of matters of life and death, many of our external aids make us more dependent and the skills we have to do it ourselves are diminishing.
Maybe it is a better idea to design our technology to enhance our skills and intelligence instead of outsourcing it everytime.
Let me know what you think in the comments.
Have a great day.
