Mobile Devices - Are they replacing humans?

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Mobile devices- we just can't live without them anymore. In a TIME Mobility Poll, 84% of the people surveyed said they could not go a single day without their mobile device. One in four people check their mobile device every 10 minutes.  
What does this mean for humanity and the loss of empathy among us when we all start turning to our mobile devices for companionship? How many people turn to their phones when they are lonely? How many people talk to Siri, or Alexa, or Cortana?
   Sherry Turkle, in her book "Reclaiming Conversation" explains that Artificial Intelligence could turn us into believing that robots have feelings and can really understand us and therefore, will be our friends. Movies such as "The Electric Grandma", and "Her" portray this exact scenario. In the movie 'Her", a recently divorced writer decides to open an operating system on his computer that will 'attend to his every need.' As the writer develops a virtual relationship with the operating system who he has named Samantha, Samantha learns more about him and responds to him more and more intimately. When I first heard about this movie in 2013, I could not think of anything more ridiculous and I did not bother to watch it. However, I did have the opportunity to watch it recently and I have to admit, I found it completely plausible for someone to fall in love with a voice on their computer- an Operating System. 
     In these pandemic days of being sequestered at home with limited contact with our friends and family, we are also being limited in the ways we can socially interact in person. We also can't go to bars, concerts, and sporting events where we might have the chance to meet new friends too. While our mobile devices keep us connected in many ways, let us not forget to use features that allow us to see each other on the screen so we can see expressions and body language. It helps us learn empathy. And while an Operating System such as Samantha can be programmed to answer to our every need, they will never take the place of an authentic human conversation.




Comments

  1. UnknownJuly 25, 2020 at 11:47 AM

    During this pandemic I do find myself using my phone more since there are things I would like to do but can't. I can tell you that can't wait to have authentic human conversations with people. Talking and see them on the phone is great, but there is always something missing. After this pandemic is over I think more people will be having a lot more human conversations, but they will become sick of only doing it on the phone.

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  2. Caitlin CordovaJuly 30, 2020 at 2:57 PM

    I never thought I would take for granted something like hugging my mom or shaking someone's hand. It's not socially acceptable or physically safe to do so right now. My screen time has definitely gone up and I have had to take conscious steps to prevent that (think: logging out of social media or hiding my phone when I know I need to work). Do cell phones present such a distraction to us that we forget the human side of ourselves, cannot pay attention to one another, but are controlled by the screen? I feel that way sometimes. Have you see the Removed photo series? The photographer edited out the technology of the picture. I found them to be pretty powerful: https://www.removed.social/series

    I also enjoyed the movie "Her." I recently watched a Prime series, "HUMANS," which featured AI that were sentient called "synths," short for synthetic (robot) humans. I can see a future where humans and robots are mixed in familiar fashion. I think about Rosey from "The Jetsons."

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