I thought this was a pretty interesting way to start you thinking about technology and its impact on humanity and business. It is a lecture delivered by Kevin Kelly titled, ‘Technology’s Epic Story’. Check it out (any dramas with the video embed, just click here to watch on the TED website). The blurb on the TED site associated with this talk is as follows, “In this wide-ranging, thought-provoking talk, Kevin Kelly muses on what technology means in our lives — from its impact at the personal level to its place in the cosmos”. I think you should watch this or read the transcript because of the depth of knowledge and unique angle Kelly offers on the concept of technology, how it has impacted humanity, and where he believes ‘it’ wants to go, what ‘it’ wants to accomplish, and our role in this process. In terms of personal and pragmatic benefit, there is information contained within this talk that will assist you directly with your third assignment, ‘This Is My Standpoint’. In terms of theory and philosophy, this lecture will provide you with an interesting insight into technology on a broader scale (an angle which you may not have considered before), and hopefully open your eyes to, put quite simply, possibility.
Downloads
Kevin Kelly – What Technology Wants – Page 14 (jpeg)
Kevin Kelly – What Technology Wants – Page 15 (jpeg)
Lecture One Add-On – The Extended Mind (ppt)
Lecture One Add-On – The Extended Mind (pdf)
This Week’s Question
What does technology mean to you …
WHERE ARE WE GOING NEXT WEEK
How has technology has forever altered business …
In the downloads section there are also two pages from Kevin Kelly’s book titled, ‘What Technology Wants’. The first (page 14) was used in the first lecture as a link to his TED talk, ‘Technology’s Epic Story’ and to clarify how the ‘technium’ (Kelly’s term for technology as a whole system) has spawned a “bit of independence†– how it has begun to exercise some autonomy. In attempts to make sense of the idea that technology as a whole is no different than biological life when it comes to evolution – it wants to self-organize, specialize, progress, evolve. It wants to be more. This “growing planetary electronic membrane†has an urge. And it has begun to whisper to itself. And a similar deal on the second page (page 15). It includes Kelly’s description of how we tend to assign ourselves exclusive influence over technology and how we are slow to learn that “systems – all systems – generate their own momentumâ€. Our influence may not be as strong as we think it is. If you want to use any of the text on this page this is the full reference for the book: Kelly, K. (2010). What technology wants. New York: Viking.