Chapter 7: The Ideology of Machines: Computer Technology

In Chapter 7, Postman discusses in-depth the significances of letting computers have too much power. There are scary thoughts that a movie such as Transformers or the Matrix may be where we are heading if we continue to let technology run our lives. There are other interesting gadgets like the iBook or the Kindle that are advancing technology, but in a saver way. However, Postman is not saying our problem is with technology, but with the power we give technology and the power we give it over our lives. Friday is a good example where “technology” did not work for me. Thursday night I was setting up my lesson plans for Friday and I could not get logged into my blog to post my bell work, so I gave up. I did not feel good, the tech guy was busy and I wanted to go home, so I printed out a Sudoku puzzle for them to do instead. Here is a perfect example of shifting the blame, the computer didn’t work and I wanted to go home, so I found something else for them to do. It is not the computers fault technology did not work. I probably did something wrong and I need to take responsibility for it. This is one thing computers will never be able to do, make decisions for themselves, think for themselves, they cannot solve problems, these are all still things that humans have to do and computers are just doing what the human is telling it to do. Postman says “artificial intelligence does not and cannot lead to a meaning-making, understanding, and felling creature, which is what a human being is” (113). We need to take responsibility for the computers we are running and not letting them run our lives, but what are we losing by using computers in our daily lives?