From Michael: Tecnologically Seduced

"Technology is seductive wsn what it offers meets our human
vulnerabilities." One of the
things Turkle is saying is that we are vulnerable because we do need
connection and intimacy yet we see this need as somehow an
inconvenience. For example Turkle writes, "I believe that in our
culture of simulation, the notion of authenticity is for us what sex
was for the Victorian -- threat and obsession, taboo and fascination"
(p.4).

I think this statement illustrates the human desire to escape the idea
of “taking-the-good-with-the-bad.” Obviously, if everything were
perfect, life would seem much easier and less complicated, so when
machines offer the good without the, apparently overwhelming bad, it
becomes preferable over everything else. When we are vulnerable, we
are in need of some kind of variable but practically anything (except
what we’re looking for) can make it worse, so when technology offers a
an alternative to real life experience, an alternative that can
simulate it and fill that void, we become seduced by it. It’s as
though we lower our standard of perfection so that it is attainable,
inside of manufactured technology.

The Robotic Moment:
From this section, a quotation that spoke to this idea was from the
Animal Kingdom that was opened in Orlando, originally populated by
real live animals that garnered a reaction of, “they were not as
realistic as the animatronic creators in other parts of Disneyworld”
(page 4). The reasoning behind this claim was because the biological
animals kept to themselves. Obviously, if displaced from its habitat
and introduced into an unfamiliar place and situation, the animals
would be reluctant to live how they would naturally, because they
couldn’t. However the visitors who made such statements didn’t seem to
care if they were alive or not, just that they seemed real enough to
be convinced of that. To me, this concept of not caring if they were
alive was extremely insensitive and contrary to (my perception of)
human nature (although removing creatures from their natural habitat
for entertainment in the first place seems a bit insensitive, to be
fair). In the end, the whole idea of it seemed to be, “I don’t want to
watch it sleep or sit around do nothing, I want to see it do what a
real crocodile would do in a real situation,” despite those factors
and possibilities being removed due to the circumstances in the first
place.

Connectivity and its Disconnects:
A good summary of this section came at the end of it on page 17 where
the author writes, “Overwhelmed by the volume and velocity of our
lives, we turn to technology to help us find time. But technology
makes us busier than ever and ever in search of retreat. Gradually we
come to see our online life as life itself…the simplification of
relationship is no longer a source of complaint. It becomes what we
want.” It seems like Technology was intended to offer convenience, but
grew into an alternative, and eventually to the top choice. While it
does allow connecting to be easier, the sincerity is lost. Boundaries
have shifted in a way that, years ago would have seemed unfathomable.
For example, when she was going to interview a potential nanny, the
person who answers the door prefers to text her rather than knocking
on her door, “On no, I would never do that. That would be intrusive.
I’ll text her.” Despite it being easier to text, it’s saddening that a
person finds it intrusive to knock on the door of someone she lives
with.
Romancing The Machine:
In this section, the quote “we are in the verge of seeking the company
and counsel of sociable robots as a natural part of life” (page 19)
shows how we fall to the seduction of something that won’t ever
disappoint you. We’d rather be stuck in an illusion of perfection that
to live in a world that may give you a rude awakening every once in a
while. The idea of having a stronger connection with something that
can’t even feel rather than another human being somewhat angered me.
The idea of having a genuine connection, and understanding someone
goes much deeper than generating an appropriate response to please
someone. We aren’t always right, and we need to have someone to point
that out to us every once in a while. “Our willingness to consider
their company says a lot about the dissatisfactions we feel in our
networked lives today” (page 18)