Available online
Description
Is technology making us less human? Writer, Tom Chatfield is an enthusiastic downloader of the latest apps, an early adopter of anything small and shiny that promises to smooth his path through lif...e. But Tom can't help feeling a little anxious about the hold that new technology has on his life.Plato felt much the same, concerned that the new- fangled concept of writing might destroy the ability of the Ancient Greeks to memorise vast swathes of human knowledge. Do car sat-navs destroy our innate sense of direction? Do search engines displace our store of general knowledge?With the help of the Economist's Digital Editor, Tom Standage and cybernetics expert, Kevin Warwick, Tom looks toward a future when the communication and computing power of our smartphones is inserted directly into our nervous systems. With superfast thought processes and a battery of new senses will we feel upgraded or out of control, superhuman or inhuman?
Is technology making us less human? Writer, Tom Chatfield is an enthusiastic downloader of the latest apps, an early adopter of anything small and shiny that promises to smooth his path through lif...e. But Tom can't help feeling a little anxious about the hold that new technology has on his life.Plato felt much the same, concerned that the new- fangled concept of writing might destroy the ability of the Ancient Greeks to memorise vast swathes of human knowledge. Do car sat-navs destroy our innate sense of direction? Do search engines displace our store of general knowledge?With the help of the Economist's Digital Editor, Tom Standage and cybernetics expert, Kevin Warwick, Tom looks toward a future when the communication and computing power of our smartphones is inserted directly into our nervous systems. With superfast thought processes and a battery of new senses will we feel upgraded or out of control, superhuman or inhuman?
| Series: | A history of ideas |
|---|---|
| First transmission date: | 2015-01-27 |
| Original broadcast channel: | BBC Radio 4 |
| Published: | 2015 |
| Rights Statement: | Rights owned or controlled by The Open University |
| Restrictions on use: | This material can be used in accordance with The Open University conditions of use. A link to the conditions can be found at the bottom of all OU Digital Archive web pages. |
| Duration: | 00:11:00 |
| Note: | Radio 4 version |
| + Show more... | |
| Producer: | Alasdair Cross |
| Presenter: | Tom Chatfield |
| Contributors: | Tom Chatfield; Tom Standage; K Warwick |
| Publisher: | BBC Open University |
| Production number: | AUDA766B |
| Available to public: | no |
