If people start to buy the idea that machines are great companions for the elderly or for children, as they increasingly seem to do, we are really playing with fire.
Sherry TurkleRead
Technology challenges us to look at our human values. We can try to use technology to cure Parkinson's or Alzheimer's, which would be a blessing, but that blessing is not a reason to move from artificial brain enhancement to artificial intimacy.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the need to reflect on human values when advancing technology, particularly concerning artificial enhancements.
Sherry Turkle's quote suggests that while technology has the potential to greatly benefit humanity, such as through medical advancements for diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's, we must carefully consider the implications of using technology to replace or alter fundamental human experiences, such as intimacy. It invites a discussion about the ethical boundaries of technological enhancements and the importance of maintaining our core human values in the face of innovation.
Themes
TechnologyHuman ValuesArtificial IntelligenceIntimacyEthics
In practice
Example use cases
In a technology ethics seminar discussing the implications of AI in healthcare.
More from Sherry Turkle
All quotes →We live in a technological universe in which we are always communicating. And yet we have sacrificed conversation for mere connection.
Sherry TurkleRead
The most used program in computers and education is PowerPoint. What are you learning about the nature of the medium by knowing how do to a great PowerPoint presentation? Nothing. It certainly doesn't teach you how to think critically about living in a culture of simulation.
Sherry TurkleRead
Technology is seductive when what it offers meets our human vulnerabilities. And as it turns out, we are very vulnerable indeed. We are lonely but fearful of intimacy. Digital connections and the sociable robot may offer the illusion of companionship without the demands of friendship. Our networked life allows us to hide from each other, even as we are tethered to each other. We’d rather text than talk.
Sherry TurkleRead
Human relationships are rich and they're messy and they're demanding. And we clean them up with technology. Texting, email, posting, all of these things let us present the self as we want to be. We get to edit, and that means we get to delete, and that means we get to retouch, the face, the voice, the flesh, the body -- not too little, not too much, just right.
Sherry TurkleRead
The feeling that 'no one is listening to me' make us want to spend time with machines that seem to care about us.
Sherry TurkleRead
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