Robot World
A book that discusses the relationship between man and robotics and provides useful elements for those in business
First mechanisation, then automation, then digitalisation, then beyond 4.0 up to virtual reality, which is the immateriality of it all. The path that technologies have taken – and the entire social structure and production methods along with them – in a relatively short time, is clearly another major leap in quality by humankind. While this leap has certainly not happened instantaneously, it is definitely characterised by rapidity that poses considerable questions regarding approach and behaviour.
The general question is simple: how do we behave and how do we relate to new technologies that change and age so quickly? Sherry Turkle (who teaches Sociology of Science and Technology at MIT in Boston and who has been studying the psychology of human beings in relation to technologies for thirty years) is here to help those who are wondering about this bundle of issues. Considering the relationship between humankind and new technologies, Turkle leads the reader of Insieme ma soli (Together But Alone) along a path that is also useful to anyone who manages production organisations using technology.
The author’s observation seems obvious on the surface: all our private lives depend more and more on technology. Immediately after this observation, Turkle adds that by using (browsing) social media, one has the illusion of being part of a group of friends, of having more information at hand and of “living more and more to the full”. In fact, we are confused between the amount of information and messages that arrive and real communication in the form of authentic awareness of others, actual human contact. The message of the book is that being constantly connected only creates a new solitude, with all the consequences this brings. The emotions of individuals and their sense of balance, their vision of the world and of people in their lives, their aspirations, the amount they feel when reality hits, the very perception of reality: all of this is therefore at stake.
The book reads almost like a story told by several people. It’s a pleasant book to read, even when taking the simple and clear separation of topics into account: first the “robotic moment” which outlines the new private solitude and then, the “connection” which illustrates a privacy that leads to new solitudes.
Based on hundreds of interviews collected over years of field research, Insieme ma soli describes the recent, disturbing transformations of relationships with friends, loved ones, parents and children, and all the precariousness of our beliefs concerning privacy and community, intimacy and solitude. On the one hand it presents the problem, but on the other, it offers a resolution. Faced with the problem of technological solitude, it’s important to recover tangible relationships with people. This claim also applies to the production and business system. In other words, Insieme ma soli brings the goodness of humanity and socialisation back to the forefront as regards the virtual and technological reality.
Reading this book is therefore something that should be done by anyone who wants to better understand the meaning not only of relations between men and women, but also unique aspects of modern life and productive activities.
Insieme ma soli
Sherry Turkle
Einaudi, 2019
A book that discusses the relationship between man and robotics and provides useful elements for those in business
First mechanisation, then automation, then digitalisation, then beyond 4.0 up to virtual reality, which is the immateriality of it all. The path that technologies have taken – and the entire social structure and production methods along with them – in a relatively short time, is clearly another major leap in quality by humankind. While this leap has certainly not happened instantaneously, it is definitely characterised by rapidity that poses considerable questions regarding approach and behaviour.
The general question is simple: how do we behave and how do we relate to new technologies that change and age so quickly? Sherry Turkle (who teaches Sociology of Science and Technology at MIT in Boston and who has been studying the psychology of human beings in relation to technologies for thirty years) is here to help those who are wondering about this bundle of issues. Considering the relationship between humankind and new technologies, Turkle leads the reader of Insieme ma soli (Together But Alone) along a path that is also useful to anyone who manages production organisations using technology.
The author’s observation seems obvious on the surface: all our private lives depend more and more on technology. Immediately after this observation, Turkle adds that by using (browsing) social media, one has the illusion of being part of a group of friends, of having more information at hand and of “living more and more to the full”. In fact, we are confused between the amount of information and messages that arrive and real communication in the form of authentic awareness of others, actual human contact. The message of the book is that being constantly connected only creates a new solitude, with all the consequences this brings. The emotions of individuals and their sense of balance, their vision of the world and of people in their lives, their aspirations, the amount they feel when reality hits, the very perception of reality: all of this is therefore at stake.
The book reads almost like a story told by several people. It’s a pleasant book to read, even when taking the simple and clear separation of topics into account: first the “robotic moment” which outlines the new private solitude and then, the “connection” which illustrates a privacy that leads to new solitudes.
Based on hundreds of interviews collected over years of field research, Insieme ma soli describes the recent, disturbing transformations of relationships with friends, loved ones, parents and children, and all the precariousness of our beliefs concerning privacy and community, intimacy and solitude. On the one hand it presents the problem, but on the other, it offers a resolution. Faced with the problem of technological solitude, it’s important to recover tangible relationships with people. This claim also applies to the production and business system. In other words, Insieme ma soli brings the goodness of humanity and socialisation back to the forefront as regards the virtual and technological reality.
Reading this book is therefore something that should be done by anyone who wants to better understand the meaning not only of relations between men and women, but also unique aspects of modern life and productive activities.
Insieme ma soli
Sherry Turkle
Einaudi, 2019