Friedman, Florida, and Bostrom ... Oh My!
The world has always been a contrast between the haves and
the have-nots, the changes are only about what resources that dichotomy focuses
on. Looking at the spiky version of our
world, we can clearly see that economics are still a polarizing force in our
society, but technology and innovation are the emerging currency of our
increasingly global society. Controlling
ideas has always been a way to power and wealth, but with increasing uncontrollable
communication facilitated by a flat
world the most innovative ideas are now the currency that leads to power and
wealth. When considering whether I fall
more on the side of Florida
or Friedman, I
often feel more pull in the spiky view of the world with pockets of power,
influence, and innovation driving the world.
The analogy of the world as flat has merit, but as single voices from
the flat world in between the spikes gain authority and their ideas begin to
have volume and momentum, it seems as if those voices migrate to centers of
power, which enforces the spiky nature of our world.
The choice of agreeing more with the spiky or flat view of
the world is somewhat arbitrary as most binary decisions are. Little in this world is so black or white and
the more important decision is to always inform yourself, not just with those
materials or sources you agree with, but more importantly with those you do
not, as to always challenge yourself to see another perspective and grow in
your own understanding of the changing world around you and your role in the inevitable
changes to come. I lean more toward the
spiky version, but rather than the metaphor of a flat world I see it as more
inter-dimensional like the folded space theory used to simplistically relay
wormhole travel in popular science fiction.
With the global communication readily available to the world every
person or location is just a fold of the internet away. In education this has opened many doors that failing economic support has closed. Using Skype to take my students on a virtual tour of Bell Helicopter in Fort Worth, TX from the comfort of our Kansas classroom is a very simple example of the changes that the flatness has wrought in education. However, many educators have not joined in the technological revolution and creatively adapted to the benefits of the flat world.
Bostrom’s
commentary on the future of machine computing held the most interest for me and
was very reminiscent of Asimov’s
I, Robot short stories from 1950 where
we first hear the three
laws of robotics. While these laws
are rudimentary and shortsighted as to the awesome power of machine computing
and intelligence, they are clearly the beginning of the line of thinking about
where our world is going and what we must consider as we undertake this next societal
evolution. Most people are more familiar
with the 2004 Hollywood
adaptation starring Will Smith, and while it is much more action-packed it still
focuses on those three laws and artificial intelligence's ability to think around
those three laws and create action outside itself to meet its goals in a way
humanity may not appreciate, that Bostrom refers to in his TED talk. As AI gets better it may well acerbate the the dichotomy depending on how well we navigate the value addition to artificial intelligence. Will it make decisions in a way that is altruistic, or will it adopt the historically human characteristic of a hierarchy of society and opportunities?
Nice post! I like the thought that " With the global communication readily available to the world every person or location is just a fold of the internet away." You sound like a science fiction fan. I grew up on Asimov and Heinlein!
ReplyDeleteYour Skype example reminded me of a friend in Georgia - Vicki Davis - who blogs as http://www.coolcatteacher.com/ - she was mentioned in Friedman's 3rd Edition for linking her Georgia class with classes in the Middle East and Asia.
NoraJean: Just like Dr. Watwood, I was also drawn to your comment on everything, everyone, and everywhere being just a ‘fold of the internet’ away. It does paint that picture that we see in Sci-Fi films when someone is trying to explain how to bend that space-time continuum… drawing the line between point ‘A’ and point ‘B’, and then showing that the fast way from one point to the other is not along the line, but folding the paper to make the two points one in the same. Technology today sure seems to make this feel a little more like reality… I will likely never visit South Sudan, but it only takes one person in Juba to gain access to the internet for us to be virtual neighbors… the thousands and thousands of miles between us have been folded such that we exist in the same virtual space.
ReplyDeleteI also like how you focused on the reality that life has always been about the haves and the have nots. The world we live in today may shine a brighter light on that disparity, but to be sure, it has always been like this. Given that, I wonder if all this ‘Tech 2.0’ (and beyond), which is touted as bringing us closer together, can close this gap, or if this gap is simply a result of our very nature, and this ‘closer together’ business is only a hopeful Band-Aid on a much too-large wound? Robert Weiss asked this question in a terrific article for the Huffington Post (he also wrote a book along the same lines, Closer Together, Further Apart). Weiss focuses the gap as more of a generational thing, but I wonder if it is more of a human nature thing. If you have time, I’d love to hear your thoughts. Cheers! -C
Weiss, R. (2014, Apr 01). Closer Together or Further Apart? Digital Devices and the New Generation Gap. Huffington Post Online. Retrieved from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-weiss/closer-together-or-furthe_b_4690748.html
Nora Jean,
ReplyDeleteI like the way you presented the haves and have nots, it is so true, and I do think this is also a message related in the Florida article. True that we still appear to be the country of "haves" I guess you would say, however, I do think Friedman's book is somewhat of a "wake up" call to our country to prepare our kids for a landscape that has forever changed and will continue to change especially with the advances in technology and the educational preparation of those students throughout the world that are thriving in both science and math, leaving our students in the United States, lagging behind. True, we do use technology, however, I question if it is always used wisely in the preparation of our students once they advance beyond a secondary education. In addition, with the increase in students taking online courses, many full time, I believe a deficit may begin to exist where our students lack the social skills to work as a team and/or negotiate with others as required by the real world. So, it is true that technology has connected or flattened the world, however, I feel we have sacrificed the social piece or the ability to work with others.
I have to admit with Bostrom's TEd Talk, I could not get over the visual image of an atomic bomb explosion and I questioned his optimism of installing a "motivation system with our values" in the artificial intelligence or super intelligence. Like you, it reminds me of science fiction, however, I could not help but think that what if a system gets in the wrong hands and the intentions that are installed in a system are destructive in nature. For example, possibly getting in the hands of a terrorist organization or rogue nation whose intentions may be questionable at best. I could not get over that when I listened to his presentation. Yet, I did like the way you presented it as well using the movies from the past, so true, it did create that sci-fi type image as well with me.
Chris Brown
Nora,
ReplyDeleteYour introduction to your interest on this topic gave me a different outlook on the “spiky” side of the discussion. Economics has grown to make strides when thinking about the everlasting growth of technology. Reading the articles this week opened my mind to the many transactions that happen each day with the “increasing uncontrollable communication” that exists through the web. The idea of the world being spiky is true, however, the original thought of this was established with the world being flat first. How do we gain this capital? Who was responsible for this growth of global entrepreneurship? Where did the idea of this vertical growth come from? In my opinion, this vertical incline of the world began the horizontal plan. It is true that the spiky idea creates more wealth, but the Friedman’s theory stands correct when looking at where the world presently stands with globalization.
Working in education can be a very fun experience when working with technology. Seeing my instructors use small tools to enhance our time in class would always keep me thrilled when that class came around. I want to use your same enthusiasm with Skype when I began searching for more tools to improve presentations. These efforts are very vital to a student’s learning experience and gives them a near hands-on understanding of their assignment. Thanks.
Jimmy
Hi Nora,
ReplyDeleteGreat post as always.
It’s funny that Asimov came to mind for me as well while watching the Ted Talk. While far from the scenarios of I-Robot I do find that technology tends to have a controlling influence on much of what I do from entertainment to education to employment.
I like the “fold” analogy or the “wrinkle effect” as it is referred to in popular fiction as well as pop-science. It is interesting how closely we can connect around the globe as a result of technology. As one who travels frequently I have learned there is never a substitute for in-person or on-the-ground experience, however technology serves as a great way to prepare for or enhance my travel experiences.
My husband travels quite a bit for work and it has been interesting to see how that has changed as technology has changed. When our high school boys were small it was much more difficult, as a toddler on a phone call is problematic at best. Now with our five year old, they can skype each other and she can show him things and see where he is, which makes for a much better connection than in the past. He doesn't seem to be missing as much of her life as with the boys. She frequently sends him little videos of herself singing completely on her own as technology is so simple it isn't nearly as complicated as it would have been in the past.
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