I spent the last week in Tampa for work. While it was a work trip, I did enjoy the deviation from my routine. Since I live in the upper midwest, I'm sure you can understand how much I relished the warmth and sunshine of Florida. I also attended my first professional hockey game, spent some quality time with a couple of my military buddies, and took advantage of the opportunity to eat fresh seafood.
For those of you who don't know, I work in the IT industry. The vast majority of what I do can be done from my home, but occasionally I need to put my hands on the equipment. Over the last year, we built enough of a list that it was cost-effective to fly me down there for the week. While I was gallivanting across the countryside, I was a bit struck by how much people love their technology. Let me share two stories to provide examples.
While I was on the plane, I saw a young woman effectively spend the entire flight engaging ChatGPT with her relationship issues. I don't know the details, because I tried diligently to not be a snoop, so it's quite possible that she was darting back and forth between different apps, but it absolutely seemed like she was fully engaged with her phone the entire flight; and when curiosity got the better of me and I did look for those occasional, brief moments, she was definitely talking to ChatGPT about her boyfriend. I found it noteworthy how deeply she was engaged with the technology, considering AI's well-known propensity for hallucinations.
While I was in Tampa, my rental car was a Toyota Corolla. I've always thought of the Corolla as a budget-priced vehicle, designed to get you from Point A to Point B without the unnecessary bells and whistles. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that the car had adaptive cruise control, complete with lane position assistance. This is only the second time I've driven in a car that tries to keep you in your lane, and it was a bit of an adjustment. The first time I engaged cruise control, I didn't realize that it was actively trying to keep me in the center of the lane. I tend to stay a bit left of center when I drive, for better visibility. The car didn't like that and actively resisted when I'd try to drift left more than it liked.
The second time I drove the car, I realized what was going on, so I snapped to the opposite end of the spectrum and let the car do its thing. For the most part, I served as a human monitor for the vehicle. I negotiated turns and traffic signals, but the car generally did the rest. The car didn't like that either; it randomly prompted me to slightly move the steering wheel so it knew I was paying attention. I played with adaptive cruise a bit more, but eventually concluded that I enjoy driving far more than I trust the technology and went back to driving old school.
Since I work in IT, I get why society is enamored with technology. I used to be a gadget geek. I was a reasonably early adopter of the PC. I jumped on the Internet when AOL was popular. My love for and knowledge of tech has kept a roof over my head and food in my belly for almost three decades. However, I think we've hit the point where we are abdicating our personal judgment. As a result, I believe that we are indeed becoming collectively dumber, less curious, and less individual. I can't help but wonder if that woman would kill the boyfriend if ChatGPT said it was the best course of action. I also wonder if my grandchildren will be the last generation that really understands and appreciates the wonder of a road trip with no destination.
