How to Control the Influence of Technology

“Help, the robots are coming” was the title of one of my Keynotes back in 2019. I didn’t think of that title though, the host of the event did. It quickly showed the sentiment of them and their target audience. A fear of technology coming to take over. Our jobs? Our lives? The entire planet? I opened my keynote with the statement: “Within the next 30 minutes, I will show you why the title should be: The robots are coming to help”. As long as we are the ones creating machines and further developing technology, we are the ones that decide where it takes us.

Note: This blog is based on an episode of The Human Era Podcast where I talk with Ryan Morgan about the influence of technology. Links to this episode can be found at the bottom of this post.

My best friend — Jonathan Flores — always says that technology is like a superpower. And superpowers can be used to either do great things or evil things. We can create technology for short-term gains and lose sight of the human aspect of life OR we can create technology with a long-term vision, building machines, tools, and algorithms that support us in our daily — and professional lives. The choice is ours. There are examples of technology causing discrimination and there are examples of technology built to prevent discrimination. We shouldn’t act as if tech is a mythical beast that does whatever it pleases and we have no say in it (“Help, the robots are coming”). We should see it as a very powerful tool that can make our lives easier, more enjoyable and meaningful (“The robots are coming to help”).

Watch the full podcast

“The more advanced our technology becomes, the more it challenges what we are as people”. — Ryan Morgan

We need to innovate ourselves too

Technology challenges what we are as humans as well. We have the power to change what work and life look like and how we spend our days, build relationships and add value to our environment. We have the option to create so many things that actually allow us to be more human than ever. Building solutions to take over processes that are too mundane, boring, or complex for us to deal with, for example.

Technology is therefore also challenging us to re-invent ourselves. What does it actually mean to be human? How can we maximize our creativity? Can we build technological solutions to make work more about building relationships rather than performing tasks? Can we free up time in our days to do things to expand our knowledge, social circles, and interactions? These are questions we should ask ourselves, but also keep in mind when dealing with innovations.

Found this interesting? Please share!

How to Control the Influence of Technology

“Help, the robots are coming” was the title of one of my Keynotes back in 2019. I didn’t think of that title though, the host of the event did. It quickly showed the sentiment of them and their target audience. A fear of technology coming to take over. Our jobs? Our lives? The entire planet? I opened my keynote with the statement: “Within the next 30 minutes, I will show you why the title should be: The robots are coming to help”. As long as we are the ones creating machines and further developing technology, we are the ones that decide where it takes us.

Note: This blog is based on an episode of The Human Era Podcast where I talk with Ryan Morgan about the influence of technology. Links to this episode can be found at the bottom of this post.

My best friend — Jonathan Flores — always says that technology is like a superpower. And superpowers can be used to either do great things or evil things. We can create technology for short-term gains and lose sight of the human aspect of life OR we can create technology with a long-term vision, building machines, tools, and algorithms that support us in our daily — and professional lives. The choice is ours. There are examples of technology causing discrimination and there are examples of technology built to prevent discrimination. We shouldn’t act as if tech is a mythical beast that does whatever it pleases and we have no say in it (“Help, the robots are coming”). We should see it as a very powerful tool that can make our lives easier, more enjoyable and meaningful (“The robots are coming to help”).

Watch the full podcast

“The more advanced our technology becomes, the more it challenges what we are as people”. — Ryan Morgan

We need to innovate ourselves too

Technology challenges what we are as humans as well. We have the power to change what work and life look like and how we spend our days, build relationships and add value to our environment. We have the option to create so many things that actually allow us to be more human than ever. Building solutions to take over processes that are too mundane, boring, or complex for us to deal with, for example.

Technology is therefore also challenging us to re-invent ourselves. What does it actually mean to be human? How can we maximize our creativity? Can we build technological solutions to make work more about building relationships rather than performing tasks? Can we free up time in our days to do things to expand our knowledge, social circles, and interactions? These are questions we should ask ourselves, but also keep in mind when dealing with innovations.

Found this interesting? Please share!