So long, farewell, Auf wiedersehn, goodbye!

Thursday, February 23, 2006
Computer Progress

1. After an completion of this technology class, we have all learned that there is not just one viewpoint that is absolutely correct for technology and its future. My original question involved whether or not computers will ever be able to reason. After watching Frankenstein and other films of the sort, it seems as though reason is a thing computers will never be able to accomplish. If we really did know anything about how to go about AI, i believe that the movies to date would have a better explanation on how things all came to be. Frankenstein showed us nothing but lightening which supposedly jump started a heart. This is about the best idea for how this would be done that i have seen, and it is still highly unbelievable.
Artificial intelligence and reason, as i believe we have all come to see, are just nice things to write about. Zombie movies have the same problem. There is no explanation as to how things came to be, but they just tell us they exist. In either case, it is an exciting thought to think about. It sparks our imagination, though we really know nothing about it. Maybe the promise of technology is just some really cool movies.

Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Borgmann's Challenge

2. The web of realtions that we had talked about concerning Borgmann i believe refers to two things. First, the relations between people. A well would obviously invite more conversation and interaction than a spigot would, there is not much debate there. The thing that doesn't change is the web of relations that technology such as this influences on work life. We had discussed that the web of relations seperates supervisors from those under them unlike in less technological times.
This problem has never come to my attention. It seems as though there is still a direct connection in most workplaces that i have been in, and those i have worked in. Managers all directly oversee the people under them and the web of relations is not disturbed by technology. This is a different case in factories, however. Assembly lines require no direct overseeing, but this can be done from a distance by security camera without any personal involvement. In this case, the web of relations is disturbed by technology. Given the example of a work environment other than a factory or something of the sort, the nostalgia Borgmann has seems insignificant. Either way, with or without technology, there is still a direct connection between employer and employee.