They don’t really think or feel; and aren’t really here to help us other than to categorize and sort us based on mining data (information) about our shopping habits, neighborhood, preferences, friends, what sites we visit, and how often, one’s political and religious views (and or lack thereof). The idea of autonomous robot like entities in the form of virtual assistants and computers and chips embedded everywhere (the vaunted ‘internet of things’) is a ubiquitous nightmare in the sense of the walled-garden of Apple, Facebook, Google, Microsoft or Amazon.. While many amenities and perks are offered thereof… it’s like Hotel California… you can check out anytime…. but you can never leave….
{I had had to find the passage back… to the place I was before… Relax, says the nightman… ‘we are programmed to receive’)
• Coder’s coder and virtual-reality pioneer Jaron Lanier is author, You Are Not a Gadget. and Who Owns the Future? •
Source: edge.org