Laurie Anderson is a legendary multimedia artist. She bends technology to her will, her artistic vision. I remember seeing a retrospective of some of her work at the Hirshhorn museum in Washington DC some time ago, and as you entered the exhibit, you were flanked on both sides by red flags held by robot arms that moved in sync with each other, at some times creating a sense of grandiosity and regality, then shuddering in unnerving jerky motions, creating a sense that you’ve entered a space that may be threatening.
She is not a user of technology, she is a master of technology. If she were ever inclined to participate in social media, she would reject the popular offerings by tech companies and instead maybe do something with shortwave radio in some new way no one ever has before.
From time to time she has said one of her favorite quotes is from a cryptologist, who said “If you think technology can solve your problems, you don’t understand technology, and you don’t understand your problems”
I ponder this often. A bicycle is good transportation, I use my bike often, it gets me most places I need to go. It has limitations, I added a basket, and a head light, better seat, things like that. I know it will never do long trips, and I shouldn’t take it on the highway. I also have a car, necessary in California, I don’t need to use my car all of the time to go places, but I could. Are cars better technology? Not really, bikes can be high tech. cars are vehicles designed for longer trips and highway speeds.
My personal perspective is based on several decades working in Silicon Valley, and also being quite vintage (post 70). I think many of the problems in today’s society, and the latent frustration with everyday life can be placed at the door of tech. This spans from the inattention and lack of personal engagement in people with other people, to the loss of control and frequent electronic failure of high tech cars. Sadly, if the high tech reality is all that someone has experienced, then they probably will not understand.
This woman is apparently leveraging tech to make a living, so tech is apparently solving at least one of her problems. One might wonder what creative accomplishments she might make without tech - likely more human, but perhaps not delivering as much instant amusement.
Some on this forum have a tech addiction, which is difficult because the symptoms are so common in society, and are not so visible some times. Addiction to desserts is pretty visible in a few weeks - pants won’t fit. Addiction to drink also has pretty visible side effects. Addiction to tech? Well, all of a sudden you have a virtual girlfriend, lots of virtual friends, and know everything at the touch of a key. What is not to like???
I often wonder if people will be able to get back home if there is an internet outage, and their GPS is no-op…..
As for tech solving Laurie’s problem of making a living, that does seem like hardly a unique circumstance in the industrialized world; many, many people, including myself, have relied on tech to pay the rent and groceries..
I don’t think she’s arguing that tech has never solved anyone’s problems ever. It’s too easy to prove that wrong. I think she’s bringing attention to and questioning humanity’s inclination to use tech to solve every problem.
Like Bruce Schneier said, you can develop the most mathematically perfect encryption system that is impossible to crack in any human lifetime, but if someone like Kevin Mitnick gets on the phone with the right people in the right places, saying the right things, that entire encryption system can be defeated. There isn’t a technological solution to this problem. Better training for all the people who have access to that system, sure, but what happens when there’s a new boss who tells those people to, for example, give DOGE full admin access to the US Treasury payment system, or else they’ll get fired? All that training has just gone out the window.
Perhaps what Laurie is getting at is that problems can’t be solved perfectly forever. The best we can hope for is “good enough, for now”.
On the one hand, technology is like a drug. The more you use it, the more dependent you become on it and the more problems it brings with it.
If you don't use it, you realize that, generally speaking, you don't need it.
Of course, this isn't entirely true, and technology can also help us.
However, what many people do not clearly realize are the dangers of technology and the need to pay close attention to when it becomes a danger to us as human beings.
We now see that large tech companies, politicians, and multinationals are misusing technology to gain control and dominion over people.
Additionally, we see that technology is not always safe for us either.
Technology can take over humanity, and that is not what we should want.
Ultimately, we come from nature, and that is therefore the greatest solution to our problems. We just have to keep using what nature has given us.
Technology can contribute to our lives, but we must know what for and when to use it. And especially when not to.
