The future of technology and the human experience

I don’t think i’ll fully agree with you. The world and technology is just speeding up and trying to prevent it won’t help us. Gathering data about shopping habits started a long time ago before opening Amazon Go Stores. First of all, we’d have to come back to cash since using card already collects data and we’d have to forget about online shopping. Honestly, imagine only using cash and not buying anything online, it’s really hard and i’m not sure anyone would even decide to do that just to be more human. I really don’t think meeting a cashier at the shop will make us more human. Automatisation of simple tasks can be really beneficial cause it gives us more time to focus on more important stuff like real life human interaction with family and friends. Advancing technology does not exclude human relation, on the contrary, it should connected. We should focus on creating technology that will help us create space to be more human, and i believe this is what we also do here at Mudita.
I treat privacy as a separate debate here since payment details and data are just a bit more different than clicks on an app. Payments are usually connected to banks and they need all personal information simply for safety. Shopping informations are additionally used by big tech. Privacy in terms of payments are is a huge debate, especially right now in crypto currencies. EU is voting for banning anonymous crypto wallets, it’ll mean that they’ll have to have a verified owner just like a bank account and it’ll loose its huge advantage. Also, it’s a matter of time when a solution similar to cookies will be introduced for transactions in blockchain. Those transactions will be followed and used by big tech as well as bank transactions we do now. The data collection in payment sector is an endless dilemma between providing safety and using it for profit.

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I Agree.
It feels that in the choice between human interaction and the fast lane self service checkout line, convenience wins most of the time these days. It’s really sad.
Sure, it’s a good thing to develop and prioritize a close relationship with your family and friends, but in my opinion it’s when you talk, listen and interact with people you don’t know, that you really grow. You train and stimulate a different social muscle, a part of your brain that will lie dormant if you shape your social life around convenience.
I believe it’s worth going an extra mile to interact with others, if that option is available. Especially on the days when you are less inclined to. It could be exactly what you needed that particular day.

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Nearly every store in California works this way now, given that District Attorneys no longer prosecute thefts under $950 there. :rofl:

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100% THIS :point_up_2:
I love talking to people out of my “social circle or immediate sphere.” It’s through this that I met the most interesting individuals.

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@kirkmahoneyphd I’ve read about this, but it wasn’t until a friend of mine sent me a video of some people running into an Ulta Beauty Supply store in Chicago & people just stood by, recording video, while hooligans made off with product.
Maybe I’m old, but the disconnection between community responsibility & what was happening in a store, where I often shopped, was so visible. It was almost like it wasn’t happening or wasn’t even real. There were two or three thieves & a store full of people, maybe 30-40 people. NO ONE DID ANYTHING. They were not armed, they were not brandishing guns or knives. They just ran in & out within like 3-4 minutes & people just recorded this on their smartphones. It felt like the bystanders were so disconnected from what was going on they just did what was most natural- reached for the smartphone.
Afterwards, many different takes/angles from that crime spree were shared online.

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In Denmark, we have some “self-check-out” in the markets. I never used it, and I don’t intend to.

The “grab and walk-out” is an old system, much before these stores. Now I understand the $950 “law”. :stuck_out_tongue:

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@roberto I use the self-check out when I’m really in a hurry. However, I do prefer human interaction whenever possible. I like having the option, but it’s not my go-to way to check out.

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Yes, it is the human interaction, not the extra work per se. I’m not aware of the “amazon system” stores here. Certainly, I would avoid them.

In the gas stations, however, we don’t have too much choice. It is 100% electronic.

@aleksandra It’s not so much about using or not using cash. I rarely use cash. It’s more about the human aspect of certain activities & when we bring too much technology into certain activities, the experience of those activities is lessened. The meaningfulness of those activities is lessened.
The power of the human touch, of human connection is inherent to our existence.

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Agreed. We are social animals. No technology can remove our essence. For some reason, I recommended this book here: Good reads and recommended books

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Now there’s this:

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The concept/definition of “convenience” is a bit out of brakes…By reading all this technological “speed,” I’m wondering if I’m getting too old, too wise, too stupid, or everything simultaneously. :slight_smile:

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@roberto Sometimes I wonder the same thing. Am I too old, am I out of touch or just weird.

Well, at least let us think that we are going in the same way as a (real) fine wine. :slight_smile:

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@roberto I always say that age only matters if you’re wine, whiskey or cheese :smiley: I’m like a vintage wine :smiley:

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When retailers require that customers have smartphones to unlock product cabinets, expect politicians to create money-wasting bureaucracies to buy smartphones for the smartphone-less, such as Pure owners!

No, thank you. Here’s a simpler solution: Enforce laws for theft, and we won’t need smartphone-locked retail cabinets and another money-wasting bureaucracy.

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A few days ago, I came across this article on the BBC & to be honest, it freaked me out a bit. This is what I imagine the future of technology would look like if we don’t set boundaries.

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Well it does look frightening but on the other hand - implants for animals and pets are existing for a while, haven’t heard about any super negative feedbacks. Also, you wouldn’t have to worry at all about having your wallet stolen, that is surely a great advantage but YEAH a bit extreme!

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@aleksandra Misiek has a microchip because if he gets lost, he can’t articulate to the person who finds him how to get him back to me. My whole concern about chip implants in humans, here is more of a chance for misuse & abuse with humans.
Recently, microchipping human has been brought up as a way to enforce social distancing rules in Israel:

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Technology has never been the problem. It is fantastic what we are able to do now vs 40-50 years ago. But it has come at a cost. When I look around me I see people staring at screens not recognizing the absolute beauty around them. I once was one of these people. I still remember the day everything changed. I was at my sons hockey game and I was staring at my phone. I looked around and everyone was doing the same. I could not imagine being a child and scoring my first goal and then to look up and see my mom or dad on their phones. That is when it hit me. I put the phone down and I began spending time with kids. Taking your kids to sports activities while you stare at a screen is not spending time with them. It is our relationship to technology that needs to change. We need to wake up. Thanks to companies like Mudita and others this movement I think is taking hold. I spent this morning playing with my kids at the park. We climbed a hill and we looked up into the sky and looked at clouds. I was present with them and it was amazing. Where was my smartphone? At home.

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