Smart Technology Is Making Us Dumb

Topics: Culture, Tech

Public Release Date: May 13, 2015

Smart technology grants us unprecedented, immediate access to knowledge and to each other—a ubiquitous and seamless presence in everyday life. But is there a downside to all of this connectivity? It’s been said that smart technology creates dependency on devices, narrows our world to echo chambers, and impairs cognitive skills through shortcuts and distraction. Are smart tech devices guiding so much of our decision making that we are losing autonomy without even realizing it? Or are these concerns an overstatement of the negative effects of high-tech consumption?

ARGUING YES:

• Nicholas Carr: Author of ‘The Glass Cage: Automation and Us & The Shallows’

• Andrew Keen: Author, “How to Fix Democracy” podcast host

ARGUING NO:

• Genevieve Bell: Anthropologist, Vice President of the Intel Corporation

• David Weinberger: Senior Researcher at the Berkman Center, Author of ‘Too Big to Know’

MODERATOR-IN-CHIEF:

• John Donvan: Emmy award-winning journalist