Computer says "no"

There have been numerous movies in recent years – too many to mention – that depict scenarios where computers/technology take over the human race. Most people put such stories very much in the realm of science fiction: How could the creators of these machines be mastered by them?

"Eh OK, but what do you say?"

Well, you don’t have to go too far out of your way to see that this process has already begun. 

Something you can call the traffic light approach to life. That is, an inability to do anything unless a system gives you permission to do so. It’s a phenomenon that was brilliantly parodied by the ‘computer says no’ lady from the British comedy sketch show Little Britain.

Now, while it might be humorous to mock, being on the receiving end of such behaviour is generally quite the opposite. 

As a rule, those who live their lives this way tend to ignore the physical realities staring them in the face if they don’t match up to what their piece of machinery tells them. 

Of course, it’s always good to have a scapegoat or to relinquish all responsibility whatsoever, and in this technology age many people shove all the blame and accountability on to the computer screen sitting in front of them should there be any problems.

Take the following example. Having commenced a new twice-weekly class for a client here in Bogotá, we had been entering the industrial estate where the company is located trouble-free for weeks, registering with security staff at the main reception each time, as is required. 

Then, one day, one of the security staff who had been dealing with us regularly tells us that we can’t enter. 

“Why so?” 

“Well I’m sorry but the system doesn’t recognise your document number” (well, it was said in the gruff Spanish equivalent of the same). 

“But it’s us, standout extranjeros/foreigners (and thereby infinitely more trustworthy than locals) and we’ve been coming here for weeks – we teach a class for 90 minutes and then we’re out again. Surely you can let us in?” 

“Nope, you’re not on the system and therefore you cannot enter.”

Crap!

Cue a few choice expletives from ‘Team Wrong Way’ aimed at the controlled-by-technology security man (perhaps that should be robot) and that was that. 

The students didn’t get a class that morning, although, thankfully we still got our payment. Cheers to BSR Idiomas for that – the best English language institute in Colombia bar none (we’re still good for that 20K Colombian pesos plug deal Robert, right?).

The above instance is just one of a number of similar experiences we’ve had in the last few months since we started work here in Bogotá. This is not to say that it’s solely a Bogotano or Colombian occurrence – though, it does seem quite endemic here. 

It’s just that due to the nature of our work (see The money tongue http://bit.ly/V8ELH4 for more) we’ve been unlucky enough in having to face it in these parts more regularly than in any other location. 

However, more or less by definition many in the developed world are much more ‘corrupted’ by computers.

That ambiguous phrase, ‘to think outside the box’, may be doing the rounds for some time but thanks to the rise of technology, it has taken on a whole new, clearer, meaning. 

That is, try and use your own brain from time to time rather than letting a square lump of wires and chips sitting in front of you dictate your actions. Perhaps, though, judging by the way some people behave it’s best that a computer makes the decisions for them.

The monster cometh — beware.

In our Unsocial media post a few weeks back, we wrote about how people’s overuse of social networking sites may see them living like hermits but with technology. At least, in this regard, they may still be able to use their own initiative. With the computer-says-no mentality, however, we run the risk of severely hampering people’s innovative skills.

So, while technology – arguably – has vastly improved the way we live our lives and has put previously difficult-to-obtain information at the fingertips of billions of people, there are obvious drawbacks.

It has been argued before that laziness, not necessity, is the real mother of invention. So is the human race on the cusp of being consumed by what can only be described as true, suicidal laziness? That is, to submit the use of our brains to technology.

‘Frankenstein's monster’ walks menacingly amongst us.