Technology, Friend or Foe?

I expect this subject to demand more than one post, so today's will be only a start. But first, some background…my own, so you’ll know where I’m coming from, at least when it comes to technology. 

I’ve been wrapped up in technology for most of my life. As a teenager I became a licensed ham radio operator and took a math/science path through high school. Okay, I also studied Latin and German, but my real interests were in the sciences. Georgetown University accepted me as an astronomy major, but then my dad convinced me to ask the university if I could switch to its School of Foreign Service. Why I agreed to this, I can’t answer today, but Dad could be persuasive. Anyway, Georgetown agreed and I spent my freshman year with a bunch of budding diplomats — nice folks, but a bit odd. 

Everything changed when I received an appointment to the U. S. Naval Academy, a school where technology rules. Four year later I graduated from Annapolis with a specialty in electrical engineering and a minor in German. I’d always been fascinated by aviation, so naval flight school was the logical next step. After earning my Navy “wings of gold,” I spent the next decade flying, attending graduate school where I studied management and computer science, teaching computer science at the Naval Academy, and doing other exciting Navy stuff at sea and ashore.  

Diane and I enjoyed Navy life, but I was facing more sea duty, more time away from my family, and more moves. Once again my dad suggested a change, and asked me to join him in his sales and management training and consulting business. And once again, this time with Diane’s support, we agreed. I resigned my Regular Navy commission and transferred to the Naval Reserve, in which I served the country for another 15 years. In the meantime we moved to Cape Cod to begin this new chapter. I stayed connected with technology, applying it as a tool in our business. In fact, we had a computer long before the advent of the PC. There were other adventures: working as a low-level dean at Providence College; teaching business programs there and at Roger Williams University; and working for a Massachusetts-based hi-tech firm that specialized in programmable telecommunications switches.

Of course, throughout these years Diane and I tried to live faith-filled lives. I read and took courses in Scripture and theology in an effort to expand my knowledge and deepen my faith. About 30 years ago, I accepted a call to begin formation for the diaconate, and was ordained a permanent deacon on May 24, 1997. 

That, then, is my story in brief, at least part of it. I’ve long been somewhat of a techno-dweeb, but have also been concerned about technology’s pervasive presence and, in truth, its growing control over so many aspects of our lives.

Let me turn now to the real subject of this post by referring to a small book written almost a century ago by Romano Guardini (1885-1968), one of the Church’s great 20th-century theologians,. The book, Letters from Lake Como, first published in 1926, consists of a series of letters Guardini wrote several years earlier (1923). Focused on the increasing domination of human culture by technology, these letters are remarkably prescient and lead us to question whether technology is a human accomplishment to celebrate or a means to our ultimate subjugation. This, of course, is a question many ask today as we cope with technological intrusions, both overt and covert, into even the most private aspects of human life. I find it truly remarkable that Guardini could anticipate this possibility nearly 100 years ago.

At one point, in a discussion of tools, Guardini addresses their different forms. Basic tools -- for example , a hammer -- become extensions of the human body allowing us to accomplish tasks with greater ease, accuracy, and refinement. It would be hard indeed to hammer a nail with my fist, easier perhaps with a rock, but far more satisfactory using a hammer designed specifically for the task. 

At a higher level we find the development of tools whose function does not demand direct human interaction. For example, a millstone, designed to grind wheat or other grains, can be turned by water power without the direct application of human effort. This application of natural means allows the human, uninvolved in the tool's actual work, to control the process with minimal effort. In the same way, by using horses to pull wagons or other vehicles to transport people or material, the human interacts with and controls the natural means (the horses) by which the work is accomplished.

Guardini then addresses more capable machines that "relieve us of direct work; we need only construct and supervise them." Here he includes machines that work with other machines, controlling them to accomplish increasingly complicated tasks of the sort preformed in the factories of his day. The automobile and airplane would also fall into this general category.

At this point Guardini adds that many machines and instruments have become extremely complex, their development the result of expanding scientific knowledge and technological and engineering expertise. These concepts are not understood by non-experts, who no longer experience directly the totality of the tools being used; i.e., they no longer wield the hammer. They might operate the machine, and yet have little understanding of the science and technology needed to make and use it effectively.

This, Guardini believed, leads to a kind of societal polarization. Here I think it best to offer a rather long quote from an address he gave in 1959 that forms an addendum to the latest edition of his book. As you read these words, keep in mind they were written over 60 years ago.

"...machines give us constantly increasing power. But having power means not only that those who have it can decide on different things; it also means that these different things will influence their own position. To gain power is to experience it as it lays claim to our mind, spirit, and disposition. If we have power, we have to use it, and that involves conditions. We have to use it with responsibility, and that involves an ethical problem. If we try to avoid these reactions, we leave the human sphere and fall under the logic of theoretical and practical relations.

"Thus dangers of the most diverse kind arise out of the power that machines give. Physically one human group subjugates another in open or concealed conflict. Mentally and spiritually the thinking and feelings of one influence the other. We need think only of the influence of the media, advertising, and public opinion." [p. 105-106]

I was particularly drawn to his comment that "one human group subjugates another in open or concealed conflict," and could not help but consider the application of artificial intelligence in a wide variety of forms to many aspects of our lives by government agencies, corporations, social media, etc. These forms are designed not only to gather information about us as individuals and members of various groups, but more disturbingly to use that information, applying it in ways that can alter what we do, what we believe, and how we think about our culture’s most basic values. 

After rereading Guardini’s book this week, I opened the latest issue (August/September 2021) of First Things and encountered two surprisingly relevant articles. (Unfortunately, I don’t believe either is accessible online unless you are a paid subscriber.) One, by Ned Desmond and entitled “The Threat of Artificial Intelligence,” offers a rather dark glimpse into the kind of future we might well encounter as we face the “open or concealed” threat posed by A.I. as government and industry conspire to exert greater control over our lives. Hmmm…sounds a lot like old-fashioned, traditional fascism to me.

The second article, really a book review of a new novel, The Silence, by Don DeLillo, depicts how the characters cope with the sudden collapse of all technology. The book doesn’t really address causes so much as it examines reactions to it all. I’ve read only one of DeLillo’s other novels, Underworld (1997), in which the author looks at Cold War America and its obsessions. He is a skillful writer well worth reading.

Both articles, however, only highlight the truth of Guardini’s 100-year-old ideas about the dangers of a technology misunderstood and misused, dangers that seem to be far closer to reality than most of us think. Later in life Romano Guardini expanded on his earlier thoughts in his book, The End of the Modern World (first published 1950), a prophetic examination of how we arrived at the world we experience today. Every literate human should read it. It’s that important a book.

 

More on the subject in future posts. Right now I need a nap.

Morning Prayer Reflection: The Song of Moses

Several years ago I posted occasional reflections on the day's Morning Prayer of the Church's Liturgy of the Hours. For some reason I can't  recall, I stopped writing these brief reflections. My guess is that life just got too busy and I simply didn't have the time. Really a poor excuse, since my reflecting on Morning Prayer probably helped me far more than it helped those few who actually read my thoughts. Such reflection is spiritually valuable only if we act on it, and perhaps I just hadn't been willing to live up to my own words. 

Anyway, I’ve decided to try it again, not every day because time remains an issue, but occasionally as the Spirit moves me. 

Perhaps, because of the emphasis on the un-natural, the pervasive influence of technology in our lives, I find myself attracted to the frequent images of nature we encounter in Scripture. In today’s Morning Prayer, for example, we find several of these references:

From Deuteronomy 32:1-2

Give ear, O heavens, while I speak; 

let the earth hearken to the words of my mouth!

May my instruction soak in like the rain, 

and my discourse permeate like the dew,

like a downpour upon the grass, 

like a shower upon the crops:

Here we encounter multiple images — rain, dew, downpour, shower — all likening God’s Word to the purifying, nourishing flow of water from the heavens to the earth. These words, the opening verses of the Song of Moses [Dt 32:1-43], are a prayer, an appeal to both heaven and earth. Among the final words of Moses before his death, they offer us a prophetic view of what awaits the people of Israel and their successors, the People of God. Take a few minutes now, open your Bible, and read the entire hymn. Note how many natural images Moses applied to God’s work in the world, His care for His people, and their response. Indeed, the entire hymn is filled with these images, reflecting a world with which the people were intimately familiar. 

For example, God is like the eagle who encourages its young nestlings [Dt 32:11], and provided His people with nature’s bounty, with all that the earth offers [Dt 32:13-14]. But we also encounter other, very different images when Moses prophesied the Lord’s response to the people’s faithlessness. Here he compared God’s actions to the harsh side of nature:

“Emaciating hunger and consuming fever

And bitter pestilence,

And the teeth of wild beasts I will send among them,

With the venom of reptiles gliding in the dust” [Dt 32:24].

I expect those listening to Moses were familiar enough with the reality portrayed by all these images, and took them to heart. But this led me to wonder about our response today. Recently I read that although there are more than two million farms in the U.S., only slightly more than one percent of our nation’s workforce is directly involved in agriculture. Most Americans live in urban or suburban areas, isolated from nature’s bounty and protected from its harshness. Few have probably ever set foot on a farm or experienced the need to cooperate with nature to earn a living or just to survive. I experienced the latter when the Navy ordered me to attend training programs for both desert and jungle survival. They proved to be far more intense than my childhood Cub Scout camping trips, and led me to appreciate some of the benefits of civilized society.

Today, in our increasingly technological, industrial society, this separation from nature begins early. Years ago, when Diane worked as a teacher in the Head Start program, she told the children that the milk they drank came from cows. One little boy, Michael, could not accept this, exclaiming, “No! Milk does not come from cows. It comes from the store. I know because I’ve seen my mama buy it there.” That was proof enough for him. End of discussion. Admittedly, Michael was a little boy from the inner city, but what about you and me? As we pour milk on our oatmeal or Cheerios, how often do we actually think of that milk coming from a cow on some dairy farm? And Isn’t this also true of that nice, thick steak at Outback, or the chicken sandwich from Chick-fil-A, or that glass of Pinot Noir with your dinner? When you take a drive through the rural countryside, can you identify the crops growing in the fields? About all I can recognize for certain are corn and cotton. As for the rest, I can’t tell soybeans from alfalfa. Like little Michael, I too was pretty much a city boy. As a child my closest encounters with nature consisted of mowing the lawn and raking the leaves.

All of this leaves me wondering how seldom we turn to God in thanksgiving for all He has given us. He is the God of Nature, the God of all creation. Yes, He has given us the intellect and will to use His natural gifts in wonderful ways, but it all has its source in Him. Too often, like Diane’s little Michael, we attribute the gift to the wrong giver. As a society we have replaced God with man, replaced the true Giver with just another user.

Perhaps today we should all step outside and take a long walk through a tiny piece of God’s creation, thanking Him for the gift of our world and all it offers us. And so, I’ll conclude with these words from Psalm 95, which we pray every day in the Invitatory of the Liturgy of the Hours:

The Lord is God, the mighty God,

the great king over all the gods.
He holds in his hands the depths of the earth
and the highest mountains as well.
He made the sea; it belongs to him,
the dry land, too, for it was formed by his hands [Ps 95:3-5].

Thoughts on Today’s Techno-Culture

In just a few years we as a nation have elevated a collection of poorly educated but technically competent men and women to a level of undeserved importance. How high is this level? So high they have come to believe they are destined to control all that we hear and see and read and think. Having watched some of their recent Senate testimony, I was amazed at their arrogance and their dishonesty. These technocrats seem to think that because they have mastered their little slice of technology and all the power that comes with it, they are smarter, more worthy, and more virtuous than the masses...and that’s us. This should give us cause for concern.

Some time ago, I made a note of the following comment. Unfortunately I failed to note the writer, so I trust he won’t object to this bit of accidental plagiarism. He described what he called our “technical wizards” as “slaves to their own technology, and without it they are impotent. They are synthetic men, uprooted from the good that God has given us, the strength of our forefathers is not ours.” 

I really liked that comment. But someone else, the late great, Romano Guardini, wrote something truly prophetic almost 100 years ago. Writing as a young theologian, he saw the movement of technology, it’s growing influence, and its disdain for the traditions and the cultural norms that shaped his world, a world he believed was disappearing. It’s a world I experienced many years ago, a world that has dissolved into barbarism. Guardini wrote these words:

“On the basis of a known formula, materials and forces are put into the required condition: machines. Machines are an iron formula that directs the material to its desired end. Time and space are made subject as well as materials and forces. They are mastered by means of communications. What is to come is calculated in advance, and what has taken place is preserved” [Romano Guardini, Letters from Lake Como, p. 46].

I don’t know the answer to pervasive technology and those that strive to control it and us. I suppose just pulling the plug is overkill.

Happy Birthday to Me

Early this morning, after thanking God for another day, Maddie and I both wolfed down our usual breakfasts: hers consisting of kibble and a few small pieces of cooked chicken breast; mine a bowlful of Cheerios and strawberries, accompanied by lots of coffee.

After breakfast I kissed Diane goodbye and joined Maddie on her morning walk. When we returned I gave Maddie a treat (see photo); afterwards she sat beside me in my chair while Diane and I watched the local and national news. Saddened by the strange stories the networks choose to air as the most important, I turned off the TV, glanced briefly through the morning newspaper, and then read one of Saki's short stories.

This is not my typical morning routine, but today, thanks to Irma, our parish church has no electrical power. Life, then,  has become much slower. It's also my birthday, so I have an additional excuse to take it easy.

At a little after 10 a.m. I filled my coffee cup once again, entered my little den, and turned on the laptop to check my email. It boots up directly to the Google search page, and what do I see? Google wishing me a Happy Birthday with this animated GIF file.

Now, I can't speak for everyone, but I find it more than a little disconcerting that Google apparently knows so much about me. And they're not alone. On my birthday I usually receive cards and phone calls from family and some close friends. These are always welcome, but I also receive quite a few birthday greetings from those I don't know. The dealership from whom I bought my last car sent a card. So did one of the banks that keeps track of my limited funds. I even received a card from a local funeral home, an organization that would probably prefer that I not celebrate another birthday. And this doesn't include all the online email cards from other companies and organizations who believe that a birthday card will make me love and patronize them. In truth, I'd be far happier if their goods and services just cost less.

I find it all a bit weird, and can see why some folks go, as they say, "off-grid." It seems that many of our largest tech firms are driven by a compulsion to enter into every aspect of our lives. Am I a wee bit paranoid if I suggest that their ultimate goal is control, that they consider our lives open to manipulation? And this just because Google wishes me a Happy Birthday? Maybe. But one thing is certain, these companies have extraordinary power over the minds and hearts of those who rely on them completely for information and news about our world. Mildly scary stuff.

But for now I intend to forget about all the world's weirdness and just enjoy the day. Diane and I are going to celebrate my 73rd at a local restaurant here in The Villages. Some friends are joining us and because the restaurant has outdoor "dog-friendly" seating, Maddie gets to take part in the festivities. Woof, woof.

Early Morning Thoughts

Every so often I can't resist the temptation to offer the readers of this blog -- a select group, a very select group -- some of the odd thoughts that strike me in the early morning hours. These thoughts usually arise after Morning Prayer and a quick perusal of the daily newspaper that arrives at my doorstep at about the same time I climb out of bed. Although most, probably all, are gross generalizations I make no attempt to explain or defend them. They are simply the result of personal observation and likely reflect my own prejudices...so take 'em or not.

Here are this morning's rather random thoughts, each distilled to a sentence or two and offered in the order in which they arose in my aging, increasingly confused brain.

The holiest people in the Church are in the pews, not in the sanctuary.

A bishop who courageously and publicly defends the Church and it's teachings will fill the pews and the seminary.

If a new technology can be abused, it will be. And the amount of abuse is directly proportional to the amount of power the technology puts in the hands of the abuser. 

When given complete freedom of choice, a government agency will choose incorrectly. In other words, it will take the action that leads to the worst outcome.

For a politician, self-interest trumps national interest.

Failed leadership results from the desire to control rather than serve.

It would seem I've become a bit of a cynic, but that's to be expected of someone who believes in original sin. God's peace...