The perplexing argument against the rise of digital technology
You wake gently to an artificial simulation of daylight in your bedroom, timed perfectly to your sleep schedule, accompanied by the soft sounds of birds singing in nearby rustling trees. However, reality outside stands in stark contrast, as the sounds of nature are instead replaced by garbage trucks and ambulances – where the sun rarely braves the cold to show its face in moody London.
Then, simply by uttering the words “Good morning Alexa,” you signal the beginning of your personalised automated daily routine via voice recognition.
The lights in your bedroom brighten to full capacity after having lifted you peacefully from your slumber, your Spotify playlist ‘Morning Motivation’ begins playing throughout your home and your coffee begins to brew as you run a shower. You open an app that has pre-planned your outfits for the week as Alexa moves on to report the estimated time of arrival to work and the best public transport route before broadcasting the latest news podcast you’re subscribed to. You pre-order a second coffee to go from Starbucks, picking it up from the collection point on your way to the tube and avoid the line of commuters needing their caffeine fix.
You arrive early to work, scanning your fingerprint via a biometric terminal to clock into your office job where you jump straight into a virtual video meeting with colleagues in New York and Melbourne via a 70-inch conference room screen. You share your screens and map out workflows via the virtual whiteboard. Meanwhile, your smart watch vibrates and informs you that you need to begin making your way to your next meeting and you turn to your colleagues and remark:
“What on Earth would we do without technology?”
