The Internet is Our Sherpa
I would argue that the best uses of new technologies occur at the very beginning before they get too bloated with features. Something happens to the soul of an idea the more it is tampered with it, or imbued with empty promises. A 1930s-era radio with one knob could still have some use.
Social change via the smartphone seems transformative, but ultimately is not having the intended results. As sociologist Zynep Tufecki asserted in her TED talk: "...as digital technology makes things easier for movements, why haven't successful outcomes become more likely as well? In embracing digital platforms for activism and politics, are we overlooking some of the benefits of doing things the hard way?...I believe that the rule of thumb is: Easier to mobilize does not always mean easier to achieve gains.", and "Today's protests have become a bit like climbing Mt. Everest with the help of 60 Sherpas, and the Internet is our Sherpa. What we're doing is taking the fast routes and not replacing the benefits of the slower work."
Technological progress assumes travel of large distances, but it is just an illusion. Old systems can remain firmly in place, at least for the duration of the generation that invented them.
Social change via the smartphone seems transformative, but ultimately is not having the intended results. As sociologist Zynep Tufecki asserted in her TED talk: "...as digital technology makes things easier for movements, why haven't successful outcomes become more likely as well? In embracing digital platforms for activism and politics, are we overlooking some of the benefits of doing things the hard way?...I believe that the rule of thumb is: Easier to mobilize does not always mean easier to achieve gains.", and "Today's protests have become a bit like climbing Mt. Everest with the help of 60 Sherpas, and the Internet is our Sherpa. What we're doing is taking the fast routes and not replacing the benefits of the slower work."
Technological progress assumes travel of large distances, but it is just an illusion. Old systems can remain firmly in place, at least for the duration of the generation that invented them.
***
P.S.
In old buildings that have been renovated, you can still see the incursion of the original systems and structures that required work-arounds. Sometimes relics are so permanent they always get reused far in the future.
***
Be prepared to change your heart. At least at the formative stages, the "empathy machine" may give VR unique qualities for the purpose of tapping into brain plasticity though real emotional responses, even if artificially induced.
