Week 2 Question 1: Man-Computer Symbiosis Response

Lidlicker's article on Man-Computer Symbiosis, was interesting to say the least. It is clear that the author has a great value and interest in technology and technological advances, that will help humans. I agree that machines (specifically computers) are very helpful and beneficial to our every day lives. However based on his specific example regarding the insect's and fig tree's interdependence on each other, I cannot agree that this is something that we should be striving for.

Although I am guilty of relying on technology on most of my every day duties, it is not something that I am proud of. Currently we are in a recession and many of the jobs that used to be attainable to humans, are now being utilized by machines. If we keep up at this rate, I believe that in a decade or so, there will be twice as many lay-offs due to the dependency of machinery and lack of care for humans.

I don't know if it's just me but I sometimes long for the old days where people had personal relationships face-to-face. But as the years go by and technology continues to progress, there is little need or expectance for face-to-face interactions. I am against the idea that we should have a "cooperative interaction between men and computers" (p.72) because I feel that we are ultimately giving machines too much power. Instead, we should use computers to our advantage and maintain a balance or limit on how much we depend on or utilize them.