Rage against the Machine

Despite my well-documented ineptitude for all things technology, far be it from me to resist any form of progression in today’s digital culture.

It’s inarguable that smart phones in particular and technology in general have become in inextricable part of our culture.  Yet, I see far too many families at restaurants or other public places, eschewing conversation and instead, speed texting on their PDAs. I often wonder what the first date is like for many of today’s teenagers. Do they even attempt to speak to one another?

Nevertheless, I read recently where a number of high-profile folks abandoned their tablets and smartphones for the holidays – sort of regressing back to 20^th century frontier days if you will. Some did so successfully, others somewhat less so.  

While we’re on the subject, nothing annoys me more than someone going through the motions of exercise at a health club and in lieu of sweating, talking on their mobile phones. This is why my phone is left home during gym time. Nothing is so urgent it can’t wait an hour or so.

But I digress.

Nevertheless, there are some technologies that simply make me uncomfortable.

According to one futurist firm, a technology that is projected to expand in the coming year is acceleration of delivery times for goods and services– which on the surface would seem to be a good thing.  But one specific method it mentions is the controversial delivery by drone, pioneered by online retailer Amazon, which has generated a lot of buzz on both sides of the issue.

Now years ago, I had a number of friends who were fanatical model aircraft hobbyists. Every Sunday they would test out their latest creations with scores of other enthusiasts in a wide open field and perform impressive sets of maneuvers and rolls.

But never once during that time did I ever envision one of them landing on my doorstep to deliver the latest John Grisham novel or drop off a set of Calphalon cookware.

That would disturb me on so many levels I cannot even begin to document them here. But one question I would love to know is what would happen if the craft’s GPS was off by say, a few degrees?  I don’t think I would want a three-to-four foot drone suddenly crashing through my front picture window re-creating a scene from Zero Dark Thirty – the sequel.

Should that come to pass, a few years down the road, would it be so unthinkable for a CPA firm to deliver client tax returns via drone?

Sometimes there should be limits on progress.