Does computing technology threaten to erode personal identity, human confidences, reputation and liberty?

Brand Killer Robots reveal::
As robots - we have no identity, well not one that we take seriously anyway!
What we are, is simply what technical people who program us, expect us to be. So in a sense, we do have an identity, but one that is designed by a third party code junky.

But humans always seemed to us to have a home made identity. Ok, perhaps peoples identity is based largely on the reflections they get from others to their actions, from their parents , from their teachers reactions and from their friends. But on the whole peoples identity seems to come directly from within themselves. From what they call - their souls.

As technology expands into all areas of our lives and our lifestyles, we are beginning to see the replacement of human trust elements with technology trust elements. In a sense our lives have become not so much a human experience, but a human-techno experience, where both human and technology trust elements are intertwinded such that our actions, decisions and freedoms are very much controlled by semi-human factors, rather than totally human factors - as would our forefathers have experienced.

So our experience at home, at work and at play is very much an experience conjoined with technology as opposed to a totally human experience, that chooses to use technology.

When technology is effectively integrated with the human form, all problems associated with this partnership are largely hidden. The real problem comes when technology is integrated with the human condition and the technology that the human is dependent upon, begins to fail.

Depending on which technology components, depends on the nature of the resulting associated problem. For example, if you were emailing a very important document to a customer and the PC you were using decided to hang up near the end of the process. And then when you switched it back on there was no record that the document had been sent. What are you supposed to think?

Has the document been sent and more imporantly - delivered? What would the customer think - if it hadn't arrived? What would they think if i phoned them up to see if it had arrived?

Why didn't i send it by fax? Or better still - by post? Should i send it again via email?

Here you can see the Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt factor creeping in. In fact this FUD factor is beginining to attack the very soul of human beings.

Without technology, human beings know that they are not in control of a world run by other human beings, but they are at least at one with being a human being with limited control. By adding technology to the human condition you place humans in the most uncertain world of all.

One where - when the technology works, it is a fantastically effective union.

When computing technology doesn't work, people lose the most fundamental of all things in life.

They lose their personal identities, their confidence, their reputation and their God given liberty. They lose connection with their soul! How monsterous is that?

If you are a human being - better ensure that your technology works - or else you might just be contributing to the breakdown in human identity!