Baby Boomers and older remember life before technology and AI began to control us. Occasionally, you can still see someone do math in their head or on a piece of paper. Some people still use “snail mail.” Some people visit or carry on a conversation in person. Some people can still do what is called critical thinking.
The rest of the world treats pieces of technology as though these are vital organs in the body and to be without these is a true life emergency. Which lifestyle is actually better for us.
Granted, technology puts the world at our fingertips. We can go to school, have a job, and shop for basically everything from the comfort of our homes. This is convenient and usually safer.
Tech-less living offers some advantages also. One of the greatest benefits is development of the whole person. The parts of the body and mind have to work based on what God created such as brain cells, the five senses, and ability to think and behave based on the thinking. Tech-less living also promotes development between the person and his/her world through real-time relationships.
A good way to compare the two lifestyles is with depth and breath. Tech-less living promotes deeper living where thinking, feeling, talking, and acting have roots and fruit. Tech-ful living tends to be shallow and all over the place in width – life without an anchor and little fruit. To bear fruit takes some of the care that is common to tech-less living.
AI has invaded us and is taking more of a stronghold as we let it do more and more for us. About 30 years ago, a friend of mine said that he thought the Anti-Christ would be a computer. That seemed ridiculous at the time. But as AI grows, maybe he was right. If we let it do everything for us to include our thinking – we lose ourselves as “it” takes over.
