Things Are Making Me Stupid

Everywhere I turn the INTERNET OF THINGS is headline news. Lightbulbs, activity monitoring, hours sleep, hours awake and hours spent “in the zone”.

The first tier is quasi-rabid neo-capitalists of silicon valley who are working on guaranteeing their privilege by controlling the message of the techno-utopians in silicon valley. The second tier is middle class software developers who have reached new levels of self-delusion that their technology startups will actually change the 7 Billion in the world who don’t give a flying fart about technology. If only they reach the “zone” for more hours a day, the software that will be deleted next year might change the world this year.

Connecting cars to the Internet means that we can deliver more content to people who have nothing to do. Its not enough to put billboards on the side of the highway, lets get an ad-tech algorithm INSIDE THE CAR so they can’t possibly ignore the money we are going to make.

The INTERNET OF THINGS is about the quantified self. Because the number of times you have sex matters. Or say burgers. Or cups of coffee. The selfless act of self-awareness is going to save people from their own ignorance.

Maybe we are so frightened of the uncertain world around is that a techno-fetish can make it less strange ? If only you could count everything and place it on a chart, then the world wouldn’t seem so strange. The random variable would be taken out.

Lets not forget the instant and instinctual vanity of messaging platforms. Any thought can be spat out for an audience to witness. Any experience can be reduced to filtered photograph with pouty lips. The sensual slick sense of DOING slides up your fingers and into your lizard brain with every photo, message and chat session. Your life is enhanced when messaged into an Internet where no one is actually listening.

Efficient lightbulbs, doors that know you are coming, and room temperature thats just right for you because you live alone in IOT-driven world.

We use tools like IFTTT in vain attempt to weld different brands into a useable solution.

As I sit in my car glaring at my SatNav which is taking the long way to my destination, I get the feeling that technology is making me stupid. I can feel my common sense sliding away from me. The jibber jabber of tweets and the mindless “happy stuff” on LinkedIn isn’t fulfilling, its just fart-smells turned into web content.

And I’m also reminded that I shouldn’t write blog posts after a bottle of wine. But the voice of good sense isn’t winning as I press publish