Digital Humanities: Week 4 Reflection

At times, innovations related to the humanities rub me the wrong way. I never understood why or the actual reason for my distaste, but recently, as I’ve been going through this class, I’ve come to understand my sense of perception and reasoning better.

Technology throughout cultures and time has always been used to solve problems, improve quality of life, and promote human flourishing. At times, technology alleviates matters of survival. To take a basic example: living in Spokane, Washington, in the month of January with no heating might actually be fatal. But with the technology and innovation of man, we exist without even thinking twice about the tech, not even bothered to understand how it exactly works. It creates a space of comfort to the point where we are completely disconnected from the problem; the innovation becomes the new normal, and the initial need shifts to being a rarity. That is the power of technology.

However, as of recent, technology in Western countries has evolved into a more curious space. The needs for survival have somewhat been met in some areas, and now these technologies are giving space for a shift in the way we innovate. We innovate for human curiosity, passion, just to say that we can do it. I am not arguing that these innovations have no practical value in bettering the quality of life; I am just saying that we focus more on what the product means than what the product does.

 

The problem with this approach is the basic premise; the assumption that needs have been met across Western countries and beyond. The leaders of big tech in Silicon Valley set the standards for what innovation is in the modern world; however, that doesn’t quite translate to other nations where so-called basic needs have not been fully met. The hypocrisy in development is what makes me feel discontented with creative technological pursuits. Although they are noble and good on their own, they inadvertently set a precedent for others to follow, which, in my opinion, is an insult to the struggles that others go through day by day.