A response to Mark Weiser’s essays “The Computer in the 21st Century” and “Open House“, and the book “The New Ecology of Things” by Philip van Allen. The above 3 texts discuss Weiser’s theory of Ubiquitous Computing.
In 1988, when a gallon of gas was $0.91, Ronald Reagan was president, and the first transatlantic fibre optic cable was laid, Mark Wieiser coined the phrase ubiquitous computing. The future of ubiquitous computing is one that we can see in the works with devices like the iPhone and iPad becoming common household items. But the ubiquity of these devices is only the beginning. Apple has since released cloud computing which further aids in making Weiser’s theory a reality. As we move forward in this ubicomp world, I am excited to be part of it and interested in where it will lead; however I have questions about the relationship between human instinct and subconscious computing.
To state the obvious, humans don’t need any of this; iPhones, iPads, internet, computers, all of it. We have survived and thrived just fine for generations without these devices we now rely on and, in some cases, trust with our lives. However, they exist and we like them, we use them, and they make our life easier, while simultaneously complicating it… but thats another subject. What I am wondering is, have these devices, and all other technological advancements, enabled our natural instincts to become dull. It’s also obvious that our natural set of instincts are not like that of a cheetah, and when it comes to hunting with our bare hands, we struggle. However, using our brain to develop tools to make up for our lack of instinct or ability is, and has always been, a way for humans to establish their place in the natural world.
Weiser also talks about how this network of devices will be invisible, an idea Bruce Sterling elaborates on with a word he coined, spime, which is hidden in traditional things, giving them the power to communicate and change according to their environment. This ecology will grow and learn our behavior and the environments behavior, and we will learn it and soon operate as part of it. So, does this make ubicomp a type of constructed instinct that helps us more efficiently and subconsciously navigate the world? What happens to natural instinct?
