SENTINEL WATCH October 24, 2005 Issue

THE LITTLE I AND THE BIG UNIVERSE OF AUTOMATION

ALLISON PHINNEY

WHO HASN'T FELT slightly desperate at hearing that list of 11 automated options at the other end of the phone: "Please press 1," etc., etc.

True, automation technology is generally saving labor, saving money, making things more broadly efficient. And although no one wants to go back to rotary dialing or typewriters, everything is poised to increase exponentially in the fields of artificial intelligence and nanotechnology—the science of programming incredibly miniscule mechanisms to "learn" and rapidly reproduce themselves in ever more capable forms.

Is there anything that bears watching spiritually in all this? It would be a surprise if there weren't. Here the issue may be what happens to our concept of ourselves, if we're not watching spiritually. Take those hapless individuals on the phone, trying to find a real person to help them out with more flexibility, kindness, understanding, than the computerized options. They may be feeling a bit like a very little i caught in the very large web of automation.