Tuesday, May 31, 2011

iPhone, therefore I am: are gadgets stealing our humanity?

Smartphones and other gadgets have literally become extensions of our minds and hold out the tantalising promise of never being bored again, but are we sacrificing too much in the process?

Technology pundits, social researchers and even philosophers are now pondering whether society's relentless march towards information overload is stealing rather than augmenting our humanity.

During a talk at the TEDxSydney conference at the weekend, Professor David Chalmers, director of the Centre for Consciousness at the Australian National University, argued that gadgets, particularly smartphones, had “become part of our minds”.

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