What Does Technology Want?
Alex Steffen, 24 Feb 05
Ally Kevin Kelly is on stage at TED, asking "What Does Technology Want?"
He wonders what we learn about technology when we assume it has some degree of agency, much as Dawkins did with genes. Finds that in fact, technology behaves much like living organisms: a drift towards specialization, diversity, ubiquity, socialization, complexity and neo-biological behavior. Indeed, Kevin says, we might as well think of technology as "the seventh kingdom of life." That is, technology is "the evolution of evolution itself."
That comment ("Technology is the evolution of evolution itself") is exactly what Ray Kurzweil says in his book, which I'm reading right now, "The Age of Spiritual Machines". Good to see other people agree with him.
Posted by: Jeff Forcier on 24 Feb 05
