CAN WE HANDLE IT?

[spacemonkey]

Can humans exist in the computer perfect world we seem to be creating? With almost every aspect of our lives being on permanent record now, can we handle it? My guess is those born into it will have an easier time, because they won't know anything else except that.

[Stratego]

If you thought that no one was keeping records before the computer age, you clearly don't know about Santa.

[Professor]

Even though everything is stored, it still requires human monitoring. So much information, so little time. Now, when a computer can identify information, flag it, investigate, gather all pertinent facts, and prosecute - we're in trouble.

[Stratego]

[The Dharma Bum]

[TheGirlNextDoor]

[Aaron]

The connotations of the digital age are more severe than the reality... what the boomers and gen x think are gonna happen to their personal lives is having a much more severe psychological effect than anything that is actually going to happen.

Of course there is always the faint possibility that something truly horrendous could happen, because humans are at any moment capable of horrendous things... fortunately the statistical likelihood is always nill.

[The Dharma Bum]

I for one look forward to the technological singularity.

These conscious machines will have better minds and better emotions than we do. I think at some point the biological entities that developed on this planet will become mostly raw material for biomechanical application and intelligent machines will carry the torch of true civilization across the galaxy.

I predict great things for our electronic progeny.

[PoS]

While everything may be stored these days most people dont realize just how vulnerable electronic data stores are- a single EMP device can wipe out huge swaths of data- while we can store significantly more data than ever before its a lot more vulnerable than ever before too- books and scrolls can last several hundred years and stone tablets can last even longer (seems the ancient way of doing things are still more foolproof than what we have now) but modern optical storage devices have major problems in regards to data retention because of limited durability.

[Stratego]