Week 10 – Reading Reflection

When I was young, I used to watch fiction movies portraying the future. I’ve seen that the vision of it shifts significantly over time because, whereas filmmakers strive to develop pre-existing technologies, inventors revolutionize them by bringing in new ideas and perspectives on the world. For instance, I recall the old movie where the main characters could instantly get any book, which would appear in a special box if they said its title. Right now, with the invention of the Internet and smartphones, we can get the same result, but the way we do it is remarkably different. In that sense, I absolutely support the position of Bret Victor about stopping to visualize our future as an advanced version of the present, but rather thinking about how we might revolutionize it and create something entirely new.

Regarding the use of “Picture Under Glass”, I believe it will still be used for at least 3 decades, but personally, I would like to see the transition to the new form of control. Bret Victor promotes the idea that, similar to how we use physical objects and tools, we should use technology in a naturally human way. More or less, I support the idea of involving human actions as a way of controlling things, but I don’t think that it’s the only way to go, as it’s hard to see the world where every control will involve action or physical sensation. It may be implemented alongside other technologies, but not as the only path to technological development.

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