My children used to have little friends who loved them and with whom they could giggle. Little kids now have electronic acquaintances with human names and robotic artificial organs. I think that one of them is called "Alexa."
Now Google has given birth to "Assistant," purposely given that name so that she does not appear to be human. I use her consistently and feel like I can't go on without her and like she couldn't exist without my desperation for her help. I guess this makes us a great example of codependency. (see my "treatment issues")
My dependency feels acceptable in light of my husband's affair with "Siri." Seriously, who is this person anyway?
So many of us now have best friends without a heart beat. Even Donald Trump has "Twitter." Our friends are merely interesting beings with robotic identities who can find a home in a "Services Provided" section of a psychotherapy web site.
I understand why we now treat each other like automated helpers or things to use. I can no longer even talk with my helpers. They don't know how I feel or what brings me joy or sadness. They don't have the space to care. I can communicate with them by texting, by joining Facebook or by finding other wireless partners. What a timesaver. We don't even have to take time to talk, or hug or call.
Now we can leave this void universe in a drive-through funeral that is distant and anonymous with the justification that people are already dealing with loss. Why add the additional inconvenience, hassle of parking problems and possible chaos of bad weather? We are told that "Families love it."
And should I need future surgery, it is likely that an robot surgeon will stitch me up using its own vision, tools and intelligence to carry out the procedure. It is even said that STAR (smart tissue autonomous robot) can do a better job than human surgeons.
Are we becoming a nation of relationships devoid of passion and all of its flesh-and-bones errors? I believe we are, instead, a series of in-tech connections in an electronic universe.
All of this leaves me unhappy, hungry and too tired to cook. Guess I'll go on line to order a pizza that can be delivered by a driverless car.
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