The TED talk begins by
mentioning that data makes us more human. Often we view the increased influence
of technology as detrimental to real life, social interaction. However, through
the various projects that Aaron Koblin utilizes to portray social data, we can
see trends that are representative of people around the globe. Anything from
airline flights to SMS to Internet data exchanged from New York, show random
pieces of our human culture. Technology has actually initiated more
communication by providing user’s an interface to interact with not the
computer, but people all over the globe.
Koblin states that a group
of people is smarter than an individual. The fact that humans live in social
groups is advantageous because we can shape our global identity by sharing
information. Technological experiments, especially ones that utilize the work
of many people, allow us to collaborate on larger scales. As pointless as the
drawings of the sheep seemed to be, it shows that we are still followers. The
idea that technology will make us antisocial individuals contrasts with the
fact that we still create and follow trends; however, trends online are on a
much larger scale compared to things like fashion in Europe or pop culture in
America. Thus, technology has allowed us to compare ourselves with people
around the world to understand our similarities. Often we don’t encounter the
cultures of people miles away and our ignorance gives us the tendency to
differentiate ourselves from other people. The visuals show that shared
information help connects humanity.
Experiments like those in
the video prove the cooperation that is possible for humanity. The Johnny Cash
Project used collaboration to tell a story through a variety of perspectives.
Culture too is a story, conveyed by tremendous group of people. Technology is
not an obstacle to socialization, but a tool we use to share personal and
culturally relevant data.
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