If you think that you are making all the choices in your life, think again!
It’s actually our digital devices loaded with complex algorithms via apps which have been monitoring and controlling the way we think, act and feel all the time. This not just during our waking hours but during our sleep as well.
With health monitoring apps to monitor heart rate, moods, sleep cycles, blood pressure, sugar levels, nutritional intake and more, we seem to have outsourced almost every dimension of our health to the complex network of apps and algorithms. This to the extent that now it is the app which decides how many steps you got to take to stay healthy or even to live.
Some of these apps have become so intrusive that without realizing you have completely surrendered your life to the digital world. So much so that they have started to tell you that you are not breathing well and you need to pause all your work and start breathing. Those who use wearables will know that some of these apps are so proactive that they will suggest your next move in terms of who to speak to, what to eat, when to take rest and so on.
Looks like AI is taking over your world to an extent that the roles seemed to have reversed. You seem to be operating like the ‘Cyborg’ or ‘robot’ who is controlled by an app controlled remotely by algorithms running on servers miles or even continents away.
The moment you have given permission to or started your life on social platform, you have completely sold yourself or outsourced you life to the digital world. I am sure you would have found it ‘creepy’ at times that your Android phone displays ads about things you were just thinking about or talked to someone about. Looks like someone is eves dropping on all your conversations and life. I read the other day that there are wearables which can monitor not just your sleep and dream patterns but also your sex life. So now an app will tell me when my partner is ready and how much time will it take to get in the mood and gosh what should I do to either prolong the activity or get to an orgasm. So much so that it will tell each partner using algorithms which analyze the whole sexual activity whether anyone of them was faking it. It’s not to be brushed aside as you might not be far away from being sucked into this world where you are not the one who decides or chooses but the data in the digital world which does for you.
You will know how much of your life is being controlled by such apps when let’s say one day LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter or Instagram decides to pull the plug and shut down all the apps and activities. Imagine the impact on you. Haven’t we seen a glimpse of these already? When these apps have outages there is so much of frustration and panic worldwide.
If you have let’s say inadvertently kept your location setting on to let people know where you are at any point in time then you would also start getting notifications of friends who are around in that area. This influences your urge to text them and meet them as well. So now you see, social media apps will decide who you meet as well. Apps like Facebook are already known to use powerful algorithms which analyze your personality based on the ‘likes’, ‘comments’, ‘videos’ which you post or share. They can easily predict what you would like to see and do at any given point in time. Without you realizing they might be influencing the way you think and act. In an interconnected world it influences your decisions as well. For example you liked a post about a product on ‘Facebook’ which your friend apparently shared. You will find that your Amazon app will display an ad about the same product with maybe exciting offers for you to decide.
Healthcare professionals, business organizations, governments, world bodies et all use so much of these digital devices and algorithms that now it’s a virtual sell out of life. You are never in the know of who all have access to your information and for what use it is being put to.
The digital world has consumed the human world slowly and gradually and is virtually taking over our life. All in the name of helping us make our decisions and enhance the quality of our life.
The fact that people have started to talk about ‘digital de-tox’ goes to show that you are gradually losing the fight to the complex world of digital algorithms. There is no way out! You are riding a ‘Tiger’ and getting off is looking more risky.
There is an increasing need for people to be educated on ‘Digital Civics’ at a very early age before they start getting consumed or outsource their life to the Digital World out there.
Have you outsourced your life already?
