Technology and emotion

One of the latest new tech toys are "siftables" little toy blocks that think

Cookie sized, computerized tiles you can stack and shuffle in your hands.

These future-toys can do math, play music and talk to their friends

Meanwhile

The UK Police are being given powers to hand out fixed penalty fines for careless driving

Meaning that your traffic policeman alone with you on some road can decide whether or not you are guilty

These fines would also carry a three point penalty

You can also get points for many other offences

In the UK when you get twelve points you lose your licence

Many licences will be taken away however that raises money and removes cars from the roads

And what might these two news items have in common?

One works on logic and is unemotional, entertaining and teaching you things

The other is human, controlling, increasingly intrusive and can be highly judgemental

In some ways there is a relationship

How?

Our world is rapidly closing down many areas of discretion and flexibility with more and more technical and monitoring controls on all aspects of our lives

Controls that are non negotiable using technical devices which control ever more of our lives

On the other side we have the forces of law and order with increasing powers to impact our lives using similar technical devices to measure your guilt or sins of omission

Again for most of the time they are non negotiable

Many or most of these controls are framed in the names of safety or the prevention of terrorism and are removing many freedoms that were ours only a few years ago

Freedoms that took countless lives and many hundreds of years to create

Gone without a murmur in a few tens of years

The world that we have today is not such a funny place, however we can keep you diverted with siftables and other toys so maybe you won't notice how few freedoms are left

Maybe one day you will but by then it will be too late, already is

Be active yourself in protecting what is left