Project Natal or Fatal
By: robin (June 22nd, 2009)In my wee-wonder days of childhood, the classic debate was “Will robots replace human beings?” The person who stood “for it”, always won the debate by justifying the fact about the improved quality of life, faster production & development, maximum utilization of natural resources etc. Hearing the debate I always wondered what type of a dumb and wobbly feeling would have measured-up in the heart of the person who stood against it!
But today it would be foolish to, not admire and be thankful for the great achievements of modern technology over the last century: advance medicines, advance energy, advance weapons, high speed communication and navigation systems.
But only a fool would not also see the great problems of technology. But who cares? Of course our progress now means preparing for our demise as a race but what can we do. We are nothing but mice in a cage so we should just brainlessly sit back and watch. Lets enjoy our internet now because its fun! And let’s buy, buy, buy because we’re going to die anyway. Who cares about the future anymore? We already know what it’s going to look like and it’s fatal!
But what is this Project Natal? It’s the code name for a “controller-free gaming and entertainment experience” by Microsoft for the Xbox 360 video game platform. The name “Project Natal” follows in Microsoft’s tradition of using cities as code names. An add-on peripheral for the Xbox 360 console, Project Natal enables users to control and interact with the Xbox 360 without the need to touch a game controller, through gestures, spoken commands, or presented objects and images. Here is the interesting part and as quoted by online encyclopedia – wikipedia “The project is aimed at broadening the Xbox 360’s audience beyond its typically hardcore base”. Check the videos attached.
Isn’t it menacing? The technological advancements of the interactive media are tremendous. My mind gets stumped when I think, where will this new technology sway the current generation to? Or will they blindly follow the technology? But do they even realize what all have drifted away from them? Let me just make my point clear with couple of things I realized.
In those grey-old-golden-days for which we all now crave for, those days the interactive area of a family was their dining table. In India their used to be a front porch in every house called “Aangan”. Everyone used to sit, talk, debate, solve, play and share jokes of life. It was an interaction hub. But due to technological advancements, television entered the house, making everyone go-numb on their dinning tables and on their aangans. The discussion about life was diluted by the curiosity of the daily soaps and distressing news. This led to another issue, lack of communication amongst the family members. So now, the size and the numbers on the dining table have crumbled, creating enough space on the table for the technocrats to think about a laptop. Everyone now has his own menu and his own interaction, even with their family member now they chat or email! No heart-felt conversations, everyone is now a thing. The new age “kahanni ghar ghar ki” (story of every household).
Similarly, the concrete jungle has detached us from the pleasure of a backyard or courtyard. Blame it on the demand and supply theory or maximum utilization of natural resources; it’s a loss for the human race. The towering heights of the buildings have built a wall around us, deluding us from our connection to the nature. Now chasing the butterfly and climbing the trees, plucking the flowers, watching the blue skies are all now the virtual games played on the Internet. Are we really gaining any momentum?
In the future I see a person sitting on a couch with his internet with which he can order his groceries, watch porn, talk to his mom and take college classes. He will never get off the couch and grow obese beyond belief. But thanks to technology, he can get his arteries unclogged and lipo the fat right out of him so he can start the vicious cycle again. A proxy is easily available.
These are few instances that went away as sand from our hands in our attempt to hold it tight. Instead I believe technology is neither good nor bad, but the worst evil we all need to face as a human race. Things that were created and manipulated and were supposed to be the means to achieve, has now become the ends.
The only exit I see is when, the creator with a controller in his hands plays “The Battle of Armageddon”.
Tags: Armageddon, Microsoft, Project Natal, technology, Xbox
June 23rd, 2009 at 9:12 am
Yeah, technology has taken man away; and is increasingly doing so;
from real relationships, making way for new e-relationships(!),
from nature making way for virtual environments and IMvironments(!),
and has made him obsessed about himself and his pleasures (not just needs).
While reading about your couch potato, I was reminded about a special group of people, professional mourners, who used to be called in when someone died in our homeland. After the bemoaning, these wailers got to gorge on the goodies provided to them by the bereaved! But then, on some days, they had another house lined up immediately after this one. So, on their way, not wanting to miss the grub at the next house, they would throw up on the way and then indulge all over again!! And they would repeat it yet again if needed!!
So, in one sense, has technology changed anything at all vis-a-vis the basic characteristics of a man, except that it has now made it possible (rather made it convenient) for all people, to do all things!! It has only made it possible for everyone to become as capable as Solomon was in his hey days….when he said, “I denied myself nothing my eyes desired;
I refused my heart no pleasure”!!
But I think it would be a grave mistake to just borrow Solomon’s capabilities and not his wisdom! Solomon, after confessing the above fact immediately said, “Everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind;
nothing was gained under the sun”.
I dread the day when the Creator will say, “I AM GAME”.
Well written Robin. Keep writing.
June 23rd, 2009 at 11:03 am
I wonder that one day, going by this pace we will see a virtual family, not talking to each other , not supporting the emotional needs of each other and perhaps a wife going to a clinical labaoratory for a clinical child not so that she doesn’t has to undergo the labour pain, not because of the pain but because of convenience…
David said “Wait on the Lord”…And wait it be, not living like zombies who can not do anything on their own but depend on technology, but wait with the Lord for His reverence and with His Son Jesus Christ..
Lets prepare ourselves for the end times…
June 24th, 2009 at 5:22 am
Pretty cool post. I just came across your site and wanted to say
that I’ve really liked browsing your posts. Any way
I’ll be subscribing to your blog and I hope you write again soon!
June 26th, 2009 at 4:50 pm
Hey, have you seen this news article?
New details about Michael Jackson’s Death Emerge
I was wondering if you were going to blog about this…