Thanks for this and prompting me to explore Ursula Franklin’s thinking. Have been reading Neil Postman recently and it’s fascinating to see the insights of thinkers before the current tech onslaught.
Here is a decidedly “unacademic” response to this….as an older woman who has had to step up with technology to a certain degree to run my business, AI just flat worries me. I fear being left behind or having to start over in this new age that AI seems to be presenting. I won’t even update my iPhone to accept the latest version that launches that. Note to self this morning: be brave, be mindful, and be of good cheer and faith. I did it before… I can do it again. Right??
@Donna -- My non-expert understanding (that I compiled recently to help me with my devices) is that unless you have a very recent iPhone model, AI capability won't even download. Apple's basic requirements for their AI feature are "iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max" with "iOS 18.1 or later".
And even if your phone meets these hardware and software requirements, you can turn off Siri and AI. You can still accept updates (which might include security and other useful things) but choose not to use Siri and AI. The robots haven't won yet!
You raise interesting, broader questions, though -- about being left behind or having to start over in order to continue running a small business. Lots to think about there, not least is the unnecessary anxiety that regular, ordinary working people (like us) end up carrying because the tech company folks just keep rolling along without much thought given to the inconvenience experienced by users or the instability introduced into communities.
The biggest worry I have in all of this is the relatively sinister treatment of human agency in all of this. There is often a very thin (and sometimes nonexistent) authentic opt-out available…
Daniel, thank you so much for such a thoughtful and helpful response! I truly appreciate it. Helps me to feel a little braver today, and who knows…I may wind up feeling younger and smarter, too! lol
Thanks for this one, Josh. I'm pretty sure it was a piece of mine from a few years ago about Franklin that led us to connect and for me to subscribe to The Absent-Minded Professor. The only thing better than opening up a post of yours about Ursula Franklin is to find Lewis Mumford waiting for me in the middle.
Ask and ye shall receive: https://hmm.vic.ooo/2025/02/12/for-josh-brake/
Love it!
Figured out how to set it up as a simple buy link on Stickermule: https://www.stickermule.com/king/item/17532718
Thanks for this and prompting me to explore Ursula Franklin’s thinking. Have been reading Neil Postman recently and it’s fascinating to see the insights of thinkers before the current tech onslaught.
Postman is so great too! Lots of wisdom to be had from the thinkers of his vintage.
Exactly. I feel he got so much right in ‘Technopoly’. https://juliangirdham.substack.com/p/neil-postmans-technopoly
This was a great post, Julian. I had seen it earlier but hadn’t had the chance to read it. Thanks for resurfacing it here.
Here is a decidedly “unacademic” response to this….as an older woman who has had to step up with technology to a certain degree to run my business, AI just flat worries me. I fear being left behind or having to start over in this new age that AI seems to be presenting. I won’t even update my iPhone to accept the latest version that launches that. Note to self this morning: be brave, be mindful, and be of good cheer and faith. I did it before… I can do it again. Right??
@Donna -- My non-expert understanding (that I compiled recently to help me with my devices) is that unless you have a very recent iPhone model, AI capability won't even download. Apple's basic requirements for their AI feature are "iPhone 16 models, iPhone 15 Pro, or iPhone 15 Pro Max" with "iOS 18.1 or later".
And even if your phone meets these hardware and software requirements, you can turn off Siri and AI. You can still accept updates (which might include security and other useful things) but choose not to use Siri and AI. The robots haven't won yet!
You raise interesting, broader questions, though -- about being left behind or having to start over in order to continue running a small business. Lots to think about there, not least is the unnecessary anxiety that regular, ordinary working people (like us) end up carrying because the tech company folks just keep rolling along without much thought given to the inconvenience experienced by users or the instability introduced into communities.
The biggest worry I have in all of this is the relatively sinister treatment of human agency in all of this. There is often a very thin (and sometimes nonexistent) authentic opt-out available…
Daniel, thank you so much for such a thoughtful and helpful response! I truly appreciate it. Helps me to feel a little braver today, and who knows…I may wind up feeling younger and smarter, too! lol
Thanks for this one, Josh. I'm pretty sure it was a piece of mine from a few years ago about Franklin that led us to connect and for me to subscribe to The Absent-Minded Professor. The only thing better than opening up a post of yours about Ursula Franklin is to find Lewis Mumford waiting for me in the middle.
Yes! Still digging into Mumford. So much good stuff to read from the 20th century media theorists and philosophers of technology.