Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves

(Genesis 11:4)

Some people think that I have drifted into a fantasy world of conspiracy theories and as a consequence have become very anti-technology. Ben, the new Luddite! I don’t think I have, but am open to the possibility. I gave up my smart phone about two years ago and while it does pose some practical difficulties, I don’t regret it. It had become a drain on my attention and its use struck me as being very unhealthy. This was also at the time of ‘Covid Passports’ – to go into a cafe, sit down and have a coffee, you had to show your papers…This invariably meant flashing your smartphone and logging in with a QR code. It all struck me as very ‘Big Brother-ish’ and alarming to see the potential here, that a time is soon coming when you wont be able to ‘buy or sell’ without one. 666 – the mark of the beast and all that (hence the conspiracy theorist nods!) So I ditched the smart phone and I’m glad.

The smart phone increases our use of, and dependence on, the internet. This could lead to the deterioration of our working memory in the long run. Where we used to memorise all sorts of facts and figures, now we merely have to reach for our pocket and ask Mr. Google. This surely has to be detrimental to our overall flourishing as human beings? That we can be spending more of our time engaging with a computer and less with real people surely has to be a cause for concern? Not so for the manager of our local village shop who has just installed three ‘self-service’ check out tills. When asked if I’d like to use one I politely declined and stated that I prefer people to robots! Where all this will lead is anyone’s guess. I really think we all need to be more questioning about how we use technology and how much we really want it to dominate our lives. The use of the internet is very convenient but the more we become comfortable with it and reliant on it, the more chance we could be blind-sided by a sucker punch from the real world – hence my story about the Conor Pass and its impassibility for mobile homes.

Anyone who knows Kerry, knows that the most beautiful and scenic route to Dingle from Tralee is over the Conor Pass. It is a very narrow, winding and steep road which can be a bit nerve wracking driving on, in a car, during busy times. The Conor Pass was closed recently for two hours when a truck transporting a mobile home got stuck near to the top. The story goes that the truck driver was ‘only following directions’ given to him by Google Maps. As one who has used Google maps as a sat-nav before, I can testify that it will take you down any old back-road as long as it is the most direct route (that’s to say nothing of that annoying woman who tells you to take the next turning off the roundabout after you have already passed it!) So, as is the case, the most direct route is often not the best one. Reading the road signs often helps. There are plenty of signs on the approach to the Conor Pass to tell those drivers of large vehicles to ‘turn back now.’ Just a quick survey of the terrain ahead might also give you a clue as to driving a large vehicle on this road is a bad idea. But if Google Maps is telling me, then Google Maps must be obeyed…until I’m blind-sided by a protruding lump of mountainous rock!

I remember going to new places before the internet and smart phones. You bought a map and studied it. You formed a picture in your head of the place, your own ‘mental map.’ When you got there you looked for land-marks and road signs and road names. Any failure of the above was met with the process of ‘asking someone for directions,’ and talking to another human being…and maybe the possibility of making a new friend! Again, how detrimental to our working memory is this? My concern with this excessive use of technology is that it is cutting us off from talking and relating to other human beings…note the FAQ section on many websites and the inability to find the customer service telephone number. And when you do get to phone you are greeted with a long wait and being forced to listen to terrible music and/or advertisements.

Maybe I’m being harsh on technology itself? Maybe it’s the way our society has become depersonalised by technological growth, being fuelled by consumer capitalism, greed and globalisation. In building The Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9) people were divided and scattered across the world with a confusion of languages. Mankind’s technological prowess built a huge tower to ‘reach to the heavens.’ Little changes in human nature and our new technological prowess is building an alternative to human life in artificial intelligence. Have we but made ourselves Gods? And how will these new towers come crumbling down?

What sort of society do we want to live in? One where mankind strives to be god-like or one that knows that our flourishing depends on our dependency upon God. Take a look around you. Read the signs. Check your blind-spots. Then make up your own mind – without checking in with Mr. Google first!