Devices of the Soul: Battling for Our Selves in an Age of Machines
From the very first chapter, which presents a creative re-reading of Homer's Odyssey, author and professor Talbott (In the Belly of the Beast) takes his elegant treatise on technology and humanity in some surprising, discipline-hopping directions. With one part Aristotelian rigor, one part transcendental humanism and a healthy dollop of indignation, Talbott examines the often troubling relationships among people, technology and society from a number of angles, including education, toys, ecological management, artificial intelligence, bioengineering and disability. Talbott's thoughtful analysis gets readers thinking less about technology's value than technology's values-the principles it supports. Hanging in the balance, Talbot claims, is the fate of humanity: "a hellish, counter-human, machine-like society" or "a humane society in which the machine...reflects back to us our own inner powers." Talbott is upfront about his biases and assumptions, giving him the freedom to steer his arguments into strange, sometimes contentious territory. His enormous range of literature references and responses keep things lively; combined with a dearth of technical details, Talbott's work should find readers among non-specialists, but his fresh ideas are sure to intrigue techies of all kinds.Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.