WEEK 3

ROBOTICS + ART

The world we live in today is immensely controlled by technology, and we have reached a point where “technological innovations have become necessary” but also “culture, ideals and aspirations of human societies have shaped how those civilizations have created, benefited from, and been impeded by, technology” (Wardynski). The content from this week highlighted the evolution of perception of technology and industrialization (when combined with art). I found it fascinating to learn about how we have evolved from a society where technology was not seen in a  positive manner to encouraging new innovations everyday — for example, robots and artificial intelligence are now becoming more normalized into our society where they were considered to be unusual or weird before. 

“Is Your Perception of Technology Holding You Back?” Les Olson Company, 13 May 2021, lesolson.com/blog/is-your-perception-of-technology-holding-your-business-back/.

One person that was highlighted in this week’s content was German philosopher, Walter Benjamin. Benjamin’s philosophies surrounding the influence of technology on art continue to be referenced today. His most famous work, “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” discusses this intersection between technology and art. He primarily discusses how technical reproduction allows for the duplication of artwork — something that occurs “in the age of mechanical reproduction” is the  withering of the “aura of the work of art” (Benjamin). Benjamin also speaks on the idea that photography diminishes the word “authentic” — by duplicating art, we are essentially taking away the need for the word authentic, as any duplicated piece is simply not the original. 

“Replicas of Fine Art.” Haltadefinizione, www.haltadefinizione.com/en/replicas-of-fine-art.

In contrast to Benjamin’s ideas surrounding duplication and photography, our society today celebrates the ability to use this technology. Such as it was referenced in our lecture, Professor Vesna highlighted the impact of the printing press (Vesna). The creation of the printing press was the beginning of mass media, which eventually turned into the mass media we know today; the spread of information and news allowed for its accessibility to all (Roos). The evolution from the printing press into the mass media we have today allows for our society to be aware of events happening on any side of the world at any point in time (Dispatch).

     Britannica. “Printing Press.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., www.britannica.com/technology/printing-press.

Our dependence and encouragement of technology has greatly increased through the  years. This week’s lesson showed the points in time where our society was wary of the increasing influence and control that technology has on our lives — it is deeply contrasted with today’s world where we heavily depend on technology to guide us. Whether that is using a map to navigate, sending a text message, or asking Alexa for a favor, technology is everywhere and is continuing to be celebrated. 

Snow, Robert. “The Profound, World-Changing Power of Impact Technology.” Medium, The Startup, 20 Nov. 2020, medium.com/swlh/the-profound-power-of-impact-technology-3629930e9cd0.

References

Benjamin, Walter. The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. 1936.

Dispatch. “What Runs the World? Tech – Artificial Intelligence – Will Improve Software QA, Not Take Over.” The NYU Dispatch, 23 May 2018, wp.nyu.edu/dispatch/2018/05/23/what-runs-the-world-tech-artificial-intelligence-will-improve-software-qa-not-take-over/#:~:text=Technology%20keeps%20us%20connected%20to,is%20literally%20running%20the%20world.

Roos, Dave. “7 Ways the Printing Press Changed the World.” History.com, A&E Television Networks, 28 Aug. 2019, www.history.com/news/printing-press-renaissance.

Vesna, Victoria. “Industrialization, Robotics, Kinetic and Robotic Art.” Apr. 2022.

Wardynski, DJ. “Technology and Society: How Technology Changed Our Lives.” Custom Software Development Denver - Custom Software Consulting, 24 Oct. 2019, www.brainspire.com/blog/technology-and-society-how-technology-changed-our-lives.