Madelyn DeVary ’25
The Faults of Progress
Realistically, is it possible to live in today’s society without a smartphone? Without a computer that’s easily accessible? While some years ago this idea may have not seemed so grand, today it may seem near impossible. Technology continues to advance and society in turn alters to incorporate these progressions into daily life. Most advancements have proven to be beneficial, but one may question: When has technology gone too far?
Author Alexander Weinstein explore this topic in two short stories, “Openness” and “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” both from his collection Children of the New World. In “Openness,” readers follow along as the main character, Andy, meets a woman named Katie with whom he gets into a relationship (184). Advanced technology compels the two to explore the possibilities within being completely “open” with one another, or allowing full access to each other’s past, thoughts, and emotions (193). In “Saying Goodbye to Yang”, Weinstein shares the story of a family with an AI son named Yang, who malfunctions and “dies” (1). The story explores the relationship between Yang and the family, specifically his father, and how an AI creature integrates into a familial role (Weinstein 5). In both stories, Weinstein explores the different ways technology can affect a person’s sense of self and relationships, and suggests that the technological advancements in our foreseeable future will cause humanity to have lower psychological functionality. The loss of emotional capability and increase of idleness in life compromises society, beyond any potential benefits that excessive technological advancement may bring.
The more a person uses advanced technology, the more that person becomes similar to it; they lose their capabilities of emotional responses. Weinstein creates a perfect example of this in “Openness” when Andy explains, “As Katie spoke, her hands moved in ways I hadn’t seen people do since childhood, gesturing toward the lake or me when she got excited. I tried to focus on each sentence, sensing my brain’s inability to turn her words into pictures” (189). Because of Andy’s immense use of communicative technology, his ability to comprehend what Katie is saying has severely plummeted. Rather than being able to participate in the discussion and match Katie’s emotiveness, Andy has to focus on simply understanding what her words mean. One could equate his thought process to cooking: Andy is putting all his effort into putting a chicken in the oven, but he doesn’t have the capability of remembering to season it. Katie’s words, full of life and emotion, are being processed without the seasoning. While being unable to process emotions, one would also then lose the aptitude of expressing them. This becomes evident within the story “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” when the main character views his AI after the malfunction: “Yang is still slumped with his chin on his chest. I go over and push the power button on his back, hoping all he needed was to be restarted. Nothing. There’s no blue light, no sound of his body warming up. Shit, I think. There goes eight thousand dollars.” (6). Despite the fact that the main character’s “son” has “died”, his mind goes straight to a technological standpoint: How much is this going to cost to replace? His wife, Kyra, has a similar mindset, questioning “What will we do if he’s dead?” because she’s “got work on Monday,” as if the situation was a babysitter quitting rather than their son figure dying (13). Having this advanced technology readily available to purchase, install, and use for familial roles leads to a lack of emotional connotation within a family environment—which would lead to a family becoming completely based on functionality rather than connection, as time goes on. Technology takes away the intrinsic humanity that blossoms within a family.
In addition to having easily accessible technology lower emotional capacity, it simply makes users lazy. This sort of technology isn’t new, either. Got a question? Just speak to your device, and it’ll “talk” right back to you. Convenient, isn’t it? Andy in “Openness” would agree, as he admits that “it was tiring to labor through the sentences needed to explain how you ran into a friend, and much easier to share the memory, the friend’s name and photo appearing organically” (185). In today’s society, we face a similar situation. Many people prefer to text rather than speak in person, or even over a phone call. Is the act of talking truly strenuous, or are people taking advantage of technological advancements to do the bare minimum? A related incident occurs within “Saying Goodbye to Yang,” where the main character attempts to build a connection with Yang, but eventually gives up due to it feeling awkward (5). Yang fulfilled his duties regardless of the connection he had with his “parental” figures, so why bother? Thinking like this, the main character leaves Yang to do as programmed: “He lived with us, ate food, privately dumped his stomach canister, brushed his teeth, read Mika goodnight stories, and went to sleep when we shut off the lights” (5). That is not the life of a true son, but as Yang is a purchase, he does everything required. Yang taking care of their daughter also allows the main character and his wife to have less responsibilities, despite having a child being their own choice. If there are technological loopholes making it possible to avoid the consequences of your own actions, do any decisions really mean anything? A life of immense ease stemming from technological advancements may seem like an ideal, but it takes away the satisfaction that comes from truly living.
The reason technology continues to advance is due to the hopeful visions of manufacturers and entrepreneurs, either aiming to reach a greater human functionality, or aiming to gain a greater profit. An argument in favor of these advancements would be that technology can aid in our emotional and intimate relationships; we can communicate to one another with greater clarity, leading to stronger connections. At face value this may seem desirable, but in practice, it is less than ideal. As seen in “Openness,” Andy opens himself to Katie completely, leading to the downfall of their relationship (195, 198). Andy explains that “Letting someone into every secret gave access to our dark corners, and rather than feeling sympathy for each other’s failings, we blamed each other for nearsightedness, and soon layers of resentment were dredged up” (195-196). Taking the diminished emotional capacity into consideration, having access to another human’s emotions and thoughts will cause more harm than help. If a person cannot comprehend and process their own emotions, having to deal with another human’s in its rawest state has a higher probability of leading to aggravation and frustration, causing turmoil within the relationship. There is no technology that can be the backbone of a relationship—a relationship requires a human, emotional connection, and without it, there is no chance of survival.
If society continues to allow excessive technological advancements, humans will become more similar to the AI they entrust to communicate and function for them, rather than their own flesh and blood brothers and sisters. When thinking about Andy and Katie’s relationship in “Openness,” is it possible they could have worked out had technology not exposed so much? It’s evident that technology was the reason for their relationship’s downfall, but had they met and interacted in a time like today, there may have been a greater chance of success. Society must not progress technologically to where that is the state reached. The best course of action would be to find the cap and not let it overflow. Stop typing, start talking, find and build connections while the capacity for emotional intellect, intimacy, and connection is still the norm.
Works Cited
- Weinstein, Alexander. “Openness.” Children of the New World, Picador 2016, pp. 183-199.
- Weinstein, Alexander. “Saying Goodbye to Yang.” Children of the New World, Picador 2016, pp. 1-22.