IDEA 25
Technologies that Run Backwards
Each of us is born with a particular version of reality ready-made for us – one that we, in time, will either fashion to fit our particular circumstances or, if we are determined enough, will attempt to refine, revise, or replace.(IIQ, page 329)
When I see a mother utilizing two items of technology, pushing a baby carriage with one hand and scrolling through the images on a mobile phone in the other, I see a society in deep trouble. Her child has been pushed away into a double distance — the physical space of the carriage, away from the mother’s warm body, and the emotional space of detachment, where only the phone is warm. The baby is gazing at the mother’s face, but receives nothing in return but averted eyes and a preoccupied brain. Of course, the mother still loves and cares for her child, but some strange, alien force has come over her, and the attention that accompanies her love is divided, diluted, or distorted. How sad!
Our modern technologies have surrounded us with comforts and plugged us into a incessant hum of information, but the one thing a technology almost never does is rip off the bandages and blindfolds in our lives to put us in direct contact with our First Person, AL-LAH.
I suppose there are ways that exposure to new ideas and original ways of thought could surprise us into rediscovering our own true selves, and from that point open up an unfamiliar pathway to The Absolute. I certainly hope that these postings on the internet, with the help of a mouse, keyboard, and Wifi connection, might prove useful for at least one other person on this planet besides myself.
But for the most part, it appears that modern technology and our increasing reliance on artificial intelligence are impoverishing our ability to interact in a heartfelt manner with others and develop the introspective skills we need to interact with GOD.
When I stand before AL-LAH in worship, the technologies that I have used during the day and become dependent on give me no advantage over some simple shepherd or humble housewife or starving soldier who stood before AL-LAH 500 or 1,000 years ago and begged him in ordinary human terms to receive His Grace and sustenance.
What does GOD care about my gadgets, my gigabytes, and my Google searches? And how do they benefit me if my mind is busy with online distractions, my attention as stable as the flight path of a fruit fly, and my feelings unmoved by a fast-approaching Day of Reckoning? How does our technological sophistication protect us from an empty spirit and a heart that does not tremble when His Name is mentioned?
We made these problems, or bought them, but where is the technician who can fix them? Where is the AI that can answer that question? If we have lost our personal contact with GOD . . . nowhere.
Download the PDF version for free at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’ān – Mont Redmond complete version, or purchase a hard copy at Ideas Inspired by the Qur’an: Redmond, Mont: 9781738842506: Books – Amazon.ca.Photo by Damon Hall on Pexels.com
