ICTs and WORLD CHANGE

1. We often are ignorant of the integration of ICTs in our lives and the impact it has. In fact, we are actually using so often in our work and social activities that we might not even be comfortable without it. However this is the trend in our society, where we are shifting from an industrial age to a knowledge-driven economy. One of the main driver of this knowledge economy is ICTs itself. Reading 4 reports about how ICTs can empower economic sustainability and environmental consciousness at the same time.
The fact is that governments today are pressurized not only by financial crisis but the impending environmental concerns too. The writer in reading 4 proposes that ICTs is the way to go to achieve all of that. From previous readings, we can see that governments are placing more emphasis on the balance between the economy and the environment. Indeed we cannot ignore the environment any longer, countries have suffered from the preliminary effects of global warming such as disasters and unpredictable weather. On the other hand, the world economy is also failing thanks to the disastrous US economy and companies are finding it very hard to survive. ICTs seem like a new hope to the society, hopefully it can kill 2 birds with a stone before we run out of time.

2. I went to type 'immersive technology' at wikipedia and got this definition ' technology that blurs the line between the physical world and digital or simulated world, thereby creating a sense of immersion.  '. Project Natal was the video shown in class where a subject was able to interact with a  virtual being behind a screen, this virtual being could sense emotions and actions through a sensor, something like an upgraded Windows Kinect. But i wasn't very comfortable with the usage of blur line in the definition. It seems like when you are the user, you are not able to differentiate the difference between reality and the virtual world. Soon enough you will be interacting with 'Milo' ( the virtual being) instead of your friends and family. In recent times, it's bad enough that because of social networking sites, we are already spending less time with them as all we have to do is check updates on them and we are content with this kind of information. We aren't taking that step out to know our friends better anymore. With the introduction of this technology, that step may even cease to exist. There was a scenario mentioned in class where these virtual beings interact with you the way you want them to and satisfy you socially. This means that you may never experience anything else like quarrels, a difference of opinions and the joy of a conversation as you are in control of everything. It is remarkable that technology has advanced so far but do we really need this kind of technology? One of the main designers commented in the video that 'this is beyond science fiction', but what if there's a reason it is science fiction?