The arrival of the new iPhone last Tuesday had people buzzing with excitement. The rumors ranged from a new operating system to an iPhone 5, and with a new CEO, Tim Cook, to lead the presentation.
Alas, it was not an iPhone 5 as many had predicted, but instead an (also rather impressive) iPhone 4S.
The new iPhone is promised to be faster and more impressive than any phone before. The three changes the Apple team enforced the most are in the camera, the dual-core A5 chip and a new program called Siri.
A new camera and a chip that creates a faster processing speed were expected, but what’s wowing crowds is Siri, “the intelligent assistant that’s there to help.”
Siri allows you to use your voice to control your iPhone. You can send messages, take notes, and as the commercial shows us, ask for your phone to complete tasks like making reservations for you at a nearby restaurant.
The phone speaks to you in a human tone and in a conversational manner. It is not the talking electronic sound we assume when we think of a speaking electronic; it’s a real, smooth talking phone.
So now I’m intrigued.
In a video on Apple’s website, Scott Forstall, Apple’s senior vice president, said Siri “listens to you, understands you, can answer your questions, it can even accomplish tasks for you.”
Wait, did you say it actually understands and comprehends what I’m saying?
Forstall continues, saying “A lot of devices can recognize the words you say, but the ability to understand what you mean, and act on it; that’s Siri.”
Besides this being just another way for people to be even lazier, this Siri thing has a little bit of an eerie feeling to it.
An electronic device that can comprehend what I’m asking, then on it’s own discover the answer or solution means to me that it has the ability to think on its own. Knowing what applications to use or what path of action is needed to find an answer means there is an ability to think independently.
An electronic device that will be widely dispersed throughout the world by the end of October that can think on its own seems like a dangerous conversation to me.
Saying the iPhone 4S has opened the door to an apocalyptic “end of the world as humans are taken over by a machine” scenario is a stretch, but when does enough become enough?
The idea of drawing a line on technological advancement seems silly, especially in a society that’s always waiting for the next best thing. But should we consider sketching this line?
As we saw with the debut of the iPhone 4S, technology is continuing to morph into a more and more impressive creature. And the research and advancements continue on. Many are awaiting the iPhone 5, guaranteed to change the phone world yet again.
But after seeing what the iPhone 4S brought to the table, what could something like the iPhone 5 show us? And, let me remind you, the iPhone 4S has an ability to think on its own.
Never mind that Siri has created yet another reason for levels of laziness to skyrocket (we won’t even have to touch our phones now), but if technological intelligence continues to increase at this rate, we will find ourselves face to face with a sleek, glass- faced Frankenstein.
We need to pay attention to what’s going on around us. We need to start questioning the decisions being made by scientific leaders, and the changes they are leading us towards. If we are not aware of our surroundings, our surroundings will overtake us.
As we become continually more reliant on a man-made machine, we need to be aware of the possible danger of such dependence. The creations will continue to grow in intelligence, and in time have the ability to pass the point of human control.
Forstall promised that the new phone will “completely change the way you think about what a phone can do for you.” True, but this is only the beginning. It will also change the way that we think of technology, leading us to a more reliant and eventually a more parasitic relationship.
In honor of Steve Jobs, a man who changed the world.
SoRelle Wyckoff is a junior majoring in history and English. Her column runs on Mondays.
