Canadian Theorist and Social Philosopher Marshall McLuhan 1964 coined a phrase in the first chapter of his book ‘Understanding Media: The Extensions of Man’: Medium the message.
When it comes to understanding these various media, one of the best to learn from is the man himself. Despite being born in 1911 and passing away in 1980, Marshall McLuhan, a renowned figure in communication studies, continues to hold significant relevance in understanding various media forms. Although he never experienced the modern-day Internet firsthand, McLuhan’s influence on it remains substantial. He was the visionary who introduced the concept of a “global village,” emphasising the transformative power of technology and communication. As an early educator and pioneer in studying communication and its evolution, he made profound observations about the impact of new media and forms of expression. Perhaps his most renowned statement, “The medium is the message,” continues to resonate not only in web design but across the entire spectrum of mass media as well.
I found quite another interesting take on technology, and I would like to share it here: “But technology does not end there. Artifacts have to be produced. They have to be invented, designed, and manufactured. This requires a larger system including hardware (such as machinery or a manufacturing plant), factor inputs (labour, energy, raw materials, capital), and finally “Software” (know-how, human knowledge and skills). The latter, for which the French use the term technique, represents the disembodied nature of technology, and its knowledge base. Thus, technology includes both what things are made and how things are made.”
The two definitions hold significant for two reasons: One, the true intent behind why technology evolves and secondly, the message of the medium that we currently use.
Technology isn’t constant; it evolves. The rapid evolution of technology has led to a profound restructuring of industries and a significant impact on the workforce. As automation, artificial intelligence, and robotics advance at an unprecedented pace, traditional jobs that were once performed by humans are being steadily supplanted by machines. This transformative trend has ushered in a paradigm shift in the labour market, prompting concerns about the future of work and the necessity for individuals to adapt in an increasingly technology-centric global landscape.
One shouldn’t forget that technology has been discovered to assist humans and make their lives easier. Anything in excess can pose a huge problem. One can better understand by the example from a well-known figure in the industry.
In a twitter post last week, Meta’s Chief Head of AI Yann LeCun states how AI plans to evolve the human race and not replace.
“Every economist I know says that it takes 15 to 20 years before a new general purpose technology has a measurable effect on productivity. The delay is determined by how fast people learn to use it. So no, AI is not going to cause instant mass unemployment. It’s going to displace jobs over time and make people more productive, just like every other technological revolution before that.”
Every economist I know says that it takes 15 to 20 years before a new general purpose technology has a measurable effect on productivity.
The delay is determined by how fast people learn to use it.So no, AI is not going to cause instant mass unemployment.
It's going to… https://t.co/Hzry4Dy5dz
— Yann LeCun (@ylecun) May 2, 2023
But yet, the comparison seems a lot shaky. No technology in the history has ever been this accessible. Again, access and excess are the two determining factors, which brings back to my first-ever statement by McLuhan. Medium is the message.
This phrase sums up a profound communication theory, citing that the medium through which we choose to communicate holds as much, value than the message itself – and sometime more. This time, the medium is none other than artificial intelligence. And that is the message. People are running behind education and skills that are not going to be valid anymore. Meaning, more unemployment, more economic downturns, and disaster awaits. Tech conglomerates such as IBM recently announced that around 7,800 jobs would get replaced. On the other hand, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella says the opposite, citing that the new AI system can possibly generate more jobs in the future. Only time will tell what the future holds: will it be the human race or the race for AI?