Embrace Technology

I have been reading about young video gamers who become incredible surgeons as they honed in on their eye-hand coordination as kids. Gaming is also a bonus for pilots with a higher aptitude for stressful situations. If you think about it, it isn’t shocking at all.

I was talking to Fred about this, and he reminded me of Stephen Johnson’s book Everything Bad Is Good For You. This book was published in 2006, so almost twenty years ago.

People are freaking out about AI, and understandably, we have to govern technology appropriately yet still give entrepreneurs the ability to innovate. The youth must take what they grew up with and evolve into a new world. Always one step forward and then one step backward. That is what keeps the rhythm. Older people, particularly parents, worry too much, and they should be focused on boundaries with technology rather than attempting to stop it.

Josh was a video kid. He loved all those games. I never cared how often he played them; the reality is that after a time, he would move on to something else and then return to it. I always thought some excellent skills were being learned there, especially eye-hand coordination.

Fast-forward: We go to Normandy, where it’s just me, Fred, and Josh. Fred is so excited to tell Josh all about WW2 and show him the beaches. When we get to the beach, Josh starts pointing out every nook and cranny, and his knowledge is vast. Why? Because he played Call of Duty.

We need ethical questioning, but who should we look for to point us in that direction? That is a bigger concern.