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(Jon sez:) A holographic receptionist like the one pictured above would be an outgrowth of technologies we see around us today. Devices such as computerized voice mail menus, automated teller machines, and electronic toll collection systems become more common every day. It seems that every year brings another new automated technology into common use. It is now possible to get up in the morning, telecommute to work, go out in the evening to an ATM to take out money, purchase groceries using a self-checkout system, buy gas with a keychain fob at the pump, and return home to email your friends before going to bed - all without having interacted with a single person. At times, the future looks heavily computerized and rather lonely... |
(Mark sez:) No time to chat. My Internet connection (RCN Chicago, if you're curious, and their customer support line kept me on hold for half an hour before hanging up on me twice this evening, not that I'm angry, just sayin') has been bouncing up and down all evening and it'll be a miracle if it stays up long enough at any point for this page to get uploaded. So what we can conclude from all this is that the future is heavily computerized, rather lonely, and doesn't work. |