Smart phones and social media sites may be contemporary fixations, but using technology to replace face-to-face interactions is not a new cultural phenomenon. Throughout our history, intimacy with machines has often supplanted mutual human connection. This book reveals how consumer technologies changed from analgesic devices that soothed the loneliness of a newly urban generation to prosthetic interfaces that act as substitutes for companionship in modern America. The history of this transformation helps explain why we use technology to mediate our connections with other human beings instead of seeking out face-to-face contact. Do electronic interfaces receive most of our attention to the detriment of real interpersonal communication? Why do sixty million Americans report that isolation and loneliness are major sources of unhappiness? The author provides many insights into our increasingly artificial relationships and a vision for how we can rediscover genuine community and human empathy.

A leading technology expert examines ways to manage the rapid proliferation of technology and come to grips with its pervasive influence. Technology--always a key driver of historical change--is transforming society as never before and at a far more rapid pace. This book takes the reader on a journey into what the author identifies as the central organizing construct for the future of civilization, the continued proliferation of technology. And he challenges us to consider how to think about technology to ensure that we humans, and not the products of our invention, remain in control of our destinies? In this informative and insightful examination, Dr. Daniel M. Gerstein--who brings vast operational, research, and academic experience to the subject--proposes a method for gaining a better understanding of how technology is likely to evolve in the future. He identifies the attributes that a future successful technology should seek to emulate and the pitfalls that a technology developer should try to avoid. The aim is to bring greater clarity to the impact of technology on individuals and society. In particular, he considers three technologies now converging that will shape the future: biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and the "internet of things." He asks: Will we continue to develop new technologies in these fields merely because basic research shows that we can, or should we first consider the likely effects of these technologies on the quality of life at the individual, societal, and global levels? Dr. Gerstein makes a compelling case that rational and informed evolution of our technological options is the best course for ensuring a brighter future.

Takes the reader on a journey into what Gerstein identifies as the central organizing construct for the future of civilization: the continued proliferation of technology. He proposes a method for gaining a better understanding of how technology is likely to evolve in the future, and considers three technologies that are now converging and will shape the future: biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and the "internet of things".

He ran like a crazed jackrabbit, according to one awe-struck sportswriter. Clint Castleberry was already an Atlanta-area football sensation when he arrived at Georgia Tech in 1942, and in one meteoric college season he became a national sports hero as well. He was the first college freshman ever to be voted All-American. At least one Heisman Trophy was all but certain. Though weighing just 155 pounds, he seemed destined to become one of the greatest tailbacks in college football history. But then World War II intervened, and Castleberry became, instead, another young man whose destiny was cut short. His #19 is the only number ever retired in the illustrious history of Georgia Tech football. Bill Chastain weaves Clint Castleberry’s story around other legends of Georgia Tech football--including John Heisman, William Alexander, and Bobby Dodd—to create a glorious portrait of a proud football tradition and America’s Greatest Generation.

This book was written to document the part played by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, its staff, its former students and its undergraduates. Tales of skill, self-sacrifice and courage displayed by "Tech" men are preserved as an inspiration to their comrades and descendants. Attention is directed to the fact that such an institution as "Technology" is not only a valuable auxillary in developing commerce and industry in time of peace but that in time of national emergency it becomes an indispensable part of the Nation's military organization.

A Short History of Disruptive Journalism Technologies provides a swift analysis of the computerization of the newsroom, from the mid-1960s through to the early 1990s. It focuses on how word processing and a number of related affordances, including mobile-reporting tools, impacted the daily work routines of American news workers. The narrative opens with the development of mainframes and their attendant use as databases in large, daily newspapers, It moves on to the "minicomputer" era and explores initial news-worker experiences with computers for editing and publication. Following this, the book examines the microprocessor era, and the rise of "smart" terminals, "microcomputers," and off-the-shelf hardware/software, along with the increasing use of computers in smaller news organizations. Mari then turns to the use of pre-internet networks, wire-services and bulletin boards deployed for user interaction. He looks at the integration of decentralized computer networks in newsrooms, with a mix of content-management systems and PCs, and the increasing use of pagers and cellphones for news-gathering, including the shift from "portable" to mobile conceptualizations for these technologies. A Short History of Disruptive Journalism Technologies is an illuminating survey for students and instructors of journalism studies. It represents an important acknowledgement of the impact of pre-internet technological disruptions which led to the even more disruptive internet- and related computing technologies in the latter 1990s and through the present.