#138 - Technology Augments People

The Sprinkler Nerd Show

Welcome back to the sprinkler nerd show, I'm your host, Andy Humphrey, this is episode #138, and my goal for this episode to share a reminder with you. By now you know that I'm a technology evangelist - and by that - what I mean is that I believe technology will improve the human experience, and that technology is merely a tool - A tool for the human - but not to replace the human. There often appears to be a polarization as it relates to technology, and especially, new technology. There are those who embrace it, use it, and experience the benefits from it - whatever those benefits happen to be. And there are those who avoid it, oppose it, are afraid of it, or tend to right it off as not necessary. There is no right or wrong to either of these view points, everyone is entitled to their own thought, beliefs, and experiences. I just find this interesting. Likely there is some sort of psychology behind this, but I;ll save that for another episode to allow myself to research that hypothesis further. But today, I wanted to share a quote with you, that resonated with me this week, and depending on how you view technology might hit home, or you might argue against it, or maybe if you are a technology avoidant (which you are likely not if you choose to listen to this show), perhaps this quote will offer some positive encouragement for the future of the human & technology convergence. I will play the actual quote for you, but first I'd like to summarize it for you in my own words. It goes like this: "People say that Technology will displace people, when in fact, it is people who use technology that will replace people who do not use technology" That is essentially the gist of the quote and the reason I really like this is becasue this is exactly what is happening in our industry. I often say that A smart controller does not save water, someone who knows how to use a smart controller can save water" There is a difference. The tech is just the tool. The human who uses the tool is the one who has the upper hand. Make sense? So going back to the quote - technology alone will not displace people, but people who use the technology will replace people who do not use the technology.