The Future of Technology

Technology has transformed immensely throughout history. Due to things

like planned obsolescence, new products are frequently being introduced. The short
clip Technology Changes Everything brought to us by Ashford University
demonstrates the significant role technology currently plays in our lives. In this
response I will discuss the evolution of technology, the idea of progress and what we
might expect in the future. Due to advances in communication technology, earning a
college or university degree has become more accessible. Nowadays, one can access
information and experience education beyond the walls of a classroom. In this short
commercial Ashford University is trying to prove this point; the idea that technology
can take us further than anything else in life is something we are being forced to
understand.
One of the main questions I asked myself after viewing this commercial is
why children? I realized that Ashford University is directing this video towards an
older demographic. The University uses children in their advertisement to
demonstrate how technologically educated the younger generation is. This is an agespecific binary as it provides the targeted viewer with the realization that they may
be disconnected from the world because they do not understand its technology. I
firmly support the idea made by John in lecture that networks are part of a process
that is changing. Technology will always be affected by humanity and culture as they
continually try to discover the next best thing. The relationship that children and
technology share presents society with the notion that there must be more coming.

As children at a young age have such an advanced understanding of technology, the

older generation is presented with the idea that they are behind. This scenario
exhibits the actor-network. The advertisement explicitly shows how easy it appears
for one to be a part of an educational institution and thus their network. Technology
ultimately affects others (us) but is also affected by other variables (Deleuze, 4). If
human beings form a social network it is not because they interact with other
human beings. It is because they interact with human beings and endless other
materials too (Law, 381). Here, Law essentially describes the product that Ashford
University is definitely advertising in this commercial: online discussion-based
education.
In this advertisement the technological sublime is evident because the
university demonstrates the possibilities of getting an education without leaving
home. The university has been successful in creating a sense of awe for the viewer,
using the evident technological sublime to their advantage. David Nye refers to this
in his reading and says we are moving away from the natural sublime into this
technological one and accepting it with open arms. The experience of observing the
Grand Canyon has been substituted with the pleasure we get from a computer. The
children in this video will undoubtedly have limited sublime when it comes to
nature due to their extreme sublime in the technological world.
It makes things smart and bright. When you connect to the Internet it brings
you knowledge. I feel this video does an exceptional job when it comes to showing
that we are surrounded and influenced by our technology. However by only using

the terms smart and bright I think they are putting constraints on something
that we also understand to be unlimited.
As noted, technology is constantly evolving and Ashford University has used
this to their advantage. However, I do not think that this angle best articulates what
the university is selling due to the arbitrary use of language in the commercial and
the confusing use of children to advertise an academic degree.