Baroness Susan Greenfield’s Lecture – Technology is shaping our identity
The most recent 2013 Newington Ethics Centre Lecture brought science to the table to inform the audience of 200 strong Newington teachers, students and parents about our roles as citizens of the 21st century and what we are going to do to shape our identity. Where will good, ethical and creative people come from and how will they be shaped?
In the Old Boys’ Lecture Theatre, Baroness Susan Greenfield, neuroscientist, writer, broadcaster and member of the House of Lords shared her considerable research and hypotheses on the impacts of the internet and modern technologies on brain activity and consciousness – and what this might mean for personal identity.
In articulating the historical ‘identities’ of the 20th century, the Baroness highlighted the ‘someone persona’ – where objects that you own say something about you or give you standing – and the ‘anyone persona’ – where you as the individual are subsumed under the collective narrative.
In both definitions, she highlighted the brain as the fundamental reason for maintaining individual identity. The brain cannot be exchanged or transplanted like other organs and that’s what makes us so different from other species – our superlative capacity to think and learn.
But as the Baroness pointed out, the brain is also shaped by ongoing experiences and is personalised to the world around us. Connections that our brain makes help us navigate the world, see beyond face value, see one thing in terms of something else, and in effect build intelligence.
But in a world of technology where visual images are static, and information explicit, what is happening to brain development? Are there aspects of the 21st century’s screen technology and the proliferation of places where young people can spend hours in a life of ‘two dimensions’ that should concern us? Is this affecting our ability to imagine?
She proposed the ‘nobody persona’ that is prevalent in modern life, where as we decrease face to face and interpersonal contact with others via technology we risk losing the stories and narratives of people just like us because stories are deeply wired into the human mind. The stories of ‘others’ and their ‘other’ lives mirror our own thought processes and help us make sense, show empathy, care for others, understand and respond with humanity.
There was much to take from The Baroness’ lecture that would help us understand the need for balance in the use of what are extraordinary tools and technologies. The Ethics Centre presentation was yet again challenging and provocative, but as is also part of the intent, a highly entertaining reason to stop and think deeply about what motivates us all to lead worthwhile lives.
