What I don’t want technology to do for me

I was watching football with my sons last weekend, and a commercial came on for the new Iphone 4s highlighting its amazing new technology, Siri. Now I love techy stuff as much as the next guy, but this commercial really creeped me out. These were the things people asked Siri to do, and the things that Siri did.

Siri, read me the [text] message.

Play my running mix.

What’s the traffic like here?

Text my wife I’m going to be 30 minutes late.

Is it going to be chilly in San Francisco this weekend?

How many cups are in 12 ounces?

Set my timer for 30 minutes.

I love when technology helps me in my life. I love when it does things that make my life easier. But I couldn’t help wondering: do I really want Siri to replace my brain? Do I want Siri to talk to my wife? Do I want Siri to know things that I should probably already know?

The calculator was a helpful tool when it came out, but I was not allowed to use one in math class growing up. The reason is simple: my teachers wanted me to learn how to use my brain. It was same reason my English teacher balked when I tried to bring a dictionary to my spelling test..or when my geography teacher made me take that globe off my desk.

Right after the Siri commercial there was a car commercial that showed a car parallel parking. By itself. The guy lifted his hands off the wheel, and the car did the rest. Perfect park. Sickening.

I don’t want my car to park itself. I have spent years perfecting my parking skills (and I take some pride in them). Is it really more satisfying to have your car park for you?

Ok, my Andy Rooney rant is over. I wonder what you think. How much is too much? What do you want or NOT want technology to do for you?