Jaron Lanier's You Are Not A Gadget: A Man

When examining Marshall McLuhan's Understanding Media: The Extension of Man, and Jaron Lanier's You Are Not a Gadget: A Manifesto, it is clear that both men fear the potential consequences surrounding the fast paced evolution of information and communication technologies, particularly the negative effects on humanity. In Lanier's book, he focuses on the distance and lack of face to face communication that occurs due to digital communication, believing that interpersonal relationships become less "real" through online communication. Lanier continues to discuss that this causes negative effects spiritually, behaviorally, and economically; ultimately stating that humanity in the digital age is disconnected and will lose individuality, and the most important aspect of life will revolve around computers and other advanced communication technologies.

McLuhan, in his book, has a similar approach to his theories regarding humanity in the digital age, with a focus on these new technologies acting as "the extension of man", and that these technologies become a part of humans due to the heavy reliance on technology to functionally operate society.

However, McLuhan tends to be slightly more optimistic than Lanier in this theories, discussing technological advancements made previously by humanity that have improved life at the individual and societal level, while still focusing on the unprecedented nature of new technologies appearing in the twenty first century. However, McLuhan makes it a point in his theories, unlike Lanier, to discuss the positives that will result from these technologies. McLuhan believes that humans are capable of controlling their own destiny, and deciding how to use these new technologies and advancements, but also fears that humans will not be able to make the correct

choice.
McLuhan also coins and discusses the term "auto amputation." Auto amputation is the idea that the creation of new technology will replace previous functions and activities of humans, essentially handing off our work to a computer system. These technologies can be as simple as a calculator, which would replaces the need for humans to perform simple math, to more complex items such as online databases replaces the need to search through physical databases in libraries. Auto amputation is experienced by everyone that uses these technologies, as the simplicity of them totally replaces the necessity for people to perform the task. This definitely occurs in my everyday life, from note-taking on a computer rather than hand writing, to GPS replacing maps and sense of direction.
Finally, I believe that McLuhan would have personally feared The Singularity, as well as exclaim that the potential is definitely in the realm of possibilities. McLuhan already fears the backseat that humanity is taking to technology, as people use these advanced machines without any idea of how they actually work or perform the tasks. The idea behind the Singularity is that artificial intelligence will advance so rapidly that it will cause a complete and total change to society that is presently unfathomable. McLuhan believes that technology is currently an extension of man, and his fears regarding the rapid change of technology could be hypothesized into a scenario similar to The Singularity.