(Thanks to Susan for the nooze tip.)
Something very bad is brewing in South Korea: a scheme “to cut human interaction to build an ‘untact’ society”–that is, to “remove human contact” from ordinary transactions in everyday life (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/10/south-korea-cuts-human-interaction-in-push-to-build-untact-society).
Starting in 2020, South Korea began “removing layers of human interaction” by using robots to sterilize library books (!) and setting up “unmanned shops” staffed by machines, not people. It’s supposed to protect your anonymity–as if Big Tech doesn’t already track everything you do on your computer.
A few misgivings have been voiced, but only a few. Hey! Other people carry germs! Cut out the human contact, and no one will get sick.
I like the checkout clerks in our supermarket and the other shops we visit regularly. I present small Christmas gifts to our laundress and to the lady who owns and works very hard at our Chinese restaurant. They deserve to feel appreciated. I like exchanging greetings and chit-chat with them. You can’t do that with a robot unless there’s something wrong with you.
I thought I’d better mention this nooze, if only to alert people to fight against it if the “untact” movement comes to America–disguised as a means to keep us… “safe”–a word which is beginning to have somewhat sinister connotations–and guarantee us good service at our stores.
The last thing anybody needs is to be living in a bubble. This has got to be among the most toxic ideas I’ve ever heard.
