Technology makes location and identity irrelevant

The telegraph article was the most interesting for me, the massive changes brought about by the first separation of communication and travel. But with radio the actual human voice was traveling for the first time, Television brought the first images from a distance, and now the advances of VR allow for full submersion in a distant or non-existent reality.

Each of these steps has made the world a little smaller, trade more efficient, and travel less necessary. Each time technology improved, however, the communication was less personal. The telegraph made contact between speakers unnecessary, the radio and TV allowed one person to address the nation, and now VR makes it possible to talk to avatars you know nothing about, even their gender. Each of these steps have had strong upsides, but with the loss of personal contact I can’t help but wonder if people are going to become less true to their word in business agreements. Ebay has been used to scam people out of money and sell them empty computer boxes. When identity is masked, morals aren’t far behind.