{"id":2292,"date":"2026-10-26T11:40:59","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T11:40:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etreasaplace.ch\/en\/?p=2292"},"modified":"2026-10-26T12:30:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T12:30:51","slug":"technology-and-discernment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etreasaplace.ch\/en\/technology-and-discernment\/","title":{"rendered":"Technological progress: yes, but not at any cost"},"content":{"rendered":"
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I knew a world before smartphones, GPS and AI<\/h2>\n

I was fortunate to be born in the late 1970s. I experienced the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s\u2026 and now the age of artificial intelligence.<\/p>\n

That perspective allows me to notice something particular: the way our relationship with the world, with others and with ourselves has changed.<\/p>\n

Technology has given us a great deal. It has also profoundly changed our habits.<\/p>\n

When I was a child, I would cycle to see my friends. I would ride several kilometres without calling first, often arriving unannounced. Their parents always welcomed me with open arms.<\/p>\n

Today, meeting someone can sometimes mean planning several weeks ahead, confirming the day before, then sending a message on the day to say we have arrived \u2014 before we have even seen each other.<\/p>\n

The phone has given us more ways to check and coordinate everything: where someone is, when they will arrive, whether they will definitely be there before we set off.<\/p>\n

Something has changed in the way we spend time together.<\/p>\n

We have gained efficiency. But have we lost some spontaneity?<\/p>\n

GPS guides us \u2014 but what happens to our sense of direction?<\/h2>\n

I also remember GPS becoming common in cars.<\/p>\n

Before that, when I was going somewhere, I would look at a map. Sometimes I would get lost in Belgium \u2014 I lived in northern France \u2014 and have to find my own way back. Looking back, I feel those experiences helped me develop my sense of direction.<\/p>\n

Today, GPS or a phone is often our first choice for getting from A to B. When it stops working, finding our way can suddenly become difficult.<\/p>\n

Personally, I try to limit how much I use it, particularly on my motorbike. I look at the route before leaving, memorise it, then ride. If I take a wrong turn, I stop and check.<\/p>\n

Why?<\/p>\n

Because I have noticed something important in myself: abilities I no longer practise can feel less readily available.<\/p>\n

My sense of direction used to feel much stronger. Today, I am learning to reclaim it.<\/p>\n

More communication, but fewer moments together?<\/h2>\n

We used to spend time together. We played outside, visited each other\u2019s homes and shared our stories face to face, looking one another in the eye.<\/p>\n

Today, children, teenagers and adults sometimes favour messages, texts or voice notes.<\/p>\n

Of course, these make it possible to contact someone at almost any time. But they can also create an invisible distance.<\/p>\n

We are constantly exchanging messages. Are we still meeting one another as fully?<\/p>\n

When we wanted to see someone, we would simply go to their house and ring the doorbell. It felt natural.<\/p>\n

Today, digital communication occupies a considerable place in our relationships \u2014 sometimes at the expense of being physically present together.<\/p>\n

AI brings the question into the way we think<\/h2>\n

With artificial intelligence, we are entering another stage.<\/p>\n

This is no longer only about travelling or communicating. It also concerns thinking, writing and organising our ideas.<\/p>\n

We once sent letters and postcards. Then came text messages and spellcheckers.<\/p>\n

Today, a few words can sometimes be enough to generate an entire text.<\/p>\n

And this is where I begin to question things.<\/p>\n

If we increasingly delegate our thinking, our writing and the way we express our ideas, could we lose something of our individuality?<\/p>\n

I notice similar phrases and structures in many texts written with AI assistance. Sometimes, I find it difficult to recognise the individual voice behind them.<\/p>\n

Are we really ready to hand over more and more of:<\/p>\n