Why has technology trended in this direction? There are a number of reasons: Humans are increasingly seen as inefficient compared to machines; there are cost savings that come with automation; automation promises increased convenience and greater leisure. And maybe, just maybe, engineers and developers are uneasy with human interaction and creating a world they are comfortable living in.

Musician David Byrne recently advanced an interesting theory about humanity and technology. The overarching agenda of technology, he believes, is intended to eliminate human interaction. The displacement of human beings by modern technology has become so obvious and so widespread that he has been forced to conclude it is more than an unintentional byproduct of increased automation. “What much of this technology seems to have in common is that it removes the need to deal with humans directly. The tech doesn’t claim or acknowledge this as its primary goal, but it seems to often be the consequence. I’m sort of thinking maybe it is the primary goal.”

Byrne’s theory sounds a mite conspiratorial, and he admits as much, but then he begins to list ways in which modern technology has displaced human interaction. As that list goes on and on it begins to prove his point: Airbnb takes away the hotel check-in desk; digital music gets rid of the music store and even the human curation of playlists; driverless cars are meant to negate taxi and bus drivers and our brief interactions with them; automated checkouts remove the cashier; video gaming against the AI replaces board games against human beings. To his list we could add bank machines replacing bankers, digital personal assistants replacing human administrative assistants, pornography replacing flesh and blood sexual partners, and many more.

Why has technology trended in this direction? There are a number of reasons: Humans are increasingly seen as inefficient compared to machines; there are cost savings that come with automation; automation promises increased convenience and greater leisure. And maybe, just maybe, engineers and developers are uneasy with human interaction and creating a world they are comfortable living in.

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