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V. Anantha-Nageswaran

AN article in yesterday's Financial Times, of London, described how an FT journalist and the HR manager of Microsoft swapped places for a day in England. One of the HR bosses in Microsoft told the FT journalist that all Microsoft staff "must have two things: A belief that technology makes people's lives better. And a great sense of fun" (Financial Times, May 27).

We can let the second one pass. It surely must be fun for Microsoft to kill all nascent technology companies like it were swatting a fly and to produce clunky software that crashes as frequently as the privatised British trains. Two important differences must be noted, however: You will never find out why they (I mean the software packages) crashed and you will have no other option but to continue to use them.

But the first one is Orwellian, at worst, and moronic, at best.

Technology surely expands the possibilities of what one can do in a day but it is a leap of faith to suggest that it expands the possibilities of what one could do with life.

On the contrary, there is a strong case to be made for the argument that it constricts the possibilities by tying individuals to technology and obscuring their vision for everything else.

Its seemingly benign and positive consequence — expanding the range of possibilities that one could do in a day — actually lowers the quality of life.

In linear programming, only constrained optimisation gives a uniquely optimal solution at the frontier of all possible solutions. All other possible solutions are `inferior' to this uniquely optimal solution. Mind you, such a solution is possible only under constraints.

What if there are no constraints? The possibilities are infinite. There is no single solution and how does one choose among the infinite number of options? It is not easy and chaos and an unsettled state of affairs is usually the result.

Technology does something similar to our lives. It enhances the range of possible activities that one could do in a day. All of us chase them because every one is chasing them. Not to try is to run the risk of being labelled a loser and a "has been". But, the more we can do, the less likely we would do the soundest thing or things. Too much of choice is disorienting. The result is stress — we bite off more than what we can chew — and lower the quality of life.

We neglect other possibilities that do not depend on technology — a family meal, helping the children with homework, spending time with parents or simply stealing a moment or two of solitude in the lawns.

How could you when a wireless laptop with remote access for your office network enables you to stay on top of office gossip and work even on the beach? You can follow the market sitting in the loo through messages and instant alerts on your mobile phone. Yes, markets can be moved from the lavatory now. The rat race beckons. We fear being left out and technology reminds us of that fear, constantly.

Technology progress = material progress = intensified rat race = more stress = diminished quality of life. Most of us are powerless — financially, emotionally and intellectually — to break away from corporate chains. Indeed, we are conditioned to volunteer to be tied down. Technology adds a padlock to it.

(The author is Director, Global Economics and Asset Allocation in Credit Suisse, Asia-Pacific and Middle East. His views are personal. Please send feedback to anantha@nageswaran.com)

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