Will the trend of Social Technology lead to Machine Technology and the eventual absence of the Librarian in the Library?

After reading the Benjamin Walter article in class, I wanted to look into how technology has changed dance and music performance. I found several articles that discussed how technology enhanced performances and one that was a little disturbing. An article on Wired talked about blending contemporary dance and 3-D projection mapping:

“Pixel” is the latest from Adrien M / Claire B, a French dance company specializing in cutting-edge physical-digital performance. The group’s choreography extends beyond its dancers — by projecting light onto the stage and backdrop behind it, the company creates dynamic virtual worlds that respond to and interact with the people among them. In this latest spectacle, dancers spin inside virtual rings; they hold umbrellas that shield them from pixelated rainfall. At its best, the distinction between the physical and digital evaporates entirely.” (Vanhemert)

This was an excellent example of how technology is used to enhance the experience. The dancers work with and use the technology, it doesn’t replace them. An article in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch discussed how a pianist with the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra uses an iPad instead of a paper score:

“The tablet has practical advantages: It is lit, making reading it easier and eliminating concerns about lighting. It also eliminates the need for page turners. “They may turn the page too soon or too late, or make noise,” Gerstein said. “In cases like this, it is helpful to play with the iPad. I know exactly when I want to turn, and I turn it for myself.” His system has never crashed.” (Miller)

Again, technology is enhancing the performance, but unlike the first article, this one mentions the removal of a physical person. No offense to page turners, but I don’t believe they add to the aura of the live performance, and so I can see the advantage to replacing them with a “ Bluetooth-enabled foot pedal called an AirTurn.” (Miller)

Then I found an article called “Technology and Music Performance in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction” by Jon Frederickson. He explained how “Aesthetic theories of artworlds in the nineteenth century such as Wagner’s Gesamtkunstwerk introduced concepts of organization according to rational principles coordinated with centralized artistic goals. Within such an order the relationships between performers, audience, and the musical object became varieties of components, that is, components of social technology.” (Frederickson) He goes on to explain how the orchestra was first moved to the pit, unseen by the audience. This then evolved to the orchestra being moved to a sound stage or recording studio and their performance recorded. He also discussed a whole orchestra being replaced by four synthesizers. “The social technology which creates invisible human components appears to be an important precondition for the development of machine technology.” (Frederickson)

I couldn’t help but compare this to libraries. E-books, databases, and a number of machine technologies have added to the mission of libraries in promoting access to information and enhancing patron experiences. I’ve been asked by people if I thought that libraries will become obsolete and everything become digital, the answer is no. Will reference services become automatized and librarians replaced by machine technology? The answer is no.

Malzel, the inventor of the metronome, was asked if he could create a machine that could compose music. He replied, “Yes, I could build one capable of composing music such as that by the average composer, but none which would produce anything similar to the works of Mozart, Cimarosa, Sacchini, etc, etc; this power has not been given to me. My art cannot pretend to it, this right belongs only to the gods.” (Frederickson)

People value human experience and technology might not ever compare to quality customer service. I believe that social technology has lead the way for machine technology, but not in all things.

Sources

Frederickson, Jon. “Technology and Music Performance in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction”.International Review of the Aesthetics and Sociology of Music 20.2 (1989): 193–220. Web…

Miller, Sarah Bryan. “New Technology Is Changing Classical Music Performance : Entertainment.” Stltoday.com. 10 Feb. 2013. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.

Vanhemert, Kyle. “A High-Tech Dance Performance Melds Human Bodies With Code.” Wired.com. Conde Nast Digital. Web. 2 Nov. 2015.