Remaining human amidst our tools.

By Caroline Nevin

We are hardwired to link with others to survive. The fact that we do so through ways that increasingly do not require our physical presence is a relative novelty. For most of the history of the human race to date, it is one-to-one contact – in person and, much later, by physical letter – that has helped us connect as a society.

Fast forward to a new age of hyper-connectivity, productivity and superhuman efficiency. The positives do outweigh the negatives, but the price seems high some days. It’s amusing to see that Hollywood’s take on what we most fear has expanded from the usual aliens, murderers and ghosts to include random and/or deliberate disasters that remove human access to the technologies that now link and sustain us.

One of the conundrums of modern life is that we believe that we “need” technology, but we aren’t sure we like what it has done to the pace of our lives. We tire of the unrelenting pressure to adjust to change, and we are confused by the blurring of work and personal spheres. An interesting example of how work/life blurring has entrenched in our society can be seen in political life. What was once the purview of family secrets (affairs, addictions, judgment lapses) is now public domain – our sense of a “right to know” is so powerful and so potentially harmful that it prevents good public servants from stepping forward. A mere flawed human like JFK would not survive today’s scrutiny.

On the plus side, technology-enhanced connection with one another has also allowed for massive outpourings of cash and empathy in response to disasters in far-flung places. It has allowed those courageously resisting tyranny to know that their struggles do not go unseen or unsupported. And it has made the medical resources of the developed world infinitely more impactful through access by with those with few or none.

In the legal domain, technology is allowing lawyers – and the public – access to immense databases of legal knowledge and cases. It is providing meaningful access to lawyers, witnesses and adjudicators in areas where to do so in person takes disproportionate resources in a resource-limited system. And it has allowed a huge increase in the volume of legal services being provided. But it is also speeding up the pace at which those services are expected; too often at the cost of thoughtful reflection and human contact. One of the big questions that needs to be asked is: are we driving the technology, or are we being driven?

Efficiency is a practical and useful goal; but it is not an end in itself. The key is to ask yourself what your intention is for the “extra” time you will gain from being more efficient. If you are not conscious about that choice, it will be made for you; your time will be filled with more of the same things you wish to become more efficient at doing. If that wasn’t your goal, you will end up (as most of us do) feeling like there is less time and more stress in our lives.

I will conclude with a shameless plug: CBA believes in helping lawyers use technology to gain more satisfaction from life. We have excellent tools to help you gain more time in your day (what you do with it is yours to decide!). Check out great online PD programs (cba.org/pd) and efficiency tools like exPD8 and The Utility Company (cba.org under Member Savings). Remember, as complex as the world around us is, technology is simply a tool; the end to which we use it is what matters.

This article was published in the December 2010 issue of BarTalk. © 2010 The Canadian Bar Association. All rights reserved.