The iPhone's Voice Recognition Software, Magic, & Technology

C.S. Lewis:

There is something which unites magic and applied science [=technology] while separating both from the "wisdom" of earlier ages.

For the wise men of old the cardinal problem had been how to conform the soul to reality, and the solution had been knowledge, self-discipline, and virtue.

For magic and applied science alike the problem is how to subdue reality to the wishes of men; the solution is a technique.

—The Abolition of Man (reprint: New York: HarperOne, 2001), p. 77; my emphasis.

Update: To clarify: I'm not critiquing such technology. It's a further example of what Lewis calls subduing reality to the wishes of man—which can be a part of subduing the earth, and it can also have unintended consequences in how it conditions our expectations.

On a different note, check out this prototype from Apple circa 1987 (thanks to Josh Sowin for finding highlighting this.)