On Robotics and Mother

We are alive in a time of great change, a seismic shift in the way humans engage with our humanness. Standing at the crux of an evolutionary moment, our brains are rapidly transforming from the ways in which we use technology. I recently watched a fascinating show "The Future Starts Here" created by Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg at AOL entitled Robots, Botox and Google Glass. 

As a direct result, I have found myself thinking, on the verge of obsession, about the fine line they propose between being human and being robotic, particularly as it relates to where our species is evolving. And, even more particularly, how that relates to mothering.

Click to read Regan Long's plea to the President in the Huffington Post

Mothers can attest to the fact that primal love is the connective tissue between humans, a feeling robots can never know. I think our hearts and our emotional capacity to love, to connect, and to intimately engage the unknown beyond what we think we can manage, sets us apart from robots. When moms are forced to disconnect from authentic instincts, then, as Regan Long says in her recent compelling plea to the President in this week's Huffington Post, we are in danger of shutting off our innate wisdom to become "gladiators", "superhuman", or dare I say robotic. We are asked on a daily basis, over and over again, to refute our instincts to accommodate the maze of modern living. Is it working, ladies? At some point, we will, in collective force, take back this very human, timeless and universal story. 

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We are alive in a golden age as we empower ourselves to re-design the ways in which mothering could be revered and respected in our culture. Where we don't have to choose between work and family, but can utilize Internet powers to integrate innovation with fluidity, creativity and media savvy. Today, US moms are pitted against each other, identified in a particular camp on the vast spectrum between "working" or "stay at home", without a policy to support this essential and critical function of a healthy social fabric. Regan Long's article gets straight to the heart of one of the most pressing issues for mothers of my generation, as we pave the way for future generations of moms - our daughters.