Deconvenience

Recently came across this article written by the CEO of Oura suggesting that federal regulations for “Wearables” such as the Oura Ring need a “reformed regulatory structure” so customers “can benefit from a range of advanced features.”

With Less Regulation, Your Oura Ring Could Do More

wsj.com

I’m a long-time Oura customer, and I certainly can’t speak for others, but I’m in a major “deconvenience” mood lately. I don’t actually want advanced features in trade for deregulation. With the horrors of an intentionally unregulated AI industry being radically foisted on the populace, regulation of tech companies is more needed than ever, especially when it comes to our health data.

My life is pretty integrated and streamlined, both from an automation and monitoring standpoint.

I have a lot of tech that makes things very convenient for me. Tech that wants to extract more from you while providing you with less, both in terms of functionality and also with additives like tracking, targeting, surveillance, and advertising. Most of favorite tools are going through a painful devolutionary process replacing UX with AIX.

The true cost of convenience is often hidden, and I’ve been experiencing this a lot in conversations about AI products. Folks that will not want to have conversations about what the 2nd and 3rd order affects of unregulated technology on society and social safety because they don’t want their “toys” taken away.

But lately I’m in a defiant mood, and convenience is not need.

We can do more with less; thank you for the reminder, CEO of Oura.

I learned this the hard way with 23andMe and apparently this is a lesson I have to learn repeatedly because I am a thrall for the Convenience Egregore.