Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk in a Digital Age

Sherry Turkle is the author of Reclaiming Conversation. She is also the founding director of the MIT Initiative on Technology and Self. In addition to being a licensed clinical psychologist, Turkle is also the author of six books. She has studied the effects of technology on human connection for over 30 years at the time of this publication.

In the mid-1970s, Turkle was fascinated by a growing academic fervor for artificial intelligence. She observed that scholars found it irresistible to explore; the idea of robots sharing in the human condition was too exciting to ignore. As the text clarifies, the author has serious doubts about technology overstepping its bounds. Her book, however, is no more a criticism of technological use than an affirmation of humanity.

Ava Reade is the dean of Holbrooke Middle School. She is Turkle’s primary figure during the discussion of children who lack empathy. Reade watched her students for years. She witnessed each new group retreat further into technology than the group the year before. It unsettled her to see students without the ability to read deeply, start or maintain friendships, and who started to view each other as beings impervious to pain.