Before understanding the nuances of digital communication, we need to know that it is not the entirety of human modes of communication. We humans, can communicate with each other and with the larger entities in the natural world.
Physical world of ours is made meaningful through the social interaction and communication between human beings and the nature. Every human to human interaction develops through the confluence of conscious intentions and unconscious instincts. History, culture, memory, instincts and all sort of complex emotions run through human to human interactions. In the case of human interactions with nature, this is more versatile and meaningful. We may consider this as a natural logic. Natural logic inspires human creativity and imagination by manifolds. Nature communicates its hidden and explicit instincts to human beings whereas human beings express their intentions and imaginations back to the nature. There is a rhythm and radiance in natural expressions. Nature inspires creativity and imagination beyond confinements.
On the other hand, digital communication is centered on human to machine and machine to machine communication. Increasingly, we are entering a digital world where machine to machine communication is anticipated to dominate the human to machine communications. An autonomous wold of machine made semantics and semiotics is in the making. The advantage of machine to machine communication and sensor networks is that there it increases automation in the lower modes of production and improves productivity.
Machine to machine communication is a means to run an efficient information processing and energy processing engine on the ground to ensure that the products and services are consumed and produced more efficiently. Natural language processing and cognitive computing is the other frontier in digital communication. The benefit of creating a natural language interface is that human to machine communication becomes more seamless and controllable.
Is this an end to human intervention in the scheme of affairs? No, absolutely not.
At the outset, all this sounds exotic and magical to think about a more efficient, effective and seamless digital communication network of pervasive computing abilities. On a further note, we can see that the digital channels and touch points cannot generate their own original instincts or free will. Their basic instincts will be essentially driven by the power structure that governs them.
The interactions, networks and interfaces that we denote as digital exist as a facade to a larger mode of production and consumption in the economic sense. There is a physical mode of political and market economy behind every digital experience and engagement. We speak about virtual reality and augmented reality emerging as new frontiers in digital media and digital communication. We are seeing the end user interface of these digital experiences. The digital channels and touch points exist as a means to integrate the consumers to a global market economy through virtual and abstract means.
The other side of this intellectual facade is the compendium of forces that govern the laws of digital communication. It is made up of mortals like us. Nothing virtual or digital about it. Thus humanity need to discover that their fragmented digital experiences are not an end in itself. We human beings still build and rebuild the relationships and rationality in human and natural modes of communication. Digital experiences are just a subset of our larger terrain of experiences and emotional journey.
