Einstein on technology

[snopes]

Comment: Did Albert Einstein say, "I fear the day that technology will
surpass our human interaction. The world will have a generation of
idiots.".

[DrRocket]

A quick search turned up mostly blog posts insisting it's something he said, but there were NO sources listed, just the alleged quote, accompanied by the same set of pictures of (overwhelmingly) young people all ingnoring each other while staring intently at their phones.

At least one post did list the source as "anonymous."

[mags]

The quote doesn't even really make sense. I think the intended meaning may require the word "surpass" be replaced with "bypass." But as it stands, I don't even understand what it is trying to say.

[Errata]

I wonder if they've actually met people before. Every generation is a generation of idiots.

[Dasla]

Originally Posted by mags

The quote doesn't even really make sense. I think the intended meaning may require the word "surpass" be replaced with "bypass." But as it stands, I don't even understand what it is trying to say.

Besides people are still interacting, just in a different way. Couldn't it also mean by the old, fixed to the wall telephone?

[snopes]

In any case, why would Einstein (or anyone else) think that technology's surpassing human interaction would create a world of "idiots"? It might create a world of socially stunted people, but I don't see why it would necessarily result in lower intelligence and/or greater ignorance.