Wearable technology, the end of aging and 24/7 connectivity. Is this the future?

SG: Facebook is great for keeping up with family and existing friends who might, say, have moved to Australia. But if you start using it to make new friends you never see, as many people do, that’s bad. The studies that have been done show that it promotes narcissism and low self-esteem. Twitter is great if you have something to say, like ‘I’ve just split the atom!’ but posting pictures of what you had for breakfast? I just don’t get it. Living your life as a series of reports and seeing what others are reporting gets in the way of enjoying experiences and is anti-family.

RS: But another way of looking at it is that people are using Twitter and Facebook to express themselves creatively and communicate with the people around them. It’s a wonderful thing that anyone can write a poem or make a video and publish it to the entire world, free of charge. This is going to be even easier as wearable technologies like Google Glass start to become commonplace.

SG: Wearable technology is scary. At least with a screen on a desktop, a phone or an iPad, you can look away. If you are wearing a networked device (or should that be if it is wearing you?), you can never look away. You literally never switch off. What will that do to our brains, to human relationships? I challenge the idea that it is good to be connected all the time. I don’t want to be. We are all individuals. I like to be on my own. I have a private life and even a secret life where I do not share my thoughts with anyone. I like being alone, just thinking.

RS: Google wants to get so good at analysing our online selves that it can give us ever more precise predictions: what to do on the weekend, what to eat and when, what clothes to buy and so on. Surely that’s a good thing, especially as you can choose to ignore the predictions if you want? Also, Steve Jobs once described the computer as the ‘bicycle for the mind’ — don’t you think this type of technology might free us to focus our minds on more creative and important things?

SG: Predictive text on emails and text messages is great. But computers telling us what to do? No. It challenges free will. It’s also very scary. Once you have people who are obedient and slavish, think how easy they could be to manipulate.

RS: People say privacy is dead in the digital age but I think that privacy is changing. Evolutionary psychologists say humans evolved in tight-knit social groups, which helps explains why gossiping, tweeting and posting images on Facebook are such popular activities: sharing information like this is simply part of being human.

SG: Young people don’t seem to value privacy so highly, which I think is a shame. I can’t believe that some couples, like the Goldsmiths, tweet about their divorces.

RS: I created the UK’s government transparency agenda, and I’m a huge believer in the idea that governments should be as open as possible with the public. What do you think about the way Edward Snowden has exposed the US government’s spying operations by leaking documents?

SG: I think Snowden is very brave. I admire anyone who sticks up for what they believe to be good.

RS: It’s been said that young people don’t think about privacy in the same way that people who didn’t grow up on the internet do, but I think most adults now assume that the state can read and monitor everything they do online, which is a real shame. What worries me about the Edward Snowden revelations is that this massive growth in online surveillance happened without any public debate or democratic consent.

SG: Absolutely. I think anyone can read my emails. That’s why I only use the internet for work. My real life, my social life, happens on my terrace with my friends, a bottle of wine and conversation.

RS: You argue strongly that digital distraction and noise can harm us. London is full of noise and distraction, which is why I find it such a wonderfully stimulating and inspiring place. There’s always something fascinating around every corner, and something new to learn about and discover. Presumably, though, you think London might be bad for us?

SG: Not at all. It’s the opposite. Oxford can be a goldfish bowl. You’re always bumping into people you know. But when I get off the train at Paddington I’m surrounded by thousands of people I don’t know and they don’t know me. I love the isolation, being just a speck of sand.

RS: When we first met in 10 Downing Street, you talked about another aspect of technology that concerned you: how cosmetic surgery was obliterating age, and in future people could choose to look young until they die. I personally think that cosmetic surgery adverts should be banned on the Tube — it’s terrible that people are put under such pressure to conform to a certain way of looking.

SG: I like looking good, dressing up, putting on make-up. Like most women, I go shopping for endless shoes. What concerns me is the way that the techniques of cosmetic surgery are getting better, wider and cheaper. We can fix people’s noses, their ears, trim tummies, enlarge breasts and remove moles. We can reverse the balding process for men. Where does it stop? Are we no longer going to accept the big nose or the ears that stick out or the mole or any of the things that previously made one person different from another? Are we all going to end up looking like Cheryl Cole?

RS: Or Ashley Cole.

SG: Or George Clooney if we’re putting in bids!

RS: I’m really concerned about how few women are studying science and computer programming at university. What do you think is going on? Shouldn’t this be a 21st-century issue for feminists to campaign on?

SG: I hate being described as ‘a female scientist’. What kind of message does that send to girls at school? So I guess I am a feminist. But really, I’m a personist. I think each person should be free to be who they are. Men and women should be treated the same — except, of course, when it comes to heavy lifting, putting out the rubbish, doing up zips at the back, paying for meals, cooking meals, opening doors and all the other things men are very useful for.

RS: I read somewhere that you never go on holiday? Is that right?

SG: I really hate the idea of work/life balance.

RS: Whoah! Why?

SG: Because it implies that work is something unpleasant. I know for a large number of people that may be the case. But how much better is it if we can enjoy our work and find something we are passionate about? I’m not going on holiday this summer. I hate beaches. What do you do on them? Swim, sit, then what? I don’t cook. I don’t garden. I really don’t understand this notion of ‘chilling’. It sounds like you are a bottle of wine or a corpse. If I went on holiday, I’d think my life was not as fulfilling as it should be.

2121: A Tale from the Next Century by Susan Greenfield is out now (Head of Zeus, £14.99)