Why Augment our Space

Augmented spaces are everywhere today, and only the most remote regions of the world exists without some from of technological, or more specifically, cyberspace enhancement. Why does the world feel a need to augment the space around them so much? Quite simply I believe it is because as humans we seek to make our lives easier, but also to make the world itself easier to reach. Augmented space isn't a bad thing, nor is it a new phenomenon as Lev Manovich pointed out in his article. Just look at someone like Hawkings for example, who is capable of so much more because he exists in an augmented space. We live more and more in a world that is existing less on paper and more in cyberspace, or "cell space" for one example of many. Today, bank transfers no longer need to be done in person at the teller, or even at the bank machine. Money can be transferred by phone, Internet, e-mail. A friend of mine receives numerous e-mail money transfers from her parents back home. GPS locators, Google maps street views, online booking and work are all aspects of societies existence in an augmented space.
Technology now has the ability to enhance a space simply through its presence. Manovich uses the example of an audio tour and I find this to be an excellent example. When I was in San Francisco over the summer I took the ferry trip out to Alcatraz island and was able to take an audio tour of the inside of the penitentiary. This simple device of offering audio guidance from previous residences of the island added an extra layer to the experience of the island. I was made aware of little details that I would not have noticed on my own, and the different voices relaying their experience humanized the prison. It was different to hear the voices of people who had lived there, rather than just see their faces. The audio tour enhanced my experience.
In the 21rst century we like to see ourselves as a world about the world. All of the new available technologies enhance the world around us and bring us closer together, making the far reaches of the planet closer, just a mouse click away, or the touch of a button. Technology has permanently integrated itself into our lives, and it serves not only to facilitate life, but to act as an information medium between settings, objects, ideas, etc and us, the curious beholder.
Spaces are augmented because of the availability of technology at any given time at any given location. A walk in the forest can become a guided tour of the different types of trees and their habitats simply because the technology to recieve such information is available. The world is being cinstructed with numerous labels and layers, offering more information, and more options through technology.