Name: You Are Not a Gadget
Rating: 3.8 (22 reviews)
Author: Jaron Lanier

What’s in it for me? Learn how the internet is undermining human creativity and individuality.

Many of us believe that technology is always a force for good, driving our species to ever higher heights. And we may think that the internet is the greatest of all inventions in this tradition: a technology that allows us to share and spread information and creativity across borders – and all this for almost no cost. No longer do we have to save up to buy that album or that new book: we can simply source it online for free.

But has anyone ever thought of the potential downsides?

Has anyone thought of the producers of content? How exactly do they survive in an environment where they don't get paid?

And how do they feel about their work being constantly cut up into fragments and mixed together in mash-ups and viral videos? Do you think they appreciate their hard work being transformed in this way?

These blinks outline

the downsides of our technology and internet worship, explaining why Londoners still have to go to work in cramped, overheated subway cars;
why the new trend of crowd-sourced material could lead to a totalitarian state like North Korea; and
why the development of robots and the internet could send us all back to a state of serfdom – except for the technology lords, of course.

Technology can get stuck in its initial design and hamper future innovation.

In the early 1980s, inventors created technology for electronically expressing musical notes. It was called MIDI. Very quickly this development became incredibly popular, and was used to create the sound interfaces in a wide range of computers and electronic musical instruments.

But as technology moved on and people tried to update the MIDI system, they ran into a major problem. MIDI’s initial popularity meant it had been included in so many technologies that modifying it would require changing the way all those technologies worked – including the music systems used in computers across the world.

In other words, MIDI had become locked in – so enduringly so, in fact, that we still use it today!

This locked-in problem is common: the inflexible initial design of a technology becomes widespread, which limits future developments.

And the initial design is more often than not imperfect, as it is often the product of chance, the technological limits of the time or whatever solution the inventor found easiest.

The downsides of locked-in products are greater when the initial design involves a large and complex system.

This is because the more complex a system is, the more interconnected parts it will have – which will all need altering as technology improves.

For example, the London Underground was constructed with the limited technology of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. One result of these technological limits is the Underground’s narrow railroad tunnels.

These narrow tunnels now cause many problems: for example, they are too slim to allow air conditioning units to be placed in trains.

And because of the sheer size and complexity of the system, its multiple stations, lines and miles of track, it is logistically impossible to widen the tunnels – so Londoners’ daily journeys remain uncomfortable to this day.

Our tendency to worship the power of technology causes us to devalue human individuality.

As you know, the internet contains billions of pieces of information, scattered all over the chaos of the web. But some believe it won’t be long before we create technology capable of collecting all these pieces together – into a single form of ultimate wisdom!

And if this singularity happens, it will signpost the moment when human knowledge is surpassed by computer intelligence.

The internet’s open culture turns original works into interchangeable segments – with no regard for the original author.

These days, almost everyone has a favorite online mash-up – a blending together of parts of separate songs or videos. But did you ever stop to think about the original works from which they were created? Probably not.

This disregard for originality is a consequence of the internet’s design, which treats unique content created by individuals as interchangeable bits of a greater whole. This phenomenon is known as free culture, where all information and media is free to be edited and repackaged by others – and it changes the way content is consumed.

Today the merits of collective intelligence are erroneously valued above those of individuals.

We’ve all seen it before: someone has taken a scene from our favorite movie, and spliced it together with a video of a cute cat. Pretty cool, right?

Maybe not.

Online anonymity creates an unconstructive and unfriendly environment that encourages mob behavior.

Nearly everyone familiar with YouTube comments has encountered the unlimited negativity of trolls – people who deliberately start arguments or upset people – and the often mob-like mentality that governs the “conversation.”

But why exactly does this type of behavior happen online? Could it be the result of natural human tendencies?

The internet’s design only benefits consumers and companies like Facebook and Google – not the content creators.

So we have seen who loses out because of the almost limitless availability of content on the internet, but who benefits?

The main beneficiaries are those who own websites that direct users to content, like Google or Facebook.

Crowd-sourcing information and content can be risky, and devalues creativity.

As we have the seen, in the modern world the collective is more important than the individual.

Many businesses, from content providers to financial traders have learned this, and try to use it to their advantage.

As new technology replaces more jobs, society could split into a wealthy, technology-owning minority, and a poor majority.

From the invention of the wheel to the advent of smartphones, technology has been harnessed to make people’s lives easier.

For example, before the Industrial Revolution, slaves and near-slave manual laborers handled the brunt of the work.

It’s not too late to promote better technology that will protect human intelligence and individuality.

Many of us were born before the advent of the internet. This means that the web and other technologies are still young and malleable – which allows us to change technology to maintain and promote the values of human intelligence and individuality.

The best way to do this is to make sure people are able to create unique and original works by ensuring that their intellectual property is protected.

Zusammenfassung von You Are Not a Gadget

You Are Not a Gadget
in 9 Kernaussagen verstehen

What’s in it for me? Learn how the internet is undermining human creativity and individuality.

Technology can get stuck in its initial design and hamper future innovation.

Our tendency to worship the power of technology causes us to devalue human individuality.

The internet’s open culture turns original works into interchangeable segments – with no regard for the original author.

Today the merits of collective intelligence are erroneously valued above those of individuals.

Online anonymity creates an unconstructive and unfriendly environment that encourages mob behavior.

The internet’s design only benefits consumers and companies like Facebook and Google – not the content creators.

Crowd-sourcing information and content can be risky, and devalues creativity.

As new technology replaces more jobs, society could split into a wealthy, technology-owning minority, and a poor majority.

It’s not too late to promote better technology that will protect human intelligence and individuality.

Kernaussagen in You Are Not a Gadget

Einleitung

Technology can get stuck in its initial design and hamper future innovation.

Our tendency to worship the power of technology causes us to devalue human individuality.

The internet’s open culture turns original works into interchangeable segments – with no regard for the original author.

Today the merits of collective intelligence are erroneously valued above those of individuals.

Online anonymity creates an unconstructive and unfriendly environment that encourages mob behavior.

The internet’s design only benefits consumers and companies like Facebook and Google – not the content creators.

Crowd-sourcing information and content can be risky, and devalues creativity.

As new technology replaces more jobs, society could split into a wealthy, technology-owning minority, and a poor majority.

It’s not too late to promote better technology that will protect human intelligence and individuality.

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Zusammenfassung von You Are Not a Gadget

You Are Not a Gadget in 9 Kernaussagen verstehen

What’s in it for me? Learn how the internet is undermining human creativity and individuality.

Technology can get stuck in its initial design and hamper future innovation.

Our tendency to worship the power of technology causes us to devalue human individuality.

The internet’s open culture turns original works into interchangeable segments – with no regard for the original author.

Today the merits of collective intelligence are erroneously valued above those of individuals.

Online anonymity creates an unconstructive and unfriendly environment that encourages mob behavior.

The internet’s design only benefits consumers and companies like Facebook and Google – not the content creators.

Crowd-sourcing information and content can be risky, and devalues creativity.

As new technology replaces more jobs, society could split into a wealthy, technology-owning minority, and a poor majority.

It’s not too late to promote better technology that will protect human intelligence and individuality.

Kernaussagen in You Are Not a Gadget

Einleitung

Technology can get stuck in its initial design and hamper future innovation.

Our tendency to worship the power of technology causes us to devalue human individuality.

The internet’s open culture turns original works into interchangeable segments – with no regard for the original author.

Today the merits of collective intelligence are erroneously valued above those of individuals.

Online anonymity creates an unconstructive and unfriendly environment that encourages mob behavior.

The internet’s design only benefits consumers and companies like Facebook and Google – not the content creators.

Crowd-sourcing information and content can be risky, and devalues creativity.

As new technology replaces more jobs, society could split into a wealthy, technology-owning minority, and a poor majority.

It’s not too late to promote better technology that will protect human intelligence and individuality.

Worum geht es in You Are Not a Gadget?

Wer You Are Not a Gadget lesen sollte

Über den Autor

Kategorien mit You Are Not a Gadget

Ähnlich wie You Are Not a Gadget

Leute mochten auch

Entdecke den Blinkist Katalog

Beliebte Titel

Meistgeklickte Kategorien

Beliebte Themen

Angesagte Themen

Ausgewählte Titel

You Are Not a Gadget
in 9 Kernaussagen verstehen