Flamethrowers and Fire Extinguishers – a review of “The Social Dilemma”
“The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience. Its service is to remove responsibility from the shoulders of everyone who truly believes … Continue reading
Facing Facebook
“Manufacturers and promoters always stress the liberating attributes of new technology, regardless of the specific technology in question.” – Ursula Franklin While sailing through the cold waters of the … Continue reading
“Why don’t you go live in a cave?” – when technophiles cry troglodyte
Someone came to the stones and said: Be human The stones replied: We are not hard enough yet – Erich Fried[i] 1) Regardless of where arguments about the impact … Continue reading
What could go wrong? Another question to ask of new technology
Those who spend a lot of time traveling by airplane steadily grow accustomed to the standard spiel issued by members of the TSA and airline personnel. Yet, recently, a new … Continue reading
Evidently, Democracy Disrupts the Disruptors
Anybody who has been watching the 2016 presidential primaries can attest to the simple fact that voting has consequences. Indeed, voters can propel a figure widely dismissed as “never going … Continue reading
Not Ludd, Just Ludicrous – The Luddite Awards are Absurd
The bestowing of awards often has a rather self-congratulatory aspect. After all, the giving of such honors is an opportunity for an industry to praise itself by touting the fine … Continue reading
Loving Technology – Regardless of the Era (or Error)
Spending an afternoon at a Renaissance Festival presents an individual with the opportunity to indulge in a mythologized version of the past without having to worry about contracting any diseases … Continue reading
On Broken Glass
Depending on one’s personal stance, the news that Google is halting production of its polarizing product Glass is either cause for celebration, disappointment, or – for most people – simply … Continue reading
Warding off General Ludd – The Absurdity of “The Luddite Awards”
Of all the dangers looming over humanity no threat is greater than that posed by the Luddites. If the previous sentence seems absurdly hyperbolic, know that it only seems that … Continue reading
A Threatened Net or a Threatening Net?
The activist and writer Grace Lee Boggs is known for starting conversations and lectures with the following question: “What time is it on the clock of the world?” It may … Continue reading
Who’s Afraid of General Ludd?
When a person – or a group of persons – dares to oppose a new technological development it is inevitable that somebody will call them a “Luddite(s).” The application of … Continue reading
Disrupt Everything! (as long as it’s profitable)
The blaring of the foghorn interrupted the executive’s line of thought. From his seat on the stage the executive’s words turned into mutterings as he looked out on the alternately … Continue reading
Whose Vision of the Future is This?
Lurking in the background of most inquiries into the technologically wrought future is an oft-unasked question regarding who exactly gets to determine the shape this future shall take. From a … Continue reading
…And Starring Technology as Itself!
Consumer electronics and the tech/Internet companies that make those devices perform a sort of double cultural duty in our technological society. On the surface level these companies act as forces … Continue reading
The Car is Moving, but Who’s driving?
Science fiction is a powerful colonizer of the collective imagination. Through it’s cultural tendrils (books, comics, film, television, video games etc…), science fiction is able to supply goals for technologists … Continue reading
To Save Everything Click Here — by Evgeny Morozov — A Book Review
The modern day evangelicals of technology rarely miss an opportunity to proclaim the ways in which a new device or app will solve all of our problems. Such people stand … Continue reading
Facebook Home is not Your Home Away from Home
The plot of a new horror movie is causing quite the tizzy. Here’s an overview (don’t worry, no spoilers): A group of friends are gathered inside a house. They are … Continue reading
The Artifce, the Artificers, and the Art World
Many an artist has known the taste of poverty. Thus, to honestly assess the history of art requires—at least—some recognition of the important role that “patrons of the arts” have … Continue reading
The Specter of General Ludd at SXSW
The SXSW festival, held annually in Austin, Texas, is something of a bacchanal to the new. While many are familiar with the festival for its music and film components it … Continue reading
Through the Google Glass
Did you know that secretly recording somebody is illegal in California? James O’Keefe, the conservative provocateur behind such doctored classics as “ACORN assists in prostitution,” has recently received a pricy … Continue reading
Choosing a New “ism” to Dread
It’s always fun to have a new ism. You can ponder the issues raised by the ism, write a book warning an unaware public about this ism (that you may … Continue reading
7 Questions for New Technology (Part 1)
Our hands have become very full of late. I mean this in a very literal sense. When I ride the subway in the morning it seems that almost every person … Continue reading
Neil Postman’s 6 Questions (+1 from me)
Keeping apace with changes in technology can drive a person mad, especially as the speed of technological shifts seems to be increasing constantly. Indeed that state-of-art piece of shiny tech … Continue reading
“Why elites” don’t care if you “fear the robot.”
Are fears of robots being peddled to the delight of the “elite?” No. They are not. Okay, maybe. But let me rephrase this: “elites” trying to make people “fear the … Continue reading
LibrarianShipwreck 