Does the internet actually inhibit, not encourage democracy? In this new RSA Animate adapted from a talk given in 2009, Evgeny Morozov presents an alternative take on 'cyber-utopianism' - the seductive idea that the internet plays a largely emancipatory role in global politics.
Exposing some idealistic myths about freedom and technology (during Iran's 'twitter revolution' fewer than 20,000 Twitter users actually took part), Evgeny argues for some realism about the actual uses and abuses of the internet.
All the concerns mentioned are indeed very realistic but the internet is here to stay, whether we like it or not, so I think we should focus on how to address the negative consequences, while exploring how to get the best out of the positive ones.
ReplyDeleteThe Internet is one more tool which technology provided us with and it is one with infinite possibilities for the better or worse. There is no point wasting energy in understanding if the internet does more good or bad since it's here to stay either way. Instead, our goal should be to make the best use of this tool and encourage others to do the same. That said, I definitely don't mean ignoring all harm done by it but, in contrary, identify it and try to deal with it.
Avoiding and ignoring the existence of new technology only makes us responsible for its negative outcomes surpassing the positive ones.