“You’re already a walking sensor platform… You are aware of the fact that somebody can know where you are at all times because you carry a mobile device, even if that mobile device is turned off. You know this, I hope? Yes? Well, you should… Since you can’t connect dots you don’t have, it drives us into a mode of, we fundamentally try to collect everything and hang on to it forever… It is really very nearly within our grasp to be able to compute on all human generated information.”
Ira “Gus” Hunt, CIA Chief Technology Officer [1]
Google as God? Opportunities and Risks of the Information Age
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“Innovation requires the protection of minorities and new ideas. It is an engine of the economy. Social diversity also promotes happiness, social well-being, and the ability of our society to recover from shocks (the “resilience”).
Social diversity must be protected just as much as biodiversity. Today, however, the Internet recommends us opinions, books, music and movies. This, however, undermines the principle of the “wisdom of crowds” and collective intelligence. Why should a company decide what is good for us? Why can we not choose the recommendation algorithms ourselves? Why do we not get access to the data?
Yes, I also recognize that our world is becoming more unstable – particularly because of its increasing interconnectivity and interdependence, which can lead to cascading effects, and hence to extreme events. But surveillance, combined with the suppression of people or undesired behaviors, is not a sustainable solution.
An Alternative Vision of the Information Age
But what then? Is there an alternative to the omniscient almighty state that matches our ethical values? An alternative that can create cultural and economic prosperity? Absolutely! Our society and economy are currently undergoing a fundamental transformation. Global networking creates increasing complexity and instability. But strongly variable, highly complex systems cannot be properly managed by planning, optimization and top-down control. This calls for a fundamental paradigm shift.”
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http://www.futurict.eu/news/google-god-opportunities-and-risks-information-age-dirk-helbing
by Dirk Helbing (ETH Zurich)
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