In reflecting about technologies role and use in the recent protests and uprising in the Middle East, I feel it is important for us to consider the future of the internet in our world. As trends have shown, the internet is quickly becoming a powerful tool for protesters to organize, voice their concerns and educate the world about their struggles. It is also become a tool that governments, companies and organizations can possibly gain more control over.
In my reflections on these topics, I came across three articles that express the many complex facets of reality and the future of society that the internet can bring.
In the article "Is the Internet God?," Dave Pell, a holocaust survivor comments on his experience visiting a hillside that overlooked a concentration camp. He comments that he is now one of the onlookers on the hill as he watches revolutions and human injustices through his computer screen. He makes an interesting comment, that now, with the entire world having access to events and the ability to watch things, we can ask not how God let this happen, but "how could we let this happen?"
I think the author raises an interesting point as to our moral responsibility around such events concerning human rights and justice now that we have instant access to the information and a front row seat to watching these events unfold thanks to mobile phones, facebook, twitter etc.
The next two articles I found interesting are from the BBC and Scientific American. These pieces look at the other side of internet, the ability of government and corporations to limit people's access and freedom on the world wide web. Both article express concern over the potential ability of governments and corporations access to a kill-switch, like the control of the internet Egypt used in the recent uprising.
In the article, "Long Live the Web: A Call for for Continued Open Standards and Neutrality," Tim Berners-Lee comments on the importance of freedom in the internet and how it is crucial for innovation. He comments that the decentralization of authority for creating a page or link has allowed innovation and will do so in the future. He warns about the possibility of fragmentation of the internet and the possibility of users becoming locked into sites dictated by government or corporations. He comments on the growing trend of apps that take magazines offline and make them only available through the purchase of apps, thus limiting them. Essentially, the article highlights the growing threat control and limit of the internet which poses a threat to human rights everywhere.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2011/02/21/133729314/are-we-ready-to-watch-over-the-world
These articles are particularly interesting on a personal level as seek to enter a career based in social justice and serving others. I think they raise important questions as to how, we as a society should respond to our growing interconnectedness and ability to witness almost instantly injustice around the world. They also raise important questions as to how we should respond to growing limitations on freedom. Many of us, myself included have never really considered the restrictions already at work and the possibility of a government controlled internet. And though our government has condemned restriction of the internet in Egypt and China's restriction of Google, the fact remains that our government also has the ability to follow our internet use, monitor our sites and even possibly restrict our access as well. How do we as a society continue to foster innovation in the face of these threats and continue to uphold our values of human right and dignity with the flood of information and access to the realities of injustice everywhere?
These are two important questions that have been on the forefront of my personal reflections of technology since the recent protest in Egypt and Bahrain and I think they are questions which our generation will be faced with and continue to struggle with long into the future.
Links to articles:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/click_online/9386720.stm
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=long-live-the-web&page=2
Really interesting things to think about. Really good integration of articles!
ReplyDeleteBlog Review/Reflection
ReplyDeleteAfter reading all of your blog posts, I noticed that you efficiently integrated many of the themes being taught in class. One of them was the effect that a reduction in face to face interaction time has had on people’s relationships with others. You’re right, due to the internet and mobile technology people prefer to use Facebook or Skype to communicate with their friends instead of actually going to see them or calling them. You mention that we give something up when we choose to send a text instead of call someone because emotions are not conveyed as well when you are writing as opposed to when you are talking, which is something I agree with. Another thing you mentioned which I found to be extremely interesting was that you said that since the internet makes information available to the world, we have a moral responsibility to help people in oppressive countries because we can see the injustices taking place; we can no longer turn a blind eye. I thought that was a pretty powerful statement. Great Blog!