Framing – The Borg vs. The Inquisition

Jaron Lanier is a provocative writer. His book ‘You Are Not a Gadget’ infuriates me, intrigues me, confuses me but more importantly – makes me think. Of all the readings I have done this semester, this one made me sit the book down mid-sentence and just ponder things. A lot. Here are three things I thought about:

1.) Lanier is probably the first Technologist I’ve read link belief in technological extremity (like the Singularity Theory) to belief in religious extremity (like the Rapture.) Are there other Theorist who are believe – as I do – that Silicon Valley Technologists believe in their unproven ideas so strongly that it amount to a kind of faith? And that they have the potential to do as much damage with computer programs as the European Church did with the Bible?

2.) Because Lanier is clearly knowledgeable and connected to the computer industry, his apocalyptic take on technology is sobering. However, how is his Web 2.0 any different from the printing press, the car, fire or the wheel? Lanier seems to have a fundamental problem with ANY change in humanity that makes us more like our technology, but I wonder if that is a reasonable position to take? Humanity once held all knowledge orally. When we converted to linear, paper-based knowledge, I am sure old, oral knowledge was lost. Since we are still here, was that so bad?

3.) There is a strong preference for individualism in Lanier’s work. Extreme collectivism and ‘sameness’ seems to be one of his biggest fears. The ‘Facebooking’ of websites into uniform looks proves to Lanier that the flavor-filled heyday of the 1990’s is gone. But one, Lanier is crazy if he thinks websites looked better or had more individual taste back then. The sheer slowness of webconnections prevented people from fully expressing their artistic side online. Most websites back then were plain and ugly and chock full of overly scientific examinations by the highly techno saavy, not regular people.

Second, what about entities like WordPress, who allow more average, everyday to build custom sites than every before? And despite Lanier’s criticism, the hive minded web outposts called Wikipedia makes it infinitely easier for regular Joes to learn the markup languages and code that help them further customize their own little web worlds.

We’re not living the Matrix yet, bruh. Relax and enjoy some mindless Youtube vids like the rest of us.