Re: <nettime> John Naughton on Shoshana Zuboff: 'The goal is to automate us': welcome to the age of surveillance capitalism

[mp <mp@aktivix.org>]

On 25/01/2019 12:39, Patrice Riemens wrote:
> John Naughton
> The Observer/Guardian, Sun 20 Jan 2019
> 
> We’re living through the most profound transformation in our information
> environment since Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of printing in circa
> 1439.

cave paintings, grain as taxable commodity, clay tablets, writing,
alphabet, money as virtual grain - there is much more of a continuity
than specific origins and particular disruptions,

but that aside, yes, linear, alphabetical literacy (whether in books or
server farms) is a killer of imagination and the foundation of social
stratification and skewed power distribution...  books are
ocularcentric, dumbing down things that shifts us out of our ful body
perceptions and into virtual spaces of detachment, just as much as
whatsapp or email

no news there,

but rather than the printing press or algorithms causing this to be a
profound problem or making this shit possible, it's the accumulation of
powers the went before (on the basis of previous information
technologies) that makes 'evil use' possible of those 'new' things,
because it set up class society on the basis of interpretational powers
and use of 'information systems'

yet, still we see well intentioned good hearted people arguing for
schools, books and all that sort of stuff that sustains the elite and
aids the destruction of our habitat..

connect the dots, follow the money...





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