julian assange makes an excellent point - pervasive surveillance allows the elite to lift off from it's people; to disconnect; to be able to predict and thereby control an orwellian totalitarian construct...
i think yevgeny morozov has important things to say. as he points out - a lot of techno-utopianism is about gadgets and their capability and less about the human condition. just as the internet empowers people with information; it empowers powerful organizations (e.g. governments and corporations) far more. another interesting thought is that digital media virtualizes dissent - so instead of doing something real about oppression, people go online and tweet instead - this makes societal dissonance more manageable for the authorities.
clearly, alongside the rise of technology, we need to be vigilant about poverty, human rights, human autonomy and strict checks on the power of organizations. all authority must loop back to the most common people - as long as there is elitism, there will be dissonance...
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