What follows is not literally @doctorow's words, but rather the ideas as they appear refracted through my memory and further reflection.
-
-
Prikaži ovu nit
-
He reminded us of what was by then becoming Silicon Valley conventional wisdom, almost certainly correct, that software is eating the world.
Prikaži ovu nit -
That is, over time, more & more of the objects & systems in our world are having a software layer added. We no longer directly control them; rather their behaviour is mediated. This gives us extra capabilities, but also means a loss of control, ceding it to the software layer
Prikaži ovu nit -
You know the story: books are becoming mediated by a software layer. Cars are being mediated by a software layer. Home appliances. Even our bodies.
Prikaži ovu nit -
So too at a higher level, the systems that run our world: housing, transit, conversation (hi
@jack! ), democracy, and almost every other human system.Prikaži ovu nit -
Eventually it seems likely that everything from the tiniest objects to the largest systems will be mediated by a complex ecology of software.
Prikaži ovu nit -
What
@doctorow pointed out is that that mediation layer is an absolute, full-on battleground. It's a battleground of all the governments of the world. Companies. Not-for-profits. Activists. Black-hat hackers. White-hat hackers. Etcetera etcetera etcetera.pic.twitter.com/jB4qafkxho
Prikaži ovu nit -
Over time, invisible to most users, that battle is becoming fiercer & fiercer & fiercer, as the stakes rise & rise.
Prikaži ovu nit -
And because this mediation layer increasingly runs our lives, it has many of the characteristics of both law and infrastructure. But it's law and infrastructure subject to an increasingly fierce, ongoing, invisible battle by a multitude of interests.
Prikaži ovu nit -
We'll all be subject to the outcomes of that battle in unexpected ways, ways that will be profound, sometimes big and obvious, sometimes very hard to detect until after the fact https://twitter.com/rdonoghue/status/1144011630197522432 …pic.twitter.com/HeJL3Ctmm9
Prikaži ovu nit -
Anyways, I think often of that mediation layer now, and the battle for control, and wonder how it will turn out, and how the outcome can be influenced.
Prikaži ovu nit -
It seems likely that figuring out the principles & protocols of governance for this mediation layer will be one of the great challenges of the 21st century, a challenge much like figuring out the principles underlying, say, the US constitution.
Prikaži ovu nit -
Encouragingly, it seems like wisdom & deep thought can make a big difference. Ideas like freedom of speech, separation of powers, & religious freedom aren't obvious; they were invented by brilliant, humane people. I wonder what similar depth of thought can help achieve today?
Prikaži ovu nit
Kraj razgovora
Novi razgovor -
Čini se da učitavanje traje već neko vrijeme.
Twitter je možda preopterećen ili ima kratkotrajnih poteškoća u radu. Pokušajte ponovno ili potražite dodatne informacije u odjeljku Status Twittera.