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I read a couple of good books recently, and wanted to share them and do some writing to collect my thoughts on a subject that is currently of news-worthy relevance and of particular interest to "Soylentils". Enjoy, and I look forward to the discussion!
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Book(s) Review: "Technopoly" and "You Are Not a Gadget"
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You are a fluke of the universe; you have no right to be here.
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Monday May 08 2017, @03:20PM
We're all familiar with Open Source, so it's surprising that it and its philosophy aren't looming larger in this discussion. Open Source contributors love the thing itself. They are motivated by something deeper and much better than money. That is a revolutionary idea and an existential threat to capitalism as it exists now: that people should do something meaningful and productive for free, and then enable millions of others to benefit from it.
Wags will point out that Apple, MicroSoft, and many other software companies still make billions of dollars. That is because they have spent billions on propaganda to scare laymen about the dangers of open source software. Part of it, too, is social lag. Regular people going about their lives don't have the time or context to understand the issues, so they have to wait until they seep in from the sides and they steep in it a long while before they come to understand it on a visceral level. But the day is not far off when FLOSS will win; Over the 20 years I've been using Linux I've seen a dramatic change--non-technical people around me, people I didn't convert to FLOSS, run Linux now.
Beyond software, too, I see a similar progression. The Maker movement exemplifies it. People are returning to the practice of creating technology instead of outsourcing it all to some company. But, again, it's early days and there is a lag to overcome. The day the person manufactures the applicance he needs with his home additive manufacturing setup is far off, but it will come because the advantages are too clear to ignore.
There is a lot of trepidation now about technological progress because thus far companies have had the first-mover advantage. They have used technology as a means to concentrate wealth and control others. As barriers to entry of technological production, though, have crashed into the basement it has become possible for regular people everywhere to build what they want, when they want.
So I'd agree with the premise that technology is not an end, but a tool. It has been used to oppress, but we can also use it to liberate. There are geeks and makers out there who are working to disintermediate corporations and increase human freedom. We should all join them.
Washington DC delenda est.