The Resistance: Digital Dissent in the Age of Machines
4/5
()
About this ebook
In the second decade of this new millennium, we are more connected than we have ever been, and digital utopians speak of the new wonders ahead—artificial intelligence and augmented intelligence, a merger of humans and machines, and a coming era of transhumanism that we cannot possibly imagine.
But there are dissenters. They see the rise of a surveillance state. They see personal data turned into a commodity. They see profits swirling to a few huge corporations. They see basic human interactions impaired by gadgetry.
The most apocalyptic thinkers fear that machines will soon escape our control. They believe artificial intelligence will be our most catastrophic invention.
These people do not form a coherent movement. But if they share a common message, it's that technology should serve humans and not the other way around.
Joel Achenbach explores his own relationship with the digital revolution, as well as its future, in this eye-opening, intelligent, and entertaining look at how we connect today.
Joel Achenbach
Joel Achenbach is a reporter for The Washington Post, and the author of six previous books, including The Grand Idea, Captured by Aliens and Why Things Are. He started the Washington Post's first blog, Achenblog, and has worked on the newspaper's national Style magazine and Outlook staffs. He regularly contributes science articles to National Geographic. A native of Gainesville, Florida and a 1982 graduate of Princeton University, he lives in Washington, D.C. with his wife and three children.
Read more from Joel Achenbach
A Hole at the Bottom of the Sea: The Race to Kill the BP Oil Gusher Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5It Looks Like a President Only Smaller: Trailing Campaign 2000 Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe 2016 Contenders: Rand Paul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to The Resistance
Related ebooks
How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Your Happiness Was Hacked: Why Tech Is Winning the Battle to Control Your Brain—and How to Fight Back Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Who Owns the Future? Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Virtually Human: The Promise—and the Peril—of Digital Immortality Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Which Side of History?: How Technology Is Reshaping Democracy and Our Lives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsI Know Who You Are and I Saw What You Did: Social Networks and the Death of Privacy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Evil Robots, Killer Computers, and Other Myths: The Truth About AI and the Future of Humanity Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Darknet: Hollywood's War Against the Digital Generation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rage Inside the Machine: The Prejudice of Algorithms, and How to Stop the Internet Making Bigots of Us All Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/522 Ideas About The Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHacking the Future: Privacy, Identity, and Anonymity on the Web Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tech Panic: Why We Shouldn't Fear Facebook and the Future Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCan we make the Digital World ethical?: A report exploring the dark side of the Internet of Things and Big Data Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHumans Need Not Apply: A Guide to Wealth & Work in the Age of Artificial Intelligence Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Practicing Sovereignty: Digital Involvement in Times of Crises Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5An Artificial Revolution: On Power, Politics and AI Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTechnology vs. Humanity: The Coming Clash Between Man and Machine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Wires of War: Technology and the Global Struggle for Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Epic Struggle of the Internet of Things Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Technology Is Not Neutral: A Short Guide to Technology Ethics Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Big Disconnect: Why the Internet Hasn't Transformed Politics (Yet) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cloud Punk: The Digital Fifth Wave Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsClose to the Machine: Technophilia and Its Discontents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Digital Culture & Society (DCS): Vol. 6, Issue 1/2020 - Alternative Histories in DIY Cultures and Maker Utopias Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAvatar Dreams: Science Fiction Visions of Avatar Technology Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsIs the Internet Changing the Way You Think?: The Net's Impact on Our Minds and Future Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Innovative State: How New Technologies Can Transform Government Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Future: A Recent History Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Internet & Web For You
The $1,000,000 Web Designer Guide: A Practical Guide for Wealth and Freedom as an Online Freelancer Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Logo Brainstorm Book: A Comprehensive Guide for Exploring Design Directions Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beginner's Guide To Starting An Etsy Print-On-Demand Shop Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGrokking Algorithms: An illustrated guide for programmers and other curious people Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How To Make Money Blogging: How I Replaced My Day-Job With My Blog and How You Can Start A Blog Today Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Python QuickStart Guide: The Simplified Beginner's Guide to Python Programming Using Hands-On Projects and Real-World Applications Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCoding All-in-One For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Mega Box: The Ultimate Guide to the Best Free Resources on the Internet Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Coding For Dummies Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Digital Marketing Handbook: A Step-By-Step Guide to Creating Websites That Sell Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Designer's Web Handbook: What You Need to Know to Create for the Web Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCybersecurity For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Everybody Lies: Big Data, New Data, and What the Internet Can Tell Us About Who We Really Are Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5200+ Ways to Protect Your Privacy: Simple Ways to Prevent Hacks and Protect Your Privacy--On and Offline Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHow To Start A Profitable Authority Blog In Under One Hour Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How To Start A Podcast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mike Meyers' CompTIA Security+ Certification Guide, Third Edition (Exam SY0-601) Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Hacking : The Ultimate Comprehensive Step-By-Step Guide to the Basics of Ethical Hacking Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Six Figure Blogging Blueprint Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Social Engineering: The Science of Human Hacking Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Disappear and Live Off the Grid: A CIA Insider's Guide Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Remote/WebCam Notarization : Basic Understanding Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5How to Be Invisible: Protect Your Home, Your Children, Your Assets, and Your Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Podcasting For Dummies Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stop Asking Questions: How to Lead High-Impact Interviews and Learn Anything from Anyone Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5
Reviews for The Resistance
1 rating0 reviews
Book preview
The Resistance - Joel Achenbach
The Resistance:
Digital Dissent in the Age of Machines
Joel Achenbach,
The Washington Post
Copyright
Diversion Books
A Division of Diversion Publishing Corp.
443 Park Avenue South, Suite 1008
New York, NY 10016
www.DiversionBooks.com
Copyright © 2016 by The Washington Post
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
For more information, email info@diversionbooks.com
First Diversion Books edition January 2016
ISBN: 978-1-68230-135-7
Introduction
I’m of the generation that became digital gradually and then suddenly. The personal computer came first, then email, but these were gentle ripples compared to the great crashing wave of the Internet, which sent us tumbling ankles over elbows amid foam and froth. Sure, it’s been great fun. We all love the new technologies, don’t we? I can’t imagine how we used to do our work before the days of laptops, cellphones, Google, GPS, the cloud. One doubts one’s own memory: At my college newspaper did I really write stories on a manual typewriter? Did we really do a lot of our editing with the edge of a ruler (to rip the paper neatly) and a jar of paste? Not plausible!
Now we’re well into the second decade of the new millennium, and this digital revolution is fully part of our reality, our infrastructure, the basic texture of our lives. The digital utopians speak of new wonders ahead—artificial intelligence and augmented intelligence, a merger of humans and machines, and the coming of an era of transhumanism that we cannot possibly imagine.
But there are dissenters. They are getting louder, and more organized. These are people who do not embrace the usual utopian narrative that comes out of Silicon Valley.
They have many objections. They see the rise of a surveillance state. They see personal data turned into a commodity. They see profits swirling to a few huge corporations. They see basic human interactions impaired by gadgetry.
The most apocalyptic thinkers fear that machines could soon escape our control. They believe that artificial intelligence could turn out to be our most catastrophic invention.
These people do not form a coherent movement by any means. But if they share a common message, it’s that technology should serve humans and not the other way around.
In the past year I have tried to understand this shadow Zeitgeist. What came out of this reporting were two stories—we called our package The Resistance
—that explored the resurgent