Hyperlink Report: Lanier
For my Hyperlink Report, I chose to dive in a little deeper at one of our earlier readings in the class, You Are Not A Gadget, by Jaron Lanier. Having been made in 2010, this book is very relevant to the discussion of advancements to technology and the effects it has had and potentially will have in the future. While first appreciating technology for its many benefits such as the ability of instant global communication, Lanier then shifts and takes a darker and cautious stance towards the rise of new technology.
In his book, Lanier hits on several issues of technological advancements and I have identified three main outlying subjects in his discourse. The first of which is the idea of the loss of self as our human presence and thoughts will all become digitized and we will lose the ability to make independent creative thoughts. Next he talks on his theory that the power of the internet will not allow anyone to make any money as it was all be controlled by a couple major corporations as the power of online advertising takes over. And a final subject he discusses is of course, the technological singularity: when artificial intelligence will increase the power of technology so greatly that essentially the computer will be superior to man and it has threatening consequences.
The most interesting arguments and ideas discussed are on the subject of the singularity. And to clarify, Lanier doesn’t outright say the world will be like Terminator in 20 years, but he truly believes we should all fear the potential dangers of artificial intelligence as it becomes harder and harder to control. And he begins by reminding the readers of Moore’s Law and states that “computers have gotten millions of times more powerful, and immensely more common and more connected, since my career began—which was not so very long ago” (Lanier).
He continues to warn us of the rise of super technology as a force we won’t be able to stop once we realize it is dangerous by giving us a metaphor: “It’s as if you kneel to plant a seed of a tree and it grows so fast that it swallows your whole village before you can even rise to your feet” (Lanier). In this quote Lanier suggest we are essentially birthing a world destroyed. We are planting a seed that we think will blossom into a beautiful tree, but in reality, it will grow so large that its roots will move under our entire world unseen and rip the foundation of lives without us standing a chance. Lanier uses this striking imagery several times and speaks in a very dull, eerie, and almost terrified tone when he discusses the fears of singularity.
Overall, Lanier takes a very dark stance at technology and the new advancements coming as he believes they won’t make the world a better place, but a worse one, if there is even a world left.
