[governance] Creatures of the machine?

[Deirdre Williams]

Dear Colleagues,

Following my concern about the apparent discontinuation of webcasts – which
allow us at least to observe what is happening – and remote participation –
which allows us to join in – I have another concern about which I would be
grateful for some feedback.

When we discuss internet governance issues, there seems to be a sense of
“them” and “us”, with “them” being the big bad wolves and “us” being the
innocent and virtuous lambs, incapable of protecting ourselves. There is a
strong feeling that we are helpless in the face of the marauders.  Are we?
Are we incapable of manipulating the truth? (Under 13 year olds wanting
social media accounts don’t seem to feel any constraint) Do we obediently
accept whatever the search engine offers us as “the best option” or even
“the truth”? Can we no longer communicate with family and friends except
via social media? Instead of the machine being our creation have we become
the creatures of the machine?

Surely human beings (currently those in the north and west with access to
the internet) have retained some autonomy, including freedom of conscience
and the right to withhold information, the right to say no?

Deirdre

-- 
“The fundamental cure for poverty is not money but knowledge" Sir William
Arthur Lewis, Nobel Prize Economics, 1979
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