Lanier pens a Jeremiad against the whole panoply of stuff we associate with Web 2.0, notably the 'wisdom' of the mobs, free culture, open source, etc. etc. It's a fascinating, fun book, incredibly quotable. If I wasn't reading a library copy (I need to buy one), most every page would have multiple underlinings in it. Sometimes he tilts at straw menu, but that's part of the genre and necessary for him to make his point. Smart, sobering, provocative. Very enjoyable and very important. ( )

Some excellent ideas here. Unfortunately for me, a lot of it went over my head. ( )

People either love or hate Jaron; while I am one of the rare cases that find him both interesting and intermittently right and wrong about different ideas. This book is a must read for those of us that believe in the perfection of current digital technology, and while Jaron seems to see half-empty glasses, his ideas are challenges that deserve serious consideration.
Overall things are always more complicated than you can convey in a book so I would also not take this book as the last word on the subject, but I would hope that in particular people that dream about technologically enabled perfect futures would take into consideration its strongest critics and address these ideas in their scenarios.
The writing organisation is always a bit difficult to organise, it's an unsystematic critique, that is just a step above being a rant. If Jaron would set his attack in a well organised bottom-up manner, we might find less emotive responses to his critique and more productive engagement with these issues. ( )

Sometimes this book is a little hard to read if you've never heard of words like "neotony" or "juvenilia" or "Cephalopods." That's ok. I like to learn new words. And I like Lanier's brand of humanism. It's a refreshing antidote to Silicon Valley snuff. ( )

I've checked this book out of the library three times and have yet to finish it. This most recent time, I did not even crack it open, even though I had an inordinate amount of free time for one reason or another. I think the reason really boils down to this - it's not well written. On top of that, it's boring.

I think the ideas that Mr. Lanier brings up are interesting enough. The thought that current technology is affecting how people interact with each other and the world and perhaps even how they think is getting wide attention. But that is probably the book's problem. It needs to stand out in a sea of similar speculation. But all that this book has to offer is speculation. It's a series of disjointed anecdotes and observations by the author - an extended opinion essay. I made it almost half way through the book and I do not remember being offered a shred of substantive supporting science for the allegations being made.

And did I mention it was boring? It's almost as if the author expects the reader to pay attention and put up with any and all rambling simply because he is such an interesting person. Sorry. This book goes back to the library again, this time for good. I think I know where I saw an 'executive summary' of it. Maybe I'll make it through that. ( )

I enjoyed the content, the idea, and the thoughts, but the application is a bit lacking in his arguments. I agree with his points, but as a general 'Manifesto' it drives the point well. ( )

I saw the author speak at UNCW about 12 years ago and noted in my journal that he gave an interesting talk and the only thing I went into detail was about his enthusiasm about cuttlefish and how that best we can do as humans is to be like them. This book isn't all about that, but he does throw in a mention of the amazing cuttlefish. ( )

eye opening read. one of those books that makes you think why didn't i think of that before. and then i get to the bit where he does write about something i thought about recently. its always great when somebody else backs up your own theory's. this book backed up some of my theory's and opened my eyes to many many more possibilities and pathways that technology may be headed down, but doesn't necessarily have to. ( )

A fairly thoughtful book on tech policy-related issues, but I think Neil Postman does this better. Lanier is too pessimistic in his assessment of the "mob mentality" of the Internet, but makes some valid cautionary points. He also overreaches in his criticism of the Open Source Software (OSS) movement, and doesn't seem to me to have enough appreciation for the true cultural value of Linux and other projects. That's unfortunate, because Lanier moves on to denigrate modern culture as "retro", but fails to note how subjective critiques like his can be. For these reasons and more, I found his attack on social networking and digital advertising pretty unpersuasive. This is still a good book to read for diehard geeks or those in tech policy positions in government-- it may provoke thought, even if Lanier's conclusions prove unsatisfying. ( )

19

Mente colmena-- crowdwisdom. Wikipedia-- consenso=desparición de autoria/individualidad--- dilución de la individualidad, creando un conocimiento suprahumano.

Totalitarismo cibernetico.

Sistema TEd Nelson -- pago canon directo al autor por cada acceso a productos de creación individual accesibles en la red.
" La expresión creativa en la red se beneficiaría de un contrato social que imponga un modesto grado de escasez artificial a la información"
"nunca dejamos constancia del verdadero coste de la existencia del dinero porque la mayoria de nosotros aportamos tiempo voluntario para mantener el contrato social que da su valor al dinero. Nadie te paga el tiempo que te tomas a diario para asegurarte de que llevas dinero en la cartera o para pagar las facturas... o por el tiempo que pasas preocupandote por todo. Si ese tiempo fuera reembolsado, el dinero se volveria una herramienta demasiado cara para una sociedad"

" El material más original que existe gratis en la red abierta se parece, con demasiada frecuencia, al material más barato del mundo del copyright real, asediado y pasado de moda. Es un desfile interminable de noticias raras, estúpdos trucos de mascotas y vídeos caseros grabados"
Habida cuenta que la red está matando a los antiguos medios, nos enfrentamos a una situación en la que la cultura se está comiendo efectivamente su propia provision de semillas

-thinkquest// wikipedfia
-ideologia de colmena
-el sentido del olfato como irreproducible por IA
-morphing (como transformador cognocitivo) como pulpos IA* gadgets=comunicación postsimbólica ( )

*the ineffable sound of my entire being repeatedly smashed against a desk* ( )

An insider, one of the creaters of virtural reality, and musician presents his concerns about the price that our Singularity/2.0 world is taking on the idea of personhood. The notes that sites like facebook, twitter, and their like subvert an individual viewpoint for the belife that the many can out think the one. He points out the lack of creativity that comes from tools like Wikipedia and the way that the web induces nastyness out of normal everyday people. I think that his criticism are important, but his presentation could have used a tightening up at the end. Still, a thought-provoking book. ( )

Some interesting observations here, don't agree with it all (especially his rant about modern music, and his seemingly almost complete ignorance of electronic music) but he's on to a couple of things in terms of how culture is not catching up with technology. Have to admit much of this, especially near the end went way over my head and the short sections aren't my ideal way to read but an interesting book nonetheless. ( )

Jaron Lanier is perhaps a rarity: a techno-enthusiast who is also sceptical about the path along which technology is taking us. As a pioneer in the field of virtual reality, and with tech credentials as long as your arm, Lanier is well placed to comment on this. He has been around long enough to see tech trends come and go, and lived through not a few false dawns - his own early efforts in VR among them. He is therefore critical of what he has come to see as the naive enthusiasm of tech pioneers, who are often more concerned with whether they can than how best they should. From operating systems to social media, the tech we use is often designed not with human experience and usefulness in mind, as technological practicality and efficacy. If people are more easily processed as chunks of information that distort and restrict their natural human qualities, then so be it. Tech doesn't serve people; people serve tech - which in turn serves business, the concerns of politics and governance (q.v. Snowden, Cambridge Analytica, and so on).

Lanier is also refreshingly sceptical on the question of AI and consciousness. Unlike many in the tech field, Lanier pours scorn on the idea that computers can be conscious, accusing his colleagues of naive and philosophically illiterate chauvinism (something I can get behind!). And it is here that Lanier's theme comes together: we are not machines, and we shouldn't be tempted by that view simply because it makes it easier to conceptualise. Technological or computational feasibility shouldn't determine what we are or how we behave; the horse is driving the cart.

Gareth Southwell is a philosopher, writer and illustrator.

This book was such a disappointment - there was so much in it I agreed with, so many good and thought-provoking ideas, but - the style of writing was awful. Condescending, so 'everyone else is using the internet wrong, un enlightened chumps', so holier-than-thou, that I couldn't stand it.

And it seems women have nothing to do with the internet, had nothing to do with the development of the internet, no women.

I couldn't finish it, it annoyed me so much. ( )

Didn’t hold up to a re-read.

Jaron has some interesting thoughts, and I share his broad pessimism, but this reads like a series of fragmentary blog posts and anecdotes. which is a bit funny, considering his beef with fragmentary modes of communication. ( )

There is a lot of good food for thought in this book. I disagree with many of his assumptions and conclusions, and his style comes off as a bit whiny, but he also makes you pause and reconsider some of your own assumptions, and he gives voice to some concerns I have about Internet culture which many others seem to miss completely. Overall, whether you agree with any of his arguments or not, reading this book will make you smarter. It will force you to think about the dominant ideologies and goals of Internet culture and how they align with your own. ( )

A slightly difficult-to-read manifesto about the necessity of considering the relative youth of technology and how many of its systems and conventions are the product of a single designer creating a program a long time ago. Are these the conventions (like online anonymity, for instance) which we should accept wholesale as foregone conclusions?

The author is an insider and writes as one, so the language at times can be jargony and presumptive. The sections about music clearly underscore his passion for music and what he perceives to be technology's shortcomings as both a replicator and purveyor of music. That said, it raises lots of interesting questions about our laxity towards overall standards & norms in technology. Alas, I could not complete this title, as it was too long overdue at the Library.

( )

A slightly difficult-to-read manifesto about the necessity of considering the relative youth of technology and how many of its systems and conventions are the product of a single designer creating a program a long time ago. Are these the conventions (like online anonymity, for instance) which we should accept wholesale as foregone conclusions?

The author is an insider and writes as one, so the language at times can be jargony and presumptive. The sections about music clearly underscore his passion for music and what he perceives to be technology's shortcomings as both a replicator and purveyor of music. That said, it raises lots of interesting questions about our laxity towards overall standards & norms in technology. Alas, I could not complete this title, as it was too long overdue at the Library.

( )

A critique of the technophilic attraction for the hive mind and piracy of artists's and writers' works by a technophile. ( )

Some excellent ideas here. Unfortunately for me, a lot of it went over my head. ( )

Very penetrating analysis of the negative (and positive) ways computers and technology affect our perceptions of our humanity, identity and values. ( )

Only read half of this ( don't like Lanier ) ( )

Hm. So I loved Jaron's talk at SXSW this year -- it's why I bought this book in the first place. Jaron's clearly a very smart and thoughtful guy and I appreciated hearing his concerns about how our digitally-mediated culture might cause us problems as people. That's what the first half of this book is about: How lock-in works and why it might be bad if people begin to believe their Facebook pages and think of themselves as selections on a pull-down list or nodes in the collective digital consciousness. I agree with Jaron -- there are many questions that need to be asked about how digital social tools will integrate with our culture. And many of these questions aren't being properly asked. The first half of the book does a great job of opening up discussion. I don't always agree with Jaron's answers, but I appreciate his questions.

The second half of the book, sadly, gets weird. He spends a lot of effort complaining about the state of modern music as being largely derivative and non-innovative -- something which I totally, totally disagree with. My personal story as a musician is totally enabled by the internet and digital culture, so I am not willing to dismiss what's been going on in the past ten-or-twenty years in the world of music. He later, then veers off into discussions of virtual reality -- which is mildly interesting but also seems kind of weirdly dated and off-topic from the rest of the book.

Anyway, the first half is definitely worth a read. ( )

I tend to align myself with many of those that Lanier directly criticizes, but I found a lot that is valuable in this book. I was a little disappointed that Lanier's arguments hadn't taken into account the responses to his digital Maoism essay but that disappointment was greatly outweighed by a very excellent book.

While I do not buy into Lanier's negative arguments, I do buy into his positive arguments for humanism and that we can control the direction that technology grows in. I wouldn't have thought myself to be a technological determinist, but Lanier's line of reasoning about lowering our standards of humanity and intelligence in order to make machines seem more human.

While I don't blame Lessig, Shirky, or the fine minds at the Berkman Center for dehumanizing technology, I do buy the idea that we can infuse our technological choices w/ our deepest values and affect the outcome. ( )