[lac-discuss-en] Texting Toward Utopia - Does the Internet spread democracy?

[Carlton Samuels]

Dear Omar:
Yes, well worth reading.  Thanks for sharing.

I teach Information Science at university-level and I always tell my
students that they should always remember that information technology,
especially the developments in social networking, are mere tools to be
utilized.

In the final analysis, these tools still require an enabling environment to
be productive.

I do not agree with the author that the Internet drives us to political
extremism.  Birds of a feather have always flocked together.  So all the
Internet does is accommodate easier "flocking" and with this, more sharing
of information thus leading to a deeper understanding of the shared
condition or presumption.

I would argue that the Internet as a collection of technology tools drives
the idea that some principles embedded in culture and by acculturation could
do with some re-visioning and updating.  In some common law jurisdictions,
for example, the Evidence Act has been transformed to account for inclusion
and handling of digital information, thereby driving changes in cross-border
evidence collection and criminal procedures.  So too, the discovery
process.

To me it is clear that what these tools deliver on the ability to
collaborate and harness the wisdom [and yes, the absolute stupidity,
depending!] of the crowd.  They undermine the fundamentals of what could be
termed the economics of "means" in furtherance of a specific outcome  much
more profoundly than anything else to date.  And in the context of
democracy, these enable disruptive messaging, exemplifying the changes to
the existing political economy and the gravamen of Cass Sunstein's
complaint.

Kind regards,
Carlton Samuels
The University of the West Indies



On Sun, Apr 12, 2009 at 7:06 PM, Omar Kaminski <omar at kaminski.adv.br> wrote:

> http://bostonreview.net/BR34.2/morozov.php
> Worth reading. Happy Eastern!
>
> Omar
>
>