Innovation

De informatierevolutie staat nog in de kinderschoenen

Jun 15, 2018 Joseph S. Nye, Jr.

CAMBRIDGE – Er wordt vaak gezegd dat we een informatierevolutie beleven. Maar wat betekent dit, en waar leidt die revolutie ons heen?

Informatierevoluties zijn niet nieuw. In 1439 gaf de drukpers van Johannes Gutenberg de aanzet tot het tijdperk van de massacommunicatie. Onze huidige revolutie, die in de jaren zestig in Silicon Valley van start is gegaan, is verbonden met de Wet van Moore: het aantal transistoren op een computerchip verdubbelt iedere paar jaar.

Aan het begin van de 21^e eeuw kostte computerkracht een duizendste van wat het begin jaren zeventig kostte. Nu verbindt het internet vrijwel alles met elkaar. Halverwege 1993 waren er in de hele wereld ongeveer 130 websites; tegen 2000 was dat aantal de 15 miljoen gepasseerd. Vandaag de dag zijn er ruim 3,5 miljard mensen online; deskundigen voorspellen dat het “Internet of Things” in 2020 20 miljard apparaten met elkaar zal verbinden. Onze informatierevolutie staat nog in de kinderschoenen.

To continue reading, register now.

Subscribe now for unlimited access to everything PS has to offer.

As a registered user, you can enjoy more PS content every month – for free.

Already have an account? Log in

Subscribe to PS Digital

Access every new PS commentary, our entire On Point suite of subscriber-exclusive content – including Longer Reads, Insider Interviews, Big Picture/Big Question, and Say More – and the full PS archive.

Subscribe Now

new comment has been posted. new comments have been posted.

0 Comments on this paragraph, 5 Comments on this article

j. von Hettlingen Jun 18, 2018

Joseph S. Nye says although the information revolution started already in the 1960s, it is “still in its infancy.” In the course of these five decades the number of sites and users has seen a millionfold increase, while the cost of transmitting and storing information has fallen spectacularly. As the barriers to entry falls, computer technology has become widely accessible. At the onset of the revolution, people were wary of “ centralized control” depicted in George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984. As a result of mobility, today, they “eagerly” carry “Big Brother” around with them everywhere.
The author points out the dilemma that our digital world is grappling with: “When people are overwhelmed by the volume of information confronting them, it is hard to know what to focus on. Attention, not information, becomes the scarce resource.” This helps create a “paradox of plenty,” pitting a wealth of information against a poverty of attention, without the ability to allocate that attention efficiently among the overabundance of data that needs to be consumed and digested.
Throughout history people have always worried about new technologies. They fear that the human brain cannot cope with the onslaught of data and information made available – from printing press to computer. Just as the American analyst John Arquilla has pointed out, “in today’s global information age, victory often depends not on whose army wins, but on whose story wins.” Military hardware “doesn’t provide much help on the internet.” This triggers a fierce contest for distracting or capturing people’s attention.
The human attention system is complicated – there’s a conscious aspect that enables us to direct our attention, and an unconscious aspect that shifts attention towards anything our senses pick up that might be significant. These neurological findings have long been abused for propaganda purposes in an information warfare. It is a nefarious game that deprives people of their ability to filter out lies, fake news or misinformation in order to translate facts and data into knowledge.
No doubt “information provides power, and more people have access to more information than ever before, for good and for ill.” As the internet provides a very quick and effective means of communication and enables interactions between vast numbers of people over great distances, it has also become a double-edged sword, that serves both state actors and non-state actors “ranging from large corporations and non-profit organizations to criminals, terrorists, and informal ad hoc groups.”
With social media becoming “ubiquitous” and a “transnational” tool to be reckoned with, rogues and authoritarian regimes exploit the “opportunities for manipulation.” Russia’s meddling in the 2016 election that helped elect Trump, the Brexit referendum as well as other European elections, show the flipside of technological innovation, which is being abused for political ends. China is perfecting a vast network of digital espionage as a means of social control. A “citizen score” had been created to rate someone’s loyalty and trustworthiness, which could be the person’s permanent companion.
The author says, “Europe has tried to establish rules for privacy protection with its new General Data Protection Regulation, but its success is still uncertain.” Under the GDPR provisons, which came into play on May 25, any individual located in Europe can ask anyone or any company for the data it has on him/her – and that includes employer. If the company deletes any of the data to prevent disclosure after the subject access request is made, it can be liable for criminal sanctions. Companies baulk at the idea, saying the process is resource intensive.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
Michael Public Jun 17, 2018

You are quite right. The thing is you are about the last person to realize this. China has already set its primary goal to be the World leader in every field of Ai by 2030 and the top five us corps have declared themselves to be ai first companies.
A new reply to this comment has been posted.
P. Kamath Jun 15, 2018

It is common knowledge to most people that , it would be insane to believe that one could put brakes on explosion of knowledge and its practical use. It is all in the hands of man{ or woman} to practice wisdom so that products are put to proper use! Ex: knowledge about nuclear technology or ordinary explosives, or say pesticides etc...
The computer revolution is a boon to mankind when put to good use!
A new reply to this comment has been posted.

https://prosyn.org/qQ6aZeTnl

De informatierevolutie staat nog in de kinderschoenen

Subscribe to PS Digital

New Comment

Contact us

Handpicked to read next

Facebook and the Future of Online Privacy

Log in/Register

De informatierevolutie staat nog in de kinderschoenen

Subscribe to PS Digital

Handpicked to read next

Edit Newsletter Preferences

Set up Notification