Internet dependence

Submitted by Feargal on Fri, 11/02/2011 - 00:37
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Society  is becoming too dependent on technology - especially with the move towards cloud computing and storing everything on a system that you don't control. What happens if these systems crash?

WikiLeaks has shown how damaging information getting out can be, but what about private information stored on other databases.

This is a problem that can only be solved by people thinking carefully about how they use technology.

This is a a final version
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Submitted by timdavies on Fri, 18/02/2011 - 12:35.

Do you think the solution is

Do you think the solution is for us not to use technology? Or to make sure we've got good backups systems and skills in place? 

I think your comment raises two different concerns: (1) how much we rely on techology (and it's worth remembering it's not just digital technology we rely on - there are all sorts of other 'technologies' we're using lots; and (2) who controls our information and technology.

For the first one, you might want to look at policy areas around 'cyber security' and 'resiliency'.

For the second one, there are some key Internet Governance issues. I'm also reminded of Jonathan Zittrain's book 'The Future of the Internet and How to Stop It' which you can download from his website. This talks about the importance of keeping control of our computers at the edge of the Internet network to keep the 'generativity' of the system - the ability for us to be in creative control of our digital lives...