Book description
Who Owns The Future? is the new masterwork from the prophet of
the digital age, Jaron Lanier, author of You Are Not A Gadget.
In the past, a revolution in production, such as the industrial
revolution, generally increased the wealth and freedom of people. The
digital revolution we are living through is different. Instead of
leaving a greater number of us in excellent financial health, the
effect of digital technologies - and the companies behind them - is to
concentrate wealth, reduce growth, and challenge the livelihoods of an
ever-increasing number of people. As the protections of the middle
class disappear, washed away by crises in capitalism, what is being
left in their place? And what else could replace them?
Why is this happening, and what might we do about it? In Who Owns
the Future? Jaron Lanier shows how the new power paradigm
operates, how it is conceived and controlled, and why it is leading to
a collapse in living standards. Arguing that the 'information economy'
ruins markets, he reminds us that markets should reward more people,
not fewer. He shows us why the digital revolution means more
corporations making money and avoiding risk by hiding value off their
books, which means more financial risk for the rest of us. From the
inner workings of the 'sirenic servers' at the heart of the new power
system, to an exploration of the meaning of mass unemployment events,
the misuse of big data, and the deep and increasing erasure of human
endeavour, Lanier explores the effects of this situation on democracy
and individuals, and proposes a more human, humane reality, where risk
and reward is shared equally, and the digital revolution creates
opportunity for all.
Praise for You Are Not a Gadget:
'Fabulous - I couldn't put it down and shouted out Yes! Yes! on many
pages ... a landmark book that will have people talking and arguing
for years into the future' Lee Smolin
'A provocative and sure-to-be-controversial book . . . Lucid,
powerful and persuasive' The New York Times
'Short and frightening ... from a position of real knowledge and
insight' Zadie Smith
Jaron Lanier is a philosopher and computer scientist who has spent
his career pushing the transformative power of modern technology to
its limits. From coining the term 'Virtual Reality' to developing
cutting-edge medical imaging and surgical techniques, Lanier is one of
the premier designers and engineers at work today, and is linked with
UC Berkeley and Microsoft. A musician with a collection of over 700
instruments, he has been recognised by Encyclopedia Britannica (but
certainly not Wikipedia) as one of history's 300 or so greatest
inventors and named one of the top one hundred public intellectuals in
the world by Prospect and Foreign Policy. His first
book, You Are Not A Gadget, was hailed as a 'poetic and
prophetic' defence of the human in an age of machines.
Jaron Lanier is a philosopher and computer scientist who has spent
his career pushing the transformative power of modern technology to
its limits. From coining the term 'Virtual Reality' and creating the
world's first immersive avatars to developing cutting-edge medical
imaging and surgical techniques, Lanier is one of the premier
designers and engineers at work today. Linked with UC Berkeley and
Microsoft, he received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the IEEE in
2009.
A musician with a collection of over 700 instruments, he has been
recognised by Encyclopedia Britannica (but certainly not Wikipedia) as
one of history's 300 or so greatest inventors and named one of the top
one hundred public intellectuals in the world by Prospect and Foreign Policy.
