Hybrid Response #13 – Reflection
In reflection of this course, I can’t say that I found this subject to be of much benefit or interest to me. As an IAS – Communications major, I initially signed up for another course on digital media, with the understanding that, the course would be about and emphasize effectively using digital media. I was not prepared for what this course turned out to be. I felt lost through most of the course because of the emphasis on history (most of which, I was not knowledgeable about) with a distinct point of view and theory that did not lend itself to addressing my needs for/purpose in taking a course on the subject matter. In my personal opinion, this course did not offer me useful material to help me with my professional goals as I had expected.
With that being said, I did come to understand a bit more about the origins of the modern Internet, World Wide Web & the infrastructure that makes it all possible. I have also come to see the use of technology has greatly impacted every aspect of our lives and society, in a lot of cases, in ways that was not apparent before. I was never one passionate about technology, but rather, appreciative of the seeming benefits without being aware of the costs with which those benefits came. I am now much more aware of how we, as a society, have been commodified to make a very small minority very rich. It has also made me aware of the many dangers that could potentially be unleashed with wide spread deregulation. We cannot blindly support technological advances without thinking about and addressing the the ways in which technology is and will be used.
The initial ideas of people like Brand and others, may have been to create a new technology that is for the betterment of human kind and give humanity tools by which all people can share resources and information for our collective greater good, but common sense regulation has not kept pace with technological advancements, to the point that, laws and understanding about technology is woefully inadequate for our needs today, let alone as we continue to move forward in the future. The philosophy of the New Communialist about totally cutting government out and allowing technology to develop unrestricted or unregulated is not only unrealistic, but irresponsible and dangerous. Not all people, or technologies for that matter, are about the betterment of humanity. Therefore, we must be smart and give serious thought to the ways and purposes of the technologies that we create are used. More people need to be aware of the real impact technology, and the people behind it, can/does have on our lives and the direction of our collective society.
