Hm. Sure, there’s a dozen million creepy things possible with tech if there’s one, but does this general theorem bear out on data? Isn’t peoples ability and likelihood to dissent shaped by many other things, such as access to information, the legal and political actions against dissenters, etc?
That said, I fully support the notion that items should be moddable, open, and not part of a closed ecosystem with limited choices. PC versus smartphone, I very much prefer the former - where I can install whatever I like, run whatever I like, do what I want - and not be subject to the censorship whims of apple store or google play, etc.
Do yourself a favour and listen to her Massey Lectures. Then come back and comment.
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At the root of Franklin’s analysis is the idea that some technology is “prescriptive,” limiting the actions of the people who use it, and that a world of prescriptive technologies – our world – is ripe for other
kinds of control, such as political authoritarianism.
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Questioning the politicized social context informing design decisions between, say, proprietary or non-proprietary tech is really tough for some professionals.
The tendency is sometimes to frame design decisions as innately "smart"or “dumb” and to frame social questions as innately dumb.
prescriptive technologies create a world in which it’s normal to do what we’re told, and to do so without the ability to control and shape the process or the outcome.
I think our morality isn’t capable of dealing with this. I’m not sure we have figured out good ways to go from “hey, I was just doing my job” to “hell no, I’m not doing that.” Is Edward Snowden a traitor or a patriot? A hero or a villain? Culturally, the answer is, “yes.” And that’s a problem.
I never find the time to listen to stuff, sadly, and too seldom long stretches of time to read, either. I surmise that she has thought of this, and that you don’t want to discuss it. All right, fair enough.
A little bit more standardized testing will cute this ill
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