Lessons from History That Hold Our Digital Future
Everyone is in the business of finding out what the future holds in this era of digital advancements. With increased rates of digital surveillance, internet usage and screen time, people think that the only way to understand them is to look at the vision bearers of the modern technological advancements such as Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk. However, the answers we so much desire can be found in the past. This is according to Lizzie O’Shea, a digital rights activist. She insists that looking back is good because sometimes things appear as if they do not have a history or a past. To understand this, she holds that technology significantly intersects with big old ideas such as democracy, self-determination, and rights, which have got a history which determines how they should be expressed in the digital era.
The first lesson is learned from the ancient Paris Commune. This, according to Ms. O’Shea, was the best way to express how a community can be developed when people are empowered to make collective decisions. This was the greatest democracy in its time and should be used to direct our technological advancements to help build a stronger democracy. This is what the 20th-century digital advancements were all about, but the 21st-century advancements are squandering them.
Secondly, the modern surveillance tools that are used to keep people in line have developed from the very first current police force of the late 18th century. This marine force was to ensure workers were doing what they were asked to do by inducing in them the feeling of being watched. This is exactly what the tools of modern surveillance are doing.
Lastly, the third lesson is the power of collaboration. Men and women can co-work to ensure technological advancements.
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