5 ms·

Small nitpick : Hindi not Hindu. The former is language which one can learn. The latter is, depending on how you ask, is a (group of) religion(s)/way of life.

by wadkar 7y ago

Small nitpick : Hindi not Hindu. The former is language which one can learn. The latter is, depending on how you ask, is a (group of) religion(s)/way of life. On the other hand, let’s compare internet to nuclear fission. Clearly lot benefits can be drawn from the technology (assuming safety practices etc) but in our current world order it is primarily used as a deterrent. So I don’t think OP is complaining unnecessarily. We must strive to ensure technology is used for beneficial purposes. And in that sense, the call to arms is justified.

UI_at_80x24 7y ago
I have been a science and technology enthusiast all of my life. I started running my own BBS over 30 years ago on a Commodore64. To say that I am passionate would be an understatement. Alas, lately I am becoming a Luddite. Feature creep is the enemy. I don't want or need an 'info-tainment' screen in my vehicle. I refuse to join the Apple or Google walled gardens. The warnings from Science Fiction have been ignored, and we are wage-slaves to corporation-governments. There is a better way to live. We must take back our power. When does a tool become a weapon? When it inflicts harm. The internet has been weaponized.
- wadkar 7y ago
  I would like to agree with you, but I am not sure I understand how internet has been weaponized. Can you please elaborate on how the internet is/can harm?
  - UI_at_80x24 7y ago
    -Election manipulation. -SWATTING of competitive Gamers. -Cyber bullying (not just limitied to those instances that end in suicide) -The stalking and death-threats to Black Lives Matter organizers. -China's "social credit score" -The need for Hong Kong protestors to hide their identity. I don't have time to post specific URL's to substantiate my claims, but I feel I've given broad enough categorizes to convey my meaning.
  - throwaway129917 7y ago
    I've always liked to think of it this way: The internet is a creation of the mind. Its impact is felt by the mind, and is capable of creating mental health problems in people. See the old Facebook story about how they manipulated people's feeds to provoke an emotion from them for an example. The internet also enables mass communication. So you can massively communicate in such a way as to impact the mental health of a massive number of people. Most people who use the internet regularly are bombarded with this type of communication, mostly in the form of ads and sponsored content. There are undoubtedly many parties who've realized they can use this to their own ends. By using the internet to actively impact the minds of other people using the internet, people have weaponized the internet.
- dkonofalski 7y ago
  >The internet has been weaponized. Ugh... I can't believe that I'm saying this but... I agree with you, wholeheartedly. I am about as nerdy as you can get and a huge tech enthusiast and I'm just starting to hate the internet outside of a few sites that I visit to stay "in the know". I feel like every day I'm learning less and less valuable information and more and more pop culture, meme-ified information just because it makes money. It feels like the entire scope of the internet shifted away from individuals creating cool things to huge companies advertising for whatever their latest money-maker is. Some of it is still enjoyable (e.g., Hot Ones, musicians, programmers) but it's all just slowly getting swallowed up.
  - wolco 7y ago
    Where do you visit? From the darknet to using translation software to read what is going on around the world the internet... to checking out random pastebins. There is a lot of interesting stuff...just not on facebook/twitter.
    - dkonofalski 7y ago
      I didn't say that it wasn't interesting. There's plenty of "interesting" things on the internet but the overall experience for the average person is pretty bad. Take, for instance, the proliferation of sites that once embedded YouTube videos. Those sites are now all broken because DMCA requests have taken down those videos without replacing or redirecting them. It seems like the only care being put into the internet is into monetizing and commercializing it.
- UncleOxidant 7y ago
  I too have been in tech for well over 30 years. And I too have lost my enthusiasm. Why keep aiding and abetting corporations and creeping fascism? Working in tech now feels like I'm doing that.

by wadkar 7y ago

UI_at_80x24 7y ago

I have been a science and technology enthusiast all of my life. I started running my own BBS over 30 years ago on a Commodore64. To say that I am passionate would be an understatement. Alas, lately I am becoming a Luddite. Feature creep is the enemy. I don't want or need an 'info-tainment' screen in my vehicle. I refuse to join the Apple or Google walled gardens. The warnings from Science Fiction have been ignored, and we are wage-slaves to corporation-governments. There is a better way to live. We must take back our power. When does a tool become a weapon? When it inflicts harm. The internet has been weaponized.

wadkar 7y ago
I would like to agree with you, but I am not sure I understand how internet has been weaponized. Can you please elaborate on how the internet is/can harm?
- UI_at_80x24 7y ago
  -Election manipulation. -SWATTING of competitive Gamers. -Cyber bullying (not just limitied to those instances that end in suicide) -The stalking and death-threats to Black Lives Matter organizers. -China's "social credit score" -The need for Hong Kong protestors to hide their identity. I don't have time to post specific URL's to substantiate my claims, but I feel I've given broad enough categorizes to convey my meaning.
- throwaway129917 7y ago
  I've always liked to think of it this way: The internet is a creation of the mind. Its impact is felt by the mind, and is capable of creating mental health problems in people. See the old Facebook story about how they manipulated people's feeds to provoke an emotion from them for an example. The internet also enables mass communication. So you can massively communicate in such a way as to impact the mental health of a massive number of people. Most people who use the internet regularly are bombarded with this type of communication, mostly in the form of ads and sponsored content. There are undoubtedly many parties who've realized they can use this to their own ends. By using the internet to actively impact the minds of other people using the internet, people have weaponized the internet.
dkonofalski 7y ago
>The internet has been weaponized. Ugh... I can't believe that I'm saying this but... I agree with you, wholeheartedly. I am about as nerdy as you can get and a huge tech enthusiast and I'm just starting to hate the internet outside of a few sites that I visit to stay "in the know". I feel like every day I'm learning less and less valuable information and more and more pop culture, meme-ified information just because it makes money. It feels like the entire scope of the internet shifted away from individuals creating cool things to huge companies advertising for whatever their latest money-maker is. Some of it is still enjoyable (e.g., Hot Ones, musicians, programmers) but it's all just slowly getting swallowed up.
- wolco 7y ago
  Where do you visit? From the darknet to using translation software to read what is going on around the world the internet... to checking out random pastebins. There is a lot of interesting stuff...just not on facebook/twitter.
  - dkonofalski 7y ago
    I didn't say that it wasn't interesting. There's plenty of "interesting" things on the internet but the overall experience for the average person is pretty bad. Take, for instance, the proliferation of sites that once embedded YouTube videos. Those sites are now all broken because DMCA requests have taken down those videos without replacing or redirecting them. It seems like the only care being put into the internet is into monetizing and commercializing it.
UncleOxidant 7y ago
I too have been in tech for well over 30 years. And I too have lost my enthusiasm. Why keep aiding and abetting corporations and creeping fascism? Working in tech now feels like I'm doing that.