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While it's disappointing, it's not exactly a surprise. Doctorow's been talking about "the war on general computation" for years. For about the same length of ti

While it's disappointing, it's not exactly a surprise. Doctorow's been talking about "the war on general computation" for years. For about the same length of time, I've been saying that governments would eventually seek a monopoly over computation in the same way as they currently hold a monopoly over violence: it doesn't disappear or become physically impossible, but it requires registration, licensing and reporting, along with suitable punishments to deter those who would seek to usurp the monopoly.

Proven 4y ago
Yes, except that Doctorow has been promoting "the war on general computation" for years. Who's waging that war if not the State? Who has been calling for ever more regulation and (therefore) Big Government if not Doctorow? One has to be a fool to think that giving more power to the government will result in more freedom.
potamic 4y ago
When I learn about revolutions played out across the world, the recurring outcome seems to be measures to ensure citizens are not denied the means to usurp authority. Great men of the past seem to have concluded that the fundamental problem in any society is that power corrupts and the solution to a sane society is to provide citizens the means to put power in check. Just as freedom of speech, right to assemble or right to bear arms gives people the means to challenge authority, computation will be tomorrow's weapon of choice. More and more societal functions will rely on computation and those who have the means to compute will hold power. Data regulations might have good intentions, but it's a road to hell that will eventually deny citizens the right to "compute" and keep the balance of power titled.