Google and the world brain

[Skybird]

German-French TV channel ARTE tonight aired a British-German-French co-produced documentary film, entitled "Google and the World Brain". It is a worrying docu on the backgrounds over what became known as th Google Book Project.

I highly recommend this movie, especially for uncritical technology admirers who usually do not care for the implications of technology allowed to spread as it pleases - and "as it pleases" means: as it pleases the profit interests of private business that more and more openly tries to establish the most powerful and unmonitored accumulation of political and social and creating power in the world.

I am not against technology. I am against an infantile attitude towards it that just gets stunned by blinking lights and comfortable lures, but never questions the price by which these gimmicks come.

This is a trailer:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RZkdkobK99A

The German and the French version of the movie can be legally watched in full length for one week from now on at Arte Mediathek.

http://videos.arte.tv/de/videos/google-und-die-macht-des-wissens--7415436.html

(switch to French via the button in the top right corner)

If you find a legal link to the English language version, attach it please.

The film starts with an optimistic quote by H.G. Wells. And it ends with an utmost pessimistic quote by Wells as well, from his last work. Even Wells learned over his life that blind faith in technology will lead us wrong. - We are in danger of falling for poisonous promises. If we fall, they will cost us everything and have us ending up with wearing the state's control cameras as glasses right on our noses. The perfect, self-controlling dictatorship. Ultimate control. Ultimate regulation. Ultimate surveillance, everybody monitors everybody else. An total monopole on information and knowledge.

A nightmare, I say. Corporations must not be allowed to become that big and rich and powerful, but must be made to remain in size below the level where they could erect monopolies. This globalization drive is - self-destructive, suicidal, is madness.

Those not caring for porivacy and data storage anyway - quite many here - should coinsider the possibility that the state enforces access to these economic data collections by priovate industries. Where you walk, where you are and how oftenb, what you do, what you serahc oin the web, what you try to get info on - you know what this could mean for opersons in a country like China or Russia. Since 9/11 at the latest, the US is on a shady path towards favouring control over freedom and civil rights as well. Before you call "tinfoil hats!" and "conspiracy theories!", you might want to take a deep breath and think at least twice. No matter how often, but THINK.