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.

[Penguin]

good tip, thanks, will check it out.
For downloading streams from arte,there is a tool, which is basically a pug-in for another streaming recorder, you can find it here.
(legal in Germany)

but when reading this:

Originally Posted by Skybird

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.

I ask myself where the Skybird is, who recently found his sympathies for the Austrian School and anarcho-capitalism? I thought corporational good would benefit us all?

[EFileTahi-A]

Originally Posted by Skybird

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.

Power itself is vicious, with or without technology. If you live in a civilized country you are completely controlled and bound by their laws. You have to follow rules or suffer the consequences. Unfortunately, this is what makes us civilized, a set of rules to follow with harsh consequences if breached. Too much freedom and Anarchy raises to rule and this my friend, is even worst than globalization and corporations holding monopolies.

Originally Posted by Skybird

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.

Honestly, I would vote to have cameras everywhere in streets and even at the entrance of my building because some people simply can't live in society; only those with dark secrets tend to refuse such idea. I really don't have a problem with surveillance. You known, the only reason to why there is a law against thefts it's because people do steal.

Do I care about Google sharing what I browse on the web? Not an inch. Do I care about my personal data being accessed by thirds? Well, not exactly, except for the credit card. But if this is really my concern I simply stop giving away my personal info over the web. I would consider it a serious problem if I was forced to use the web as well as being forced to give away my personal info through it.

[Skybird]

Originally Posted by Penguin

I ask myself where the Skybird is, who recently found his sympathies for the Austrian School and anarcho-capitalism? I thought corporational good would benefit us all?

That is no contradiction, since the privat law society as envisioned by Hoppe includes the concept of having administrational communities of very very small sizes only, which does not allow the international multi-corporations and their monopole-like powers that we have today. Limiting size of communities and the economies they harbour is one of the primary methods to prevent companies gaining monopolies. What is to be prevented next is companies trying to gain monopolies indirectly by supra-regional cooperation with other rivalling companies in an attempt to establish supra-regional cartels. Also, although being attached to the Austrian school, Hoppe is more radical than Rothbard or von Mises in his frontal attack on the institution of a state. Where von Mises and Rothbard in the end still defend a role for a democratic state, Hoppe does not, but attacks both democracy and the institution of a state. Hoppe also differs between the state-money that we have today, and real value money, which is also being seen in the austrian school of economics in general as a very decisive difference.

So, size of communities and companies is an important factor of prevention. It all should be kept small. In ancient Greece, an independent community' property - like a city - that belonged to it was to be not bigger than as far as the eye could see when the aristocratic citizens (who were allowed to vote in and decide on communal affairs) assembled on the hill where their assemblies took place. When I read that, I had to smile, since I did not knew that, but since years have imagined a size like that myself to be an ideal: a big city state at best.

In ancient Greece, the term "democracy" had a very negative connotation, and was meant derogatory, and as something which would destroy healthy communities and which therefore should be avoided.

I would recommend to you this formidable essay by Rahim Taghizadegan, who has founded a socalled Institut für Wertewirtschaft in Vienna where he tries to revive the old and famous tradition of the socalled Salonkultur of Vienna'S more glorious chapters in the past. This text I found to be an exquisit and sober depiction of where the term democracy originally comes from, and what the immense - the very immense! - differences between the original meaning and our modern conception of it are. If we today think that "the ancient Greek invented democracy" in a positive meaning, then this is simply totally wrong. They did not invent it as a positive good, nor did they crave for getting something like it. They saw the bad in it, and tried to prevent it.

http://wertewirtschaft.org/analysen/Demokratie.pdf

Both the Austrian school and Rothbard, Mises and Hoppe can be very easily misunderstood if picking just some sentences from them and ignoring the bigger ciontextx in which their thinking is embedded. I can only warn against ignoring that. Whjat is happening in the EU, and with the Euro, and in the US since the past decades, is a perfect illustration of how damn right these guys were/are. Especially the degeneration of the Eurozone and the EU of the past 20-30 years are textbook examples of proving it all true. If the past decades porve one thing, then that neither the social wellfare state model of Europe nor the deformed capitalistic model of North America have worked, and that both paths lead towards a future where increasing socialism and will bring down both economy and society for the same reasons it has brought down the former Warsaw Pact states. Democracy has not defeated or triumphed over Soviet communism or Socialism. It is travelling on exactly the same road and reaches collapse just a little bit later. Part of Hopp's maine criticism of present poltical schools and parties is that due to their craving for getting elected and being seen as attractive, or by being misled over ther natureof democracy, they all behave like socialists and ruin the common good by establishing socialism and collectivism as rules by which to run things, because that is what the canaille expects of them and rewards if the politicians promise it. Hoppe calls liberals and libertarians alike socialists, because they stick to the idea of that there must be a democratic "state" - that necessarily will more and more run by socialist principles, necessarily, and he accuses Democrats and Republicans alike to be socialists as well, in some cases even: national socialists. Ooopsala! It is quite absurd to link him to neocons, or the Tea Party as well, or predatory capitalism. Simply absurd. In 2003, he also has blasted the American war and attempt to form a new state in Iraq. That Republicans and Neocons nevertheless try to claim him for their cause, only illustrates how easily one can miss his complete model if not caring for more than just ripping some statements out of the model'S context. And this model goes beyond the traditional Austrian economics school.

I also recommend study of the many literature available from authors here:

German: http://www.misesde.org/?page_id=3064
English: http://mises.org/Literature/Authors
German: http://wertewirtschaft.org/analysen/

[MH]

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.

With some technologies risks exist yet it those not mean that those bad scenarios will become reality.
If you we only consider the negative side we will not move anywhere just do nothing.

[HundertzehnGustav]

Technology, assembly of knowledge and distribution, censoring (logging of activity) by one entity is the new God.
and that Computercenter in that old spanish Church demonstrates this in a very agressive way.
Yet the students do not realize this blatand provocation. what the hell.
The curches too, have monopolized knowlege. in books, in wise people, in stalking their members.

The part of copyright is a mere joke in the bigger scheme of things to come.
1) assemble knowledge.
2) control its distribution (also censorship).
2b) steer your company on a monopole position, kicking all alternatives overboard.
3) Logging of who accesses what information. (android...)
4) Steer the people by manipulating search results (present the people with information you want them to see, use and believe)
5) take influence on an individual, communal, national and global level (yes it takes time... decades, maybe a century)



resistance is futile.
Google is the new GOD.$
Or if it is not Google... then something similar.

That is what i see.
and no, i do not like it somehow.

Oh, and those googlians and their
"we make information available for all, for free for the good of mankind"
or
" i always wanted a star trek computer with all the oinformation of the world, it is cooooool"

i look at them and see people that are brainwashed and are passing on the brainwash.
only a fool would believe such messages.
Like a few friends of mine that work for apple.
former friends of mine.

[Nicolas]

You see, if you start thinking, what they have, your email, most probably your addrees, country, city, i think half the internet have google ads links, now they ask for your cell phone number in youtube "for you account safety" and to load longer videos. Add the facebook twitter combo. What they do with all that info idk most probably use it to make money.
But is not a extreme thing to say that if they want they can put your name on google earth in front of your house with what videos you are seeing on youtube how many hours of internet per day you use, what sites you like most...

[the_tyrant]