Feed comes to life

Yikes! As we see in my previous post, I just finished reading Feed, by M.T.Anderson. That young-adult novel posits a future America dominated by the computerized brain-interface purchased at birth. Dystopia, indeed.

I now read of Waze's newest integration with Google, wherein advertisers can purchase a notification to automatically appear on a Waze user's screen when the driver stops near a particular property (Dunkin Donuts is only 1 minute away! Aren't you hungry for a super-glazed special?). The term is a "Zero-speed Takeover" banner ad.

Now, this could benefit small businesses, encouraging drivers to stop at a place they might not usually consider. However, it is Much More Likely to be manipulated by larger corporations that have the brilliant staff and the marketing budget to devise devilish schemes to stimulate our dopamine-receptors and loosen our credit cards.

My elder son has expressed a great distaste for Waze, that he won't explain -- is it because Waze was Israeli? because it feels intrusive? because it sucks up so much data and power? (I avoid it because of the extra data and battery load, so I use Waze only when I anticipate need for absolute up-to-the-minute directions.)

Maybe we should re-read Feed. But, as the current NYTimes focus on Data Privacy points out, what can we do about the move toward a corporate future? Write about it. Vote about it. Adjust our security settings carefully. Remove intrusive apps when possible. Turn off notifications. Anything else?

Comments

Review: Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World

Jerusalem, Jerusalem: How the Ancient City Ignited Our Modern World by James Carroll My rating: 4 of 5 stars Fascinating comprehensive worldview, with Jesuitical logic in a broad sweep that links religion in a circular way to violence and the solution to violence. The author shows a great command of history and religion, with extensive endnotes to support or expand upon most of his claims; however, some sweeping indictments will certainly be resisted by the more fundamentalist People Of The Book (that is, the Abrahamic religions). A core symbolic thread is Abraham's near-sacrifice of Isaac on Mt.Moriah, the supposed site later called Jerusalem -- the author deftly cites that scene throughout the many centuries since the original event, demonstrating the human tendency to misinterpret that near-sacrifice in order to rationalize our own tendency to violence and scapegoating. I started the book in audio form, but found it unlistenable -- the author's c...

Kite Runner is with us again

Six or so years ago, I taught The Kite Runner to three successive sets of tenth-graders, and marveled at the effect the novel had on me and on these adolescents. That age is a marvelous time for a humanities teacher, as we see callous children grow out of their self-centered cocoons and flex their world-empathic feelers. They grow into the world outside them and realize they truly have agency -- or will have agency and responsibility for human actions. Amir, the main protagonist of Kite Runner is so identifiable with those adolescents learning to take responsibility for their callous actions. And of course we think of Kite Runner now that Afghanistan once again plunges into Taliban rule -- we particularly worry about the fate of the Hazara (news stories already cite random executions of Hazara men). We can only wring hands and pray that the Taliban will have to adapt and tolerate more than they did before -- but I am not optimistic. ...

Related Reviews: This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race then Attack Surface

This Is How They Tell Me the World Ends: The Cyberweapons Arms Race by Nicole Perlroth My rating: 5 of 5 stars And the hits just keep on coming! This excellent book details an unrelenting onslaught of cyberattacks, and outlines the author's own gradual realization of the dangers of internet warfare. It is a lengthy but worthwhile read -- actually, I lost the book for a while because I did not want to read it at bedtime, for fear of nightmares or disrupted sleep! Indeed the book is changing my stance toward online security -- multi-factor authentication, definitely! As with most of us, the author first downplayed the fear tactics promoted by sellers of security packages; but after years of research she has come to wonder that more disaster has not happened yet. She briefly but baldly calls out the recent presidentical administration for wreaking havoc on US defense, by eliminating a cybersecurity department, incensing the Iranian and Chinese gover...

Thomas Education

Search This Blog