About sovereignty and control? About the conditions of play and creativity in our lives? What are the rules, procedures, and degrees of freedom structured in modern life by the preponderance of networked information machines? To what extent can voices be heard? What is the future of censorship and the protection of speech and the “press” in a digital age? How is information produced and distributed?

Can people recognize, critique, and participate in the conditions of their lives? What is the future of voting? Of electoral representation? Of constitutional parliamentary and presidential systems? Of the control and conditions of ownership of property? What is the role and future of bureaucracy? What are the conditions of eligibility in entitlement systems for health, education, and welfare?

Under what conditions and leadership can people be mobilized for collective action and reflection? How can media facilitate the engagement of people in recognition of social problems and their resolution? What media practices can garner the will of significant collections of people and direct their energies towards constructive and peaceful problem solving?

How can tensions between centralization and decentralized forms of authority and control be reconciled? What organizational forms can facilitate economic growth, maintain sustainable environments, and provide abundant opportunities for creative participation and productivity? How will IT monitor environmental conditions and identify hazards to human living? Remote sensing satellites already produce a large amount of data on crops, floods, droughts, forest conditions, and the location of natural resources.

Ⓒ ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

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Anthony J. Pennings, PhD is Professor of the Department of Technology and Society, State University of New York, Korea. Before joining SUNY, he taught at Hannam University in South Korea and from 2002-2012 was on the faculty of New York University. Previously, he taught at St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas, Marist College in New York, and Victoria University in New Zealand. He has also spent time as a Fellow at the East-West Center in Honolulu, Hawaii.

Category: democratic political economies, how IT came to rule the world, social media
Tags: cybernetic conditions for democracy > economic growth > participation

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