Google: Monetizing the Automatrix – Rerun
As we move towards the “Automatrix,” the newly forming digital environment for self-driving and wireless charging transportation, Google looks to situate its search/advertising business at its center.
The Lasting Impact of ALOHAnet and Norman Abramson
The success and influence of ALOHAnet proved that multiple devices could share the same communication medium effectively, ultimately helping shape the modern landscape of wired and wireless networking.
Legal Precedents and Perturbations Shaping US Broadband Policy
One of the major lessons I learned from Ithiel de Sola Pool’s Technologies of Freedome book was the importance of legal precedent in communication policy, and particularly telecommunications policy. Pool also acknowledged that while legal precedent provides stability and continuity in policy, it also risks becoming an impediment to progress when technology changes beyond the scope of existing laws.
All Watched over by “Systems” of Loving Grace
Adam Curtis’ documentary series, All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace, delves into the relationship between technology, political ideologies, and human agency. Inspired by Richard Brautigan’s poem, Curtis explores how technology shapes our governance systems and worldview. In “The Use and Abuse of Vegetational Concepts,” Curtis critiques the adoption of natural systems thinking in political and technological contexts, tracing the origins of ecological systems thinking back to the work of figures like Jay Forrester, Norbert Wiener, Buckminster Fuller, and the Odum brothers. These ideas, initially intended to describe natural ecosystems, were later applied to human societies and governance, conflating nature with machine intelligence. Curtis raises concerns about how these systems-based frameworks reduce humans to mere nodes in networks, challenging the Enlightenment view of humanity as autonomous and separate from nature.
Curtis also explores the legacy of systems thinking through the work of the Club of Rome and its 1972 publication Limits to Growth, which used computer simulations to model the Earth as a closed system. The documentary raises questions about the consequences of seeing human and natural systems as mechanistic, potentially leading to a distorted understanding of complex, dynamic realities.
US Legislative and Regulatory Restrictions on Deficit Spending and Modern Monetary Theory (MMT)
I outline some of the promise of MMT for the US while digging into several legislative and regulatory problems associated with enacting MMT policies long-term. I critique the MMT approach in the US because the movement has yet to adequately dissect what hurdles and limits keep the government from embracing MMT strategies. The major obstacles appear to be a series of legislative actions restricting deficit spending without corresponding borrowing through Treasury auctions.
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) and a Sustainable Future
Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) BESS are revolutionizing the renewable energy landscape by addressing key issues like intermittency, grid stability, and peak demand management. They allow for greater integration of renewables into power grids, provide energy independence, and enable a more reliable and flexible energy system.
ICT4D and the Global Network Transformation
I focus on the transition in network architecture and organizational models and how that led to the global Internet we have today, and specifically why it could globalize and why it became so cheap.
Digital Borders and Authoritarianism
The enforcement of digital borders by authoritarian regimes in the modern era represents a significant challenge to global norms of free expression, access to information, and human rights. As regimes continue to develop and refine their methods of control, the international community must navigate the delicate balance between respecting national sovereignty and advocating for digital freedoms.
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