Anthony J. Pennings, PhD

WRITINGS ON DIGITAL ECONOMICS, ENERGY STRATEGIES, AND GLOBAL COMMUNICATIONS

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.

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.

Four Futures and the S-Curve

Dator’s Four Futures is a framework developed by futurist and educator Jim Dator. It presents four broad scenarios or perspectives on the future that can help individuals and organizations think about and plan for different possible outcomes. These scenarios provide a structured way to consider alternative futures and potential developments. The four generic alternative scenarios are: four generic alternative futures” (continuation, collapse, discipline, transformation). This post discusses the use of S-Curves with Dator’s scenarios.

Pressing Global Standards for Internet Protocols

Standards sometimes emerge out of functionality, sometimes out of cooperation, and often out of pure economic power. Each of these conditions was present in the fight to develop telecommunications equipment for international data communications during the early 1970s.

Deregulating U.S. Data Communications

In retrospect, Computer One and Computer Two determined that the FCC would continue to work in the interests of the corporate users and the development of data communications, even if that meant ruling against the dominant communications carrier.

“Survivable Communications,” Packet-Switching, and the Internet

Paul Baran’s eleven-volume On Distributed Communications (1964) set out a plan to develop a store-and-forward message-switching system with redundant communication links that would be automatically used if the others went out of commission.

Technostructural Stages of Global ICT for Development (ICT4D)

This post explores and outlines the following stages or phases of economic and social development utilizing information and communications technologies. The ICT acronym has emerged as a popular moniker, especially in international usage, for the digital technology revolution and is often combined with “development” to form ICT4D.

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  • About Me

    Professor at State University of New York (SUNY) Korea since 2016. Moved to Austin, Texas in August 2012 to join the Digital Media Management program at St. Edwards University. Spent the previous decade on the faculty at New York University teaching and researching information systems, digital economics, and strategic communications.

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    apennings70@gmail.com
    anthony.pennings@sunykorea.ac.kr

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    The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of my employers, past or present.