732
submitted 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago) by DandomRude@lemmy.world to c/showerthoughts@lemmy.world
(page 2) 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[-] Feathercrown@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago
[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It's exactly the way David Bowie described how it would be back in the 90's, though.

[-] rozlav 4 points 11 months ago

Is this a joke I don't get or is there any source of what did David Bowie said ? (o・ω・o)

[-] Kolanaki@yiffit.net 6 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Here you go. Interview he did in 1999. I can't find it right now, but this isn't the full interview; he goes into a bit more detail after this and mentions the bad things it would bring that we are starting to become more well known and widespread.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 6 points 11 months ago

Wow that a whole lot of several different things jammed together. This thesis would make a good article or book but as a shower thought it doesn’t really stand on its own.

[-] DandomRude@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Sorry, it was really just a shower thought. I was thinking of two things: 1. the hopes that were placed in the Internet have, in my opinion, not materialized at all. Of course, there are many positive effects, but on the whole, the Internet has by no means lived up to its potential. 2. we are now faced with a situation where large corporations control most of the internet used by the general public. This brings with it responsibilities that I don't believe these corporations are living up to in any way. Hence the analogy with climate change: a change for the better would probably be possible, but there can be no solution as long as those who are largely responsible do not accept their responsibility. Unfortunately, in my opinion, this will never happen.

[-] scarabic@lemmy.world 2 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I see it a little differently. I think the internet has lived up to and exceeded its potential. It’s done things we couldn’t even have thought of back in the beginning. Or course as it grew, it became no longer just the playground of academics, scientists, and creatives. It now has huge commercial regions and is as mainstream as any other medium. It’s no longer solely a cool place where cool people are doing cool things. It is now also playing a role much like television for a bunch of dumb masses to be shown commercials by corporations.

What’s worse is the unimagined downsides. Election misinformation. Hate group echo chambers. Terrorists using it to organize. We failed to imagine these things back in 1992 but maybe that really is just a failure of our imaginations, not the internet. I remember the heady dreams of democratization and universal access to quality information. It was all pretty naive. There were people who imagined television technology would be used for in-home education, too.

But the bad stuff doesn’t erase the cool stuff. It is still enabling creativity and science, arguably moreso than the halcyon days of HTML 1.0. Did any of us ever imagine in 1992 that thousands of scientists could use images from hundreds of locations around the world to construct an image of a black hole, sharing data, tools, code, and ultimately the image itself over the internet? It’s just wild. Remote surgeries, AI, self driving cars, tracker tags, home automation… it all runs on the internet. A lot of it is scary, but it’s also fascinating and far beyond what we imagined 30 years ago.

We used to talk about video conferencing like some far off future. Just because now we see it as mundane doesn’t mean the internet didn’t deliver on its potential. It delivered, and more. We just forget how cool a lot of it is, we were dumb to think it would be nothing but roses, and it’s changing life so much that it’s getting a bit scary.

But didn’t live up to its potential? Nah.

So I don’t really even see your posited problem, and this makes it hard for me to understand your point about a solution. I guess “corporations bad and no one will fix it,” is the bottom line? Well, that has nothing to do with the Internet and everything to do with capitalism. It’s the worst system there is, except all the others that have ever been tried. If you have any new ideas, we could sure use them.

load more comments (2 replies)
[-] TimewornTraveler@lemm.ee 5 points 11 months ago

What do you mean by "turn the tide for the better"?

[-] DandomRude@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

For example, efforts in the areas of data protection, freedom of information, combating misinformation, improving working conditions in the online sector, creating fair digital remuneration models and so on and so forth. Pretty much things that the Electronic Frontier Foundation, NOYB and many other such organizations are committed to.

load more comments (7 replies)
load more comments (3 replies)
load more comments
view more: ‹ prev next ›
this post was submitted on 02 Jan 2024
732 points (100.0% liked)

Showerthoughts

30023 readers
429 users here now

A "Showerthought" is a simple term used to describe the thoughts that pop into your head while you're doing everyday things like taking a shower, driving, or just daydreaming. A showerthought should offer a unique perspective on an ordinary part of life.

Rules

  1. All posts must be showerthoughts
  2. The entire showerthought must be in the title
  3. Avoid politics
    • 3.1) NEW RULE as of 5 Nov 2024, trying it out
    • 3.2) Political posts often end up being circle jerks (not offering unique perspective) or enflaming (too much work for mods).
    • 3.3) Try c/politicaldiscussion, volunteer as a mod here, or start your own community.
  4. Posts must be original/unique
  5. Adhere to Lemmy's Code of Conduct

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS