WIRED contributor Robert Wright on why the government needs to stop Google from monopolizing AI. "...Google must be stopped. The race to dominate the personal AI space—to build the artificial intelligence that each of us will use as an all-purpose digital assistant—is closer to being over than most people realize. And Google is poised to win. And if ever there was a business that we can’t let any one company dominate, it’s AI. Using the government’s antitrust powers in new ways to stave off monopoly, and preserve a healthy oligopoly, is the only way to keep humankind from buying a one-way ticket to the Matrix."
By Jeremy Hsu, Posted 14 Mar 2014 "We should be more concerned about bullets than bytes at this time," Bumgarner says" "Hacker groups will do what they will outside of government control. But the Georgia incident and the more recent Ukrainian incident suggest that Russia has shown great restraint in its strategic use of cyber attacks, Bumgarner says."
Falkvinge: "There is a bitcoin craze at the moment, with prices of bitcoin skyrocketing. Bitcoin is still far from ready for prime time, but as it matures, it will change society's fundamental operations much more than the Internet did. The net, after all, only allowed people to talk and shop more efficiently. By comparison, bitcoin eradicates the government's ability to operate." "...bitcoin isn't going to drive its adoption just because it is impervious to state control and insight. Rather, its adoption is going to be driven by the strong business case for corporations to cut banks out of the loop - more specifically, cut bank profits out of their own profits." "Bitcoin is not a plush toy, it is not a commodity. It is an economic agreement, and as such, has value like any other contract that improves your business. "
This article appeared in the September 24, 2012 edition of The Nation.This essay is adapted from Mark Mazower’s Governing the World: The History of an Idea, coming this month from the Penguin Press.
Brad Burnham Jun 10, 2010 "Once you start thinking about large web platforms as governments, the logical question is what kind of government are they. One thing is for sure - none of these platforms are democracies. They are oligarchies controlled by founders, investors or shareholders. That may not be at all bad. As long as citizens (users) can move freely from one government to another with little switching cost, there is no reason to burden these polities with the inherent inefficiencies of popular democracy. But that does put a special premium on emigration policies and property rights. Do I own my data, can I export it freely? It also suggests that large networks that have strong network effects may someday need other incentives to act in the best interests of their citizens."
"In the end, the big networks on the web will all have to find a balance between state power and private initiative."
Beyond the G20 - Transnational Institute. A comprehensive analysis of the crisis of overproduction (Walden Bello) vs. a fragmented analysis of the failure of global financial regulation (Koopman).
Nicklas Lundblads notationer inför ett Hanaholmsseminarium, febr 2010. minne, sammanhållning "det goda arbetet med att bygga en gemensam nordisk upplevelse "