Friday, September 27, 2013

Book Review: Who Owns the Future

This is strike two for me with Jaron Lanier's books. It's too bad, because I really admire his thinking, but I gave a weak review to You Are Not a Gadget, and have to do the same here.

In Who Owns the Future?, Lanier posits that several technology trends threaten to have a long-term negative impact on the middle class, and on the economy in general (which is highly dependent on the existence of a thriving middle class). He asserts that (a) many of today's disruptive technologies and services constitute what he calls "Siren Servers", luring users in and making it difficult to escape, (b) that these do not give fair value back to users for what they put in, and (c) that the result is not going to net out to the new jobs replacing the old, but rather a more efficient system where the middle class loses money to a priviledged few that control those servers.

While initial idea of Siren Servers is one I agree with, and serveral of Lanier's observations are astute, that's where I start to part ways with his thinking.

Many of his arguments and suggested solutions are not only lacking in data, he hasn't even an attempted a simple modelling of them. At the same time, he dismisses the arguments of others for the same reason. For example, he dismisses the claims of those that say musicians can replace lost CD revenues by instead doing live performances, but then asks readers to accept that they can replace those revenues through a system of micro-transaction revenues magically piggy-backed onto the Internet. While proposing this, he offers even a high level examination of the technical feasibility nor a rudimentary attempt at the business model.

As a book that offers some provocative ideas and alternative ways of looking at technology and its impact on economics, it offers some value. But the solutions proposed are as pie-eyed as flying cars and teleportation without providing more than a hand-wave.

 Who Owns the Future?

9 comments:

John said...

discount oakley sunglasses
true religion jeans
cheap oakley sunglasses
salomon outlet
nike outlet store
kate spade uk
louboutin outlet
michael kors outlet online
mlb jerseys
celtics jerseys
20170614yuanyuan

Unknown said...

prada
nike outlet
nike tn
converse
nike clothing
air max 2017
ralph lauren
bottes ugg
nike air max 95
montre homme
20183.22yanshuting

Unknown said...

www0413dallas cowboys jerseys
nhl jerseys
cheap nike shoes
ecco shoes
falcons jersey
nike huarache
nba jerseys
oakley sunglasses wholesale
ralph lauren outlet
seahawks jersey

SSSSSS said...

adidas ultra boost
yeezy shoes
cheap basketball shoes
curry shoes
air max
air max 270
adidas stan smith
adidas superstar
balenciaga shoes
goyard handbags

Unknown said...

miu miu sunglasses
jordan 8
under armour shoes
bulgari jewelry
ysl handbags
ferragamo belts
karen millen dresses
tiffany and co jewelry
the hundreds clothing
ray ban wayfarers
20186.1 huangliyue

Unknown said...

prada
lululemon
cheap mlb jerseys
shoe carnival
tiffany jewelry
jordan 8
nike blazer
ugg boots
coach outlet store
air jordan
20187.31zhouyanhua

joker said...

gadai bpkb mobilgadai bpkb gadai bpkb mobil di pegadaian
jasa pembuatan website jasa website
jual komputer bekas terima komputer bekas terima lelang komputer bekas lelang komputer bekas terima server bekas
web hosting hosting murah hosting murah unlimited hosting
jasa pembuatan website jasa website jasa web
jasa pembuatan website jasa website jasa website
jasa pembuatan website surabayajasa website surabaya

patsm00re18 said...

Have a trip down memory lane with our classic fun brain games or enjoy the latest titles in the fun brain games category. come and play it.

arjunahanan1 said...

artikel yang di sajikan di blog ini sangat indah dan berisi, terima kasih atas informasi yang sangat bermanfaat ini
dan jika ingin bermain game online deposit pulsa xl dan telkomsel tanpa potongan silahkan saja berkunjung ke situs kami di:
agen judi slot togel singapura judi poker judi poker online
dimana situs ini sudah sangat nyaman dan aman untuk dijadikan tempat kalian bermain dan sudah menjadi tempat andalan para penjudi profesional.
blog kami :
absintheandlyrics beesandbuttercups aduniversalisecclesiae bridalhood corinabrandusan londonslostrivers mojkotija-beata olgavanouito pixel-manie phalenshappyaccidents romy-buchard ruthillustreert sheeplessinseattle ukhwah-dhearty whatyoumustread wenzlau
https://indah9999.blogspot.com/ https://macan99.blogspot.com/ https://macanbola369.blogspot.com/
terima kasih