Emergent technologies have already altered our lives profoundly and promise to do so even more in the near future – from the smart phones most of us carry around to 3D printing to augmented reality, like Pokémon Go. But these innovations are seen as a fact of life – part of the march of progress – rather than something that comes with a steep price, and that we should have political say over. Urbanist Adam Greenfield talks about the hidden costs of these technologies. And Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro discusses the dangers of a leftwing environmentalism that focuses on overpopulation and civilizational collapse.
Resources:
Adam Greenfield, Radical Technologies: The Design of Everyday Life Verso, 2017
Salvatore Engel-Di Mauro, Ecology, Soils, and the Left: An Ecosocial Approach Palgrave MacMillan, 2014
Against the Grain 6.19.17 . Ther internet and mobile devices connect us with the world and converge work, entertainment, video of state or non state criminal actions, and so on . However it is fragmenting face to face communications and social life . a facebook friend or fellow citizen on the internet is changing our social psychology for the worse. As Guy Debord said in so many words sight has now replaced touch as the highest “human” communication and expression.
“the dangers of a leftwing environmentalism that focuses on overpopulation and civilizational collapse.”
no;just honest;but its not politically correct to talk about third world birth rates & their contribution to the multiple crises we all face