I am one of those distracted readers who have anything from two to five books lined up on the reading table at the same time, jumping from book to book depending on the mood and brain juice left for the day. I have to confess - I have been struggling to get through this book for a while now - 'The New Digital Age' has been languishing on my reading table for more than 6 months, but I'm proud to report that I've finally finished it this past weekend.
I have to say, it was a matter of hitting my stride with this book, because once I got past the first 30%, the rest was interesting enough to speed through in one week. It starts off ominously with this quote from Schmidt, "The Internet is one of the few things that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand," and indeed, the rest of the book is an treatise that tries to better understand and, therefore, navigate this unwieldy beast.
The moonshot sounding title set up my expectations that this was a prophesy of the digital future from the oracles at Google, filled with sci-fi worthy predictions of how people would live in an age of new technology. Unfortunately, this falls short of that, as the technologies that they talk about are more or less available today, albeit some in more nascent stages. But hey, if you miss the moon, at least you're in the stratosphere.
By any measure, this is still an ambitious and detailed assessment of the digital paths that are open to states and people in the near future - how will we think about identity, privacy; how will revolutions be fought and won; how will conflict, terrorism - and our response evolve; even how will we re-think disaster reconstruction.
The authors travel to an impressive list of places in the world, many of those dangerous and controlled by regimes that are markedly oppressive and abhorrent of the freedom that the Internet brings. However, that doesn't mean that they are un-privy to the powers that new technologies bring, albeit to carry out their nefarious agendas.
Many subversive plots are suggested that could be used by authorities to undermine shady characters. (Side note - as a Singaporean, the premium I place on privacy vs national security strikes me as being very different from some Western opinions.)
Bearing in mind that this book was written over 3 years (2011 to 2013), if we look at what is happening today, it seems fairly accurate in espousing on the direction that these new technologies are headed. Take the issue of cyber-security, that was the subject of many lengthy chapters - the authors discussed different ways of how warfare and political mischief could be committed in this arena. Several high-profile breaches have occurred in the 3+ years since - eg the hacks on Sony, multiple NSA leaks, DNC etc, the last of which are alleged to have direct impact on the 2016 US elections. The authors end that chapter pleading for more whitehats to join the fight against mis-use of his information.
One uncomfortable omission in this book is how private corporations (Google, Amazon, Facebook etc) are increasingly playing a bigger role in influencing how these new technologies are unfolding. I can imagine that this might be a sensitive topic for the authors to address, but the scant mention of these private players seems to me to opt for the easier, but less rewarding path.
Having said that, this book remains a rich reach, offering insights into a breadth topics, ranging from national security, terrorism, education, economic policy, business, to foreign and domestic aid. (And this isn't even an exhaustive list!)
The possible futures imagined in each of these mammoth areas tell of a world brimming with possibilities to improve the lives of millions, if not billions, but also of the catastrophic devastation that can be inflicted to mankind if these new technologies are not guarded and used for benign/noble purposes.
In conclusion, when it comes to navigating the New Digital Age, this book doesn't have all the right answers, but it sure asks some interesting questions.
I have to say, it was a matter of hitting my stride with this book, because once I got past the first 30%, the rest was interesting enough to speed through in one week. It starts off ominously with this quote from Schmidt, "The Internet is one of the few things that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand," and indeed, the rest of the book is an treatise that tries to better understand and, therefore, navigate this unwieldy beast.
The moonshot sounding title set up my expectations that this was a prophesy of the digital future from the oracles at Google, filled with sci-fi worthy predictions of how people would live in an age of new technology. Unfortunately, this falls short of that, as the technologies that they talk about are more or less available today, albeit some in more nascent stages. But hey, if you miss the moon, at least you're in the stratosphere.
By any measure, this is still an ambitious and detailed assessment of the digital paths that are open to states and people in the near future - how will we think about identity, privacy; how will revolutions be fought and won; how will conflict, terrorism - and our response evolve; even how will we re-think disaster reconstruction.
The authors travel to an impressive list of places in the world, many of those dangerous and controlled by regimes that are markedly oppressive and abhorrent of the freedom that the Internet brings. However, that doesn't mean that they are un-privy to the powers that new technologies bring, albeit to carry out their nefarious agendas.
Many subversive plots are suggested that could be used by authorities to undermine shady characters. (Side note - as a Singaporean, the premium I place on privacy vs national security strikes me as being very different from some Western opinions.)
Bearing in mind that this book was written over 3 years (2011 to 2013), if we look at what is happening today, it seems fairly accurate in espousing on the direction that these new technologies are headed. Take the issue of cyber-security, that was the subject of many lengthy chapters - the authors discussed different ways of how warfare and political mischief could be committed in this arena. Several high-profile breaches have occurred in the 3+ years since - eg the hacks on Sony, multiple NSA leaks, DNC etc, the last of which are alleged to have direct impact on the 2016 US elections. The authors end that chapter pleading for more whitehats to join the fight against mis-use of his information.
One uncomfortable omission in this book is how private corporations (Google, Amazon, Facebook etc) are increasingly playing a bigger role in influencing how these new technologies are unfolding. I can imagine that this might be a sensitive topic for the authors to address, but the scant mention of these private players seems to me to opt for the easier, but less rewarding path.
Having said that, this book remains a rich reach, offering insights into a breadth topics, ranging from national security, terrorism, education, economic policy, business, to foreign and domestic aid. (And this isn't even an exhaustive list!)
The possible futures imagined in each of these mammoth areas tell of a world brimming with possibilities to improve the lives of millions, if not billions, but also of the catastrophic devastation that can be inflicted to mankind if these new technologies are not guarded and used for benign/noble purposes.
In conclusion, when it comes to navigating the New Digital Age, this book doesn't have all the right answers, but it sure asks some interesting questions.
