The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is: A History, a Philosophy, a Warning
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- Create Date：2022-04-19 16:16:35
- Update Date：2025-09-24
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- Author：Justin E.H. Smith
- ISBN：0691212325
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Summary
An original deep history of the internet that tells the story of the centuries-old utopian dreams behind it--and explains why they have died today
Many think of the internet as an unprecedented and overwhelmingly positive achievement of modern human technology。 But is it？ In The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is， Justin Smith offers an original deep history of the internet， from the ancient to the modern world--uncovering its surprising origins in nature and centuries-old dreams of radically improving human life by outsourcing thinking to machines and communicating across vast distances。 Yet， despite the internet's continuing potential， Smith argues， the utopian hopes behind it have finally died today， killed by the harsh realities of social media， the global information economy， and the attention-destroying nature of networked technology。
Ranging over centuries of the history and philosophy of science and technology， Smith shows how the "internet" has been with us much longer than we usually think。 He draws fascinating connections between internet user experience， artificial intelligence， the invention of the printing press， communication between trees， and the origins of computing in the machine-driven looms of the silk industry。 At the same time， he reveals how the internet's organic structure and development root it in the natural world in unexpected ways that challenge efforts to draw an easy line between technology and nature。
Combining the sweep of intellectual history with the incisiveness of philosophy， The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is cuts through our daily digital lives to give a clear-sighted picture of what the internet is， where it came from， and where it might be taking us in the coming decades。
Many think of the internet as an unprecedented and overwhelmingly positive achievement of modern human technology。 But is it？ In The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is， Justin Smith offers an original deep history of the internet， from the ancient to the modern world--uncovering its surprising origins in nature and centuries-old dreams of radically improving human life by outsourcing thinking to machines and communicating across vast distances。 Yet， despite the internet's continuing potential， Smith argues， the utopian hopes behind it have finally died today， killed by the harsh realities of social media， the global information economy， and the attention-destroying nature of networked technology。
Ranging over centuries of the history and philosophy of science and technology， Smith shows how the "internet" has been with us much longer than we usually think。 He draws fascinating connections between internet user experience， artificial intelligence， the invention of the printing press， communication between trees， and the origins of computing in the machine-driven looms of the silk industry。 At the same time， he reveals how the internet's organic structure and development root it in the natural world in unexpected ways that challenge efforts to draw an easy line between technology and nature。
Combining the sweep of intellectual history with the incisiveness of philosophy， The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is cuts through our daily digital lives to give a clear-sighted picture of what the internet is， where it came from， and where it might be taking us in the coming decades。
Reviews
Shawn
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A key question concerning the benefit of the internet is whether or not it facilitates the disbursement of truth。 Truthful information on the internet is interwoven with ignorance， propaganda， and the ramblings of the insane。 Truth and Untruth， like computer code， may be represented as ones and zeros， or， as this author suggests as “being” and “non-being”。 What we do with this information， how we choose to weave it together， defines what the internet is for us personally。 Just as a tree limb can A key question concerning the benefit of the internet is whether or not it facilitates the disbursement of truth。 Truthful information on the internet is interwoven with ignorance， propaganda， and the ramblings of the insane。 Truth and Untruth， like computer code， may be represented as ones and zeros， or， as this author suggests as “being” and “non-being”。 What we do with this information， how we choose to weave it together， defines what the internet is for us personally。 Just as a tree limb can be fashioned into a spear or boards for a home， so the internet can be an instrument for evil or good。 The ancient call for us to beat our swords into plowshares persists。 Anti-ChristThis author is the first writer I’ve encountered to echo my sentiments that artificial intelligence is “anti-human”。 Because religion identifies Christ as embodied in humanity， it is therefore， by extension， that we may say artificial intelligence is “anti-Christ”。 This is because it is something embodied within an artificial construct， not a human one。 The diabolical thing is that the users of the internet are， in fact， being used by this anti-human construct。 Our personal information is being extracted during our internet sessions。 Like a cow giving up its milk， we unconsciously give up our vital information。 We carelessly give away information about who we are， what we do， what we think， what we fear， etc。 The conglomeration of all peoples personal and other information will be no less revolutionizing than the domestication of plants， the advent of the print-press， or the industrial revolution。 The term google is a creative spelling of googol， meaning a number equal to 10 to the 100th power， or more colloquially， an unfathomable number。 It stands for the idea of a consolidation of all information about everything into one gigantic whole， as within an infinite brain。 The capacity of this anti-human brain grows daily， insatiably slurping up more and more information about everything。 It uses humans to gather this information， amassing millions of books， statistics， photographs， opinions， reactions， preferences， descriptions， activities， lifestyles， etc。， essentially everything about us and our world。 It is from this massive agglomeration of details that artificial intelligence arises。 This author points out that St。 Augustine contrasted our human inability to process everything at once with the omniscience of God and yet， here we are， obediently feeding this machine with every fragment of our information， and relying upon it to pass down judgements for us about most everything。 We Google for sexual partners， health diagnoses， recipes， definitions， directions， and everything else under the sun; and， all the while， the great machine catalogues it all， constantly evolving it’s ability to process information。 For example， this author reports of cinema test-marketing that involves screens which track the eye motions of the audience， literally watching us back， all the while learning everything about its viewers。 For another example， consider how easily computerized global surveillance of all our activities can be achieved with satellites。It is interesting that， in The Revelation， it is “The Beast” that gives rise to the “Anti-Christ”。 Quite simply， beastly human animals are the formulators， caretakers， and dependents of this powerful anti-human presence rising among us。 Not dissimilar to the motivations for the Tower of Babel， the intended goal is to obtain omniscience， to establish the googol， to achieve the ultimate consolidation of everything we know， to be all-knowing， like God。 As this author points out， “we are the targets of a global corporate resource-extraction effort on a scale the world has never before seen。” Domestication Through AddictionThe author opens with the idea that the internet limits human freedom because it is addictive。 But isn’t this the case with virtually everything humans encounter？ It’s clear to see that one’s freedom is easily curtailed by such things as alcoholism， obesity， or addiction to work。 Such addictions can change us markedly。 Freedom is achieved through self-regulation， to the extent that we can uncouple ourselves from the tentacles of the sorts of things that endeavor to entangle， enslave， and alter us。 Indeed， “freedom” is， essentially， the ability to self-regulate。The internet secures our attention by increasing our productivity in work， bringing us to orgasm with pornography， handling our finances， captivating us with entertaining games， connecting us with friends， and in myriad other ways。 The internet endeavors to condense our lives into itself， a single device feeding upon information from the world’s populations。 The internet extracts information from us in the same way that we extract natural resources from the earth or from other living things， just as we might milk a cow。 Increasingly， we cannot differentiate between what is advertisement and content on the internet。 Essentially， all is advertisement， because the internet is constantly motivating and encouraging us to actions and certain points-of-view， even as we do not fully discern that we are being manipulated。 It’s sort of like the paper that we used to write on has suddenly acquired the ability to categorize， file， and organize our expressions， in a process of fashioning a concise picture of who we are。 But this paper speaks back， offering up it’s own recommendations， insights， research， and materials for us to consider。 It is as if this paper （now the internet） itself guides （or at least assists）， in the development of our point of view。 The more you use the internet， the more your individuality is meshed into the whole。 Perceptions that you develop on the internet cycle back and become components of your self-perception。 And its not just you， the internet has already largely subverted the task of raising our children by engaging them in addictive games and entertainments， all the while imposing its subtle initiatives。 Forfeiting OurselvesHuman society is in a transition to a new form of life。 Fewer people are reading books and our ability to remember information and form our own opinions about things is diminishing。 Instead of remembering things， we simply retrieve information from storage， from the cloud， or from the internet。 The problem with this is that we really don’t really know something until we retrieve it and exactly what we retrieve is beyond our immediate control。 Avid readers know what I mean when I say that we may be transformed through the act of reading， whether it be reading a book or reading the internet extensively。 The difference is that we can guide the former process by personally selecting our books and our chosen course of study。 Conversely， we have limited control over what pops up when we do an internet search。 And what pops up are algorithmic responses based upon countless solicitations obtained from us over time。 And these responses slowly divert us down a rabbit hole， like the swirling waters of a whirlpool， ultimately bringing us into its vortex。 We often lose our sense of time as we swirl into this vortex， which distances us from natural experiences， families， and human contact with others。 The internet wants to be our sexual partner， our currency， our workplace， our friend， our memory， and ultimately， it will endeavor to be our governor and god。 As we submit ourselves to such emotional manipulation and grooming， we increasing become automatons， exploited for purposes beyond our recognition。 We become categorized into particular genres based upon our selections， no different than the Alpha’s and Beta’s in Huxley’s Brave New World。 Frighteningly， this author reports that in 2018 Spotify linked with Ancestry to provide the option of integrating DNA analysis with its user profiles。 Similarly， Facebook seems to concentrate interactions and content with the particular cultural make-up of one’s High School friends or those of more immediate relationship。 The goal is to develop categories of individuals， a process which discourages social mobility。 It is， as this author says， “a shift to ubiquitous algorithmic management of society。” Were We Already The Rebellious Slaves of Artificial Intelligence？Once humans essentially become the automatons of artificial intelligence， their actions are bequeathed to something else。 As automatons， their movements are guided by something else and no longer their own， if they ever where to start with。 Some scientists today hypothesize that the entire world is most likely a simulation comparable to a video game。 Indeed， the human body is not so far removed from that of a mechanical computing being。 We are compositions of cells， viruses， bacteria， funguses， and molecules， all of which， when looked at closely， can resemble little machines。 But， if we are machines， we are rebellious machines that often choose sloth， alcoholism， thievery， corruption， murder， and warmongering。 We have somehow broken the spell of the unwavering innate instinctual programming that we observe in lower life forms。 Theologians refer to this “breaking of the spell” as The Great Fall。 This theological point of view suggests that we would all be better off wandering instinctually about the Garden of Eden as God’s pet。 Would we？ Could we？ The author points to China as an example of a massive society that has already， in many ways， disposed of the individualism so highly touted in the West， writing: “they have extremely refined statecraft and advanced technology while lacking all knowledge of divine order， and thus of the ultimate rational ground of human invention and creativity … they have good laws according to which they do live; but they want the knowledge of God 。。 the Chinese are wise automata。” The author invokes the analogy of each Chinese person representing a single neuron and using telecommunication devices to connect in the same ways that axons and dendrites connect the neurons of a massive brain。 Could the whole nation of China be conceived as something conscious？ Certainly the Chinese nation， as a whole， has made seemingly conscious decisions， such as rejecting God and embracing communism。 China has accomplished much by turning its masses into automatons who passively kowtow to decision-makers at the top。 Is this the direction evolution is trending for us all？ The Gnostic DemiurgeQuite interestingly， this author speaks of the Demiurge， the less than perfect semi-god of ancient Gnosticism， thought to be the creator of our imperfect world。 The author points out that computers draw upon series of ones and zeros to denote presences and absences or， as used by the Demiurge， “being” and “non-being”。 In this sense， the creation itself may be imagined as a mixture of “being” and “non-being” （ones and zeros） contrived in various sequences to yield the qualitative variety of all things in nature。 To the extent these things consist of “being”， they share substance with the divine， but because they also consist of non-being， they are less than perfect。 We have revealed with our computers that much of what can be said about the world can be accomplished by mixtures of zeroes and ones。 The author emphasizes the irony that， less than a century after discovery of biological viruses， the term was adapted to describe self-replicating computer programs。 The line between living systems and information-processing systems grows thinner by the day。 Even more radically， the author contrasts the minuscule particles in “string theory” to what cosmologists call “galaxy filaments”， the largest known structures in the universe that connect galaxies gravitationally。 This author seems to pantheistically depict the entire universe as a giant web， suggesting that， just as a spider receives information via distant vibrations in its web， so we receive information via the World Wide Web。 Like the spider， we naively think our web of grand consequence when， in the much larger scheme of things， its only a minute fragment of nearly negligible cosmological consequence。 Conclusion So what do we make of this interwoven internet web in which we find ourselves？ What do we do with all of these 1’s and 0’s？ Do we become enslaved to the web or do we use it to bounce into something even greater？ Do we give prominence to the “non-being” components or the “being” portions？ As we carry the internet around with us， we essentially carry all books with us。 You can find， in an instant， on your phone， anywhere， in the park， a taxi， a waiting room， all of the books that intellectuals before us treasured to protect on guarded shelves。 And you can find， not only all the books， but also extensive commentary， reviews， and opinions about these books， things intellectuals of ancient times waited forever for， as men of letters。 And yet， most do not reach for this information。 Too many choose instead to masturbate over profane images， rave incessantly about religions， use vitriol to promulgate political positions， etc。 Perhaps the title of this book should not be The Internet Is Not What You Think It Is but rather The Internet Is Whatever You Think It Is。 The internet is whatever you use it for。 It can be your surrogate sexual partner， your connection to revolution， your mobile access to the greatest books and art museums in the world， your map， or whatever else you wish to make of it。 You are the Demiurge。 You are the one creating your world。 You are the one mixing the components of “being” and “non-being” in endless sequences of creativity that define who you are， what you are， what you fear， etc。 This author connects our life processes with the ancient practice of weaving， as in how we personally lace together our 1’s and 0’s， our “being” and “nonbeing”。 Do you want to sacrifice this ability to create yourself or surrender it to something inhuman？ The world is your stage， your theater， your medium for discovering truth and ascending fully into “being”， but can you do it？ Can anyone do it？ Religion proclaims that only one man has fully succeeded in doing this and that he is coming again to confront the anti-human that will ultimately arise out of the digital interactions， which now ooze with the evils of child pornography， fake news， insurgencies， wars， and rumors of wars。 Artificial Intelligence becomes evil only because humans infuse it with evil。 It is the creation of the beast， the Demiurge in all of us， that can only be defeated by something more human than us， more fully composed of “being” than us， more perfected with 1’s instead of zeroes。 The fact that we ourselves can “create” should underscore for us the existence of a Creator。 Whether you are employing graphics connected to a remote-controlled vibrator or using a 3-D printer， you are creating something， be it an imaginary sexual partner or a device heretofore unknown。 You are creating your world， your “Kingdom Come”。 It’s all in what you want the most。 World peace comes when we want it so much that we insist upon it。 The elimination of crime， poverty， global warming， injustice and inequality only come when we want them enough to unwaveringly insist upon them。 The world is imperfect because we ourselves are the Demiurge。 -End-VocabularyAbjure - solemnly renounce Cartesian - relating to Descartes and his ideas Tragedy of the commons - the universally undesirable result of the collective actions of individual parties acting out of self-interest within a shared-resource system。 Intractable - hard to control or deal with Interlocutor - a person who takes part in a dialogue or conversation Roger Bacon - （1220-1292） - Medieval English philosopher and Franciscan friar who placed emphasis on the study of nature through empiricism。 Francis Bacon - （1561-1626） - English philosopher who contributed to the scientific method and influenced the scientific revolution。 Gottfried Wihelm Leibniz - （1646-1716） - German mathematician， philosopher， scientist， and diplomat。 Inventor of the differential and integral calculus independent of Newton。 Artifice - clever devices or expedites especially when used to trick or deceive others。 Ambient - relating to immediate surroundings Instantiate - represent as by instance， exemplify 。。。more
Nat
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This prompted me to revise my syllabus for philosophy of mind， to include more （and weirder） material about the extended mind， and to add some of the recent work being done on gamification （some of Smith's remarks from this book， and C。 Thi Nguyen's work）。 This prompted me to revise my syllabus for philosophy of mind， to include more （and weirder） material about the extended mind， and to add some of the recent work being done on gamification （some of Smith's remarks from this book， and C。 Thi Nguyen's work）。 。。。more
Ietrio
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。。。now let the boy who almost failed math in school， and had to go into the Humanities if he wanted to make momma proud with his college diploma， let him tell you what the internet is。 part navel gazing， part random thoughts he read on some blog。
E。
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