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ntombizakhona's review against another edition
5.0
What can I say...
It feels like reading a combination of:
Economics 101
Philosophy 101
Politics 101
Information Technology I
Introduction to Cloud Computing
Networks 101
Anyways, it feels like a lecturer ranting on a sunny Monday, and you're hungover and you can hear him going on and on and on and on...
But, on a less monotonous note, he is definitely on point with his analysis as this book is from a decade ago, and we are definitely living in a future that is entailed in this book.
I will definitely read it again in a decade or so.
However, I agree on his economical views on creating a sustainable technological market through the monetization and compensation of its end-users.
It feels like reading a combination of:
Economics 101
Philosophy 101
Politics 101
Information Technology I
Introduction to Cloud Computing
Networks 101
Anyways, it feels like a lecturer ranting on a sunny Monday, and you're hungover and you can hear him going on and on and on and on...
But, on a less monotonous note, he is definitely on point with his analysis as this book is from a decade ago, and we are definitely living in a future that is entailed in this book.
I will definitely read it again in a decade or so.
However, I agree on his economical views on creating a sustainable technological market through the monetization and compensation of its end-users.
laylajohnston's review against another edition
4.0
Lanier's description of a theoretical humanistic information economy is interesting and quite different from all of the big data hype. Read this, even if just for the history of Nelson's two-way links.
isnotnull's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
3.75
me_haugen's review against another edition
5.0
I read this one while I was lost at lake. I'm in a long-standing game of Marco Polo with some old college pals. We've been playing for the last twenty years because it helps us stay connected but it is a bit nerve-wracking cause basically anytime you're in water - pool, ocean, bathtub, anything - your friend can pop out of nowhere and say "Marco" and you have to say "Polo" back. You HAVE to. And if your friend tags you, you have to keep your eyes closed till you get someone else. My one friend, Tyler Herzfeld, messed up so many surgeries when he was "it" he almost got fired but then he actually didn't even get suspended because most of the hospital board got blown up in a 4th of July accident and everyone forgot about his stuff. Anyway, I was doing an international bass fishing competition when I heard a "Marco" in the distance, so I hightailed it out of there in my Yamaha and accidentally got lost in the middle of Lake Michigan until some sailors mistook me for a mermaid and brought me aboard. They were pretty pissed when I told them I couldn't grant them any wishes but I don't even think that's a mermaid thing. This book was good.
seannflyn's review against another edition
4.0
Because tech advances so rapidly, reading a 2014 book already seems a bit dated, but don't let that spoil it.
Who owns the future? raises a lot of relevant questions about our data, how it's comparable to human labour in the information age as a means for executives to exploit and manipulate just as they, in bygone times, would have exploited factory workers rights - and illuminates an idyllic future in which we are compensated through micropayments for a data network built on human information, and the steps we need to take to get there.
Overall good thesis, but poor execution - much too repetitive, but accessible to everyone, even a tech dummy like me.
Who owns the future? raises a lot of relevant questions about our data, how it's comparable to human labour in the information age as a means for executives to exploit and manipulate just as they, in bygone times, would have exploited factory workers rights - and illuminates an idyllic future in which we are compensated through micropayments for a data network built on human information, and the steps we need to take to get there.
Overall good thesis, but poor execution - much too repetitive, but accessible to everyone, even a tech dummy like me.
brianharrison's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
3.75
leaton01's review against another edition
5.0
This book is not as emotionally charging as Ensler's but it is equally important for the world today. As a well-known technologist of the 1980s and 1990s, Lanier has much to say about the modern interconnected world and his concerns about it. Continuing on from his last book, You Are Not a Gadget, he explores the world of mega-servers, their powers to influence the world and the impact that can have on human affairs, particularly the world of economics and trade. His biggest concern is that the information individuals are willing to give companies, as he claims, "for free" is setting up a system that will inevitably come back to bite us in our collective asses. He offers up a new approach to the exchange of information that takes place every time an individual sits at a computer and accesses the internet. His idea would be to create a system of micropayments so that everyone is given something for every piece of information that another person, company, entity uses.
Some people might not fully understand but every time they interact with a computer, there are numerous note-takers recording much of what you do in terms of what you click, what you look at, how long you look at it, etc. Many have argued that Google and the like do much more in terms of surveillance than NSA ever could. Lanier believes individuals should be paid for such information, even if it is micropayments (with the belief that it will amount to some small streams of revenue given the amount of information that is actually collected on us). I do like the idea but I find Lanier still fails to prove his point. His most basic argument is that companies are taking information from us without our consent and without due compensation. Yet, that's not entirely true. In many cases, we are exchanging services. I provide information about me and in return, I get use and access to tools that I would not have had otherwise. He never substantially addresses this. Otherwise, it's a fantastic and thought-provoking book.
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
Some people might not fully understand but every time they interact with a computer, there are numerous note-takers recording much of what you do in terms of what you click, what you look at, how long you look at it, etc. Many have argued that Google and the like do much more in terms of surveillance than NSA ever could. Lanier believes individuals should be paid for such information, even if it is micropayments (with the belief that it will amount to some small streams of revenue given the amount of information that is actually collected on us). I do like the idea but I find Lanier still fails to prove his point. His most basic argument is that companies are taking information from us without our consent and without due compensation. Yet, that's not entirely true. In many cases, we are exchanging services. I provide information about me and in return, I get use and access to tools that I would not have had otherwise. He never substantially addresses this. Otherwise, it's a fantastic and thought-provoking book.
If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other reviews and writings at By Any Other Nerd/
ashcomb's review
2.0
This is a horrible book. Not because of the subject, but how it was written. I bought it because I listened to Jaron Lanier to talk about this subject, and I was instantly drawn into his thoughts and opinions on how automation and algorithms will impact the economy and our job situations. And he is right about the fact that at the moment the money of the content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and so on goes to the companies and servers where they are kept rather than to the content makers (us.) And, we are being used for additional information as the collected data from our behavior and background is sold on.
I agree with him with both the issue and solution that the content maker has to be paid, and we have to pay from the services we use so we don’t become the product, but unfortunately, the book is poorly written with mixed ramblings and unstructured content which jumps around composed of sentences where he flings together big words yet says nothing of substantial whatever. Empty blather with a polished surface. This is such a shame as I know he can argue his point (or at least in the interviews I have seen him.) What the book lacks is data (actual studies) to back up his claims. Instead, the book is made of him trying to spread the subject into 372 pages and add gravitas to it by philosophical pondering and his take on economic issues without barely stopping to prove his point or even dwell more in-depth into the matter. This book would have been better if he had written a pamphlet. So he wouldn’t have spread his point thin and weaker his argumentation. I was very disappointed with this book.
I agree with him with both the issue and solution that the content maker has to be paid, and we have to pay from the services we use so we don’t become the product, but unfortunately, the book is poorly written with mixed ramblings and unstructured content which jumps around composed of sentences where he flings together big words yet says nothing of substantial whatever. Empty blather with a polished surface. This is such a shame as I know he can argue his point (or at least in the interviews I have seen him.) What the book lacks is data (actual studies) to back up his claims. Instead, the book is made of him trying to spread the subject into 372 pages and add gravitas to it by philosophical pondering and his take on economic issues without barely stopping to prove his point or even dwell more in-depth into the matter. This book would have been better if he had written a pamphlet. So he wouldn’t have spread his point thin and weaker his argumentation. I was very disappointed with this book.
adammck's review against another edition
4.0
Lanier raises a lot of provocative points here about the trends of big data and Siren Servers / cloud computing. Warning against the economic impact of tech-fueled market disruption, he makes the case for a middle class of users feeding into the servers. In a future of 3D printers and automated-everything, it will otherwise be easier than ever to be marginalized. Compare the number of employees at Instagram to the number at Kodak in its prime, etc.
"Google might eventually become an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, unless something changes," he writes. "This would happen when so many goods and services become software-centric, and so much information is "free," that there is nothing left to advertise on Google that attracts actual money."
Lanier has earned his cred; he's had a hand in countless Silicon Valley endeavors, is credited for coining the term "virtual reality," counts Marvin Minsky as a mentor (and entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt as acquaintances and peers) and was even the first person to see himself in avatar form in a virtual environment.
His focus gets a little frayed at times and, ultimately, the solutions he presents for tomorrow's middle class feel fairly half-baked. Still, I found it to be consistently engaging, especially in comparison to the typical books on these subjects (e.g. "how big data will transform your business and make you rich!")
"Google might eventually become an ouroboros, a snake eating its own tail, unless something changes," he writes. "This would happen when so many goods and services become software-centric, and so much information is "free," that there is nothing left to advertise on Google that attracts actual money."
Lanier has earned his cred; he's had a hand in countless Silicon Valley endeavors, is credited for coining the term "virtual reality," counts Marvin Minsky as a mentor (and entrepreneurs like Jeff Bezos and Eric Schmidt as acquaintances and peers) and was even the first person to see himself in avatar form in a virtual environment.
His focus gets a little frayed at times and, ultimately, the solutions he presents for tomorrow's middle class feel fairly half-baked. Still, I found it to be consistently engaging, especially in comparison to the typical books on these subjects (e.g. "how big data will transform your business and make you rich!")