Within my previous post, I went into detail about the history of communication technology and how it has led to the ‘liquid lifestyle’ of today. Now I wish to look to the future of what developments of communication have in store for us as we transcend reality into cyberspace in an attempt to end the ambiguity of the current way of living.
To consider the future, we must examine the present and what aspects will take effect on tomorrow. As noted, we presently fight against the ever-changing lifestyle that demands our constant attention to gain wealth through information provided by us as the ‘user’, but this is incredibly unstable and could theoretically collapse at any given moment. What isn’t considered within this lifestyle is the power that is generated towards machine and cyberspace through its instability and the longing for a reliable future. We question what the future will be like for us as individuals as the fluid lifestyle is said to collapse but are we certain that the cycle will cease to exist or rather transform its chain of command. A fluid lifestyle may not benefit us as humans but will benefit the machine.
Sounds like science fiction but let me explain.
While humans continue to attempt to adapt to change accordingly, we are doing everything we can to stabilise our way of life for convenience. In doing so, we continue to grasp at new technologies presented by large corporations that only have their own objectives in mind. While the uneducated may argue that technology is the reason for the downfall of our society, it realistically comes back to the people behind the technology and their centralized network of operation.
The companies that demand our attention are the ones that benefit from the liquid cycle; through their product they can collect data from the user to either use for future products or to sell to other companies for monetary gain. As knowledge is the new form of currency, we are the product that companies want, so to keep our attention they must create the illusion of support to the user within the erratic shifts they also initiate, maintaining the fluid cycle to cultivate their influence.
However, it seems that we are going through a rebellion against institutions to bring back the power to the individual over their own livelihood.
Cyberspace is not governed by a single entity, as it is a decentralized network. The individual nodes, or we as its users, have the power to make our own decisions without the need for clearance from a higher power. This allows for room for not only large institutes to implement change, but also for the individual. This presents equal opportunity to all to gain knowledge and ‘wealth’ through their own means, making the digital playing field equal for big business and individuals. Through the freedom of decentralized networks, we can fight against the outdated efforts of the centralized networks that still dominate our realities to develop our living conditions for the better.
We can see the early stages of this through the effort of people like Julien Assange, whose goal was to create the standard of transparency between institution and individual as it presents as the main struggle amongst humanity. If we as the consumer are expected to provide our data to the institute, should the institute not reciprocate? Similar sentiment is shared with the vast hacking culture apparent since the development of the world wide web; while the term of ‘hacker’ seems to be diminished by society to nothing but scummy individuals wanting nothing but independent gain, the image painted by legacy media is that to mask the true uprising happening as we speak.
Most hackers want more than monetary or informative gain, differing from their institutional counterparts. They want freedom of knowledge to demolish our vulnerability as the individual and craft an honest future that would not base itself on the cultural hierarchy we have today, but rather fight for true equality. World War III will most likely be a cyber one which could be taking place already; a conflict not routed in physical strength and commodities, no longer ruled by borders, but rather knowledge and information. Cyberspace is the unbiased arena we need in order to be able to take on authorities that can’t be touched in reality due to their well-established influence.
We can already see the capabilities of the internet through leaks, meme warfare and ‘fake news’, the effects that information, true or otherwise, can have on public opinion. With strength in numbers, we can completely change the way the world is governed, we have the tools necessary to be able to influence those unaware of the battle needed to progress our futures.
So, what do I think my future will look like?
I believe we will see the increase in cyberwarfare that will lead to the revelation of information that will alter the chain of command for our society. But the question remains of who will take the spot of authority when it comes to a cybersphere of existence. Say we do have a war that dismantles the governing parties we have in place; will we have institutes that will replace them? Or will we be left as individuals in a ‘cyber wild west’ to fend for ourselves? Would this kind of future be worth the fight, or would it be beneficial to remain in the regime we reside today?
As I questioned in the end of my last post, I asked whether the liquid lifestyle would be the end of civilization as we know it? And I strongly believe that the answer is yes, but I remain sceptical of the future it will present. All I know is that the way society is constructed today is on the brink of catastrophe and something needs to be done to alter the collision course we are on.
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