democratising technology Summary by Mark Sergeant, Nottingham Trent University
Ian Simmons, The Centre for Life Cory Doctorow, Technology Writer /Blogger/ Novelist/Open Source Activist Georgina Voss, UCL Chair: Natalie Ireland, Manchester Science Festival The central theme of the session was whether or not technology actually democratises us; whether technology makes us more or less free. This is a poignant question given the use of social media applications to organise activities during the recent political unrest across the Middle East. Cory Doctorow pointed out that technology encourages freedom by lowering co-ordination costs; is makes it easier to organise individuals into a group with a specific goal. Before the days of the internet organising groups was laborious, requiring activities such as the distribution of fliers and forming of mailing lists. As the formation of groups can now be accomplished very quickly through social networking, it gives a group additional time to spend working towards their goals. Keeping an online record of group activities will also build up an archive of information outlining how to deal with specific issues and problems that even novices can effectively utilise. This has also created a role for information curators, who organise data from various sources to create a coherent narrative (think along the lines of adding hyperlinks to Wikipedia). Technology can also be used to increase ‘crypto’ (cryptography); specific terms that allow group members to create messages that can’t easily be interpreted by those in power or those who work against the goals of the group. This has improved the ability of individuals and groups to keep secrets.