Name: Who Owns the Future?
ISBN: 9781451654974

Jaron Lanier

Evaluates the negative impact of digital network technologies on the economy and particularly the middle class, citing challenges to employment and personal wealth while exploring the potential of a new information economy.

Who Owns the Future?

Andrew Louis

Two ideas resonated: 
1) Early tech culture's obsessions with freeing information has had a dangerous side effect in the form of centralized platforms ("Siren Servers") that feed on our data to acquire power.
2) Power/wealth flows upwards away from the middle class and we need to do something about it.

I also like anyone who references Ted Nelson's ideas. 

Otherwise, the book was long and unfocused and I wasn't convinced by his proposals.

Nelson Zagalo

"Who Owns the Future?" (2013) by Jaron Lanier is the natural companion to "To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism” (2013) from Evgeny Morozov. Both authors try critique approaches to the current state of technological affairs, namely the internet, and the power it mediates. Both are highly lucid and support ideas with large evidence, however Morozov emerges from a plain academic domain, while Lanier is a technologist, born within the Silicon Valley culture.
Both books are must reads, but in this case, Lanier doesn't critique only, he goes further and presents possible solutions for the main problems being potentiated by the internet like the disappearance of jobs and the frightening rising of inequality.

Will do an extensive review in my blog soon.

Diana Platgalve

“Who owns the future” is call for rethinking the technological and economical development, criticising current agenda. The author is highlighting that information supremacy for one company becomes a form of behaviour modification for the rest of the world. Siren servers are gaining superior information position, by giving the illusion of “free.” The author, giving the examples, notes that free means someone else will be deciding how you live, and your lack of privacy will be becoming someone else’s wealth. Lanier, is not afraid to say it clearly- spying on you is the primary business of the information technology. 
However he as well highlights that siren servers not always do harm, but currently we are using the power of networks to optimise for wrong things overall. 
His offered solutions are the increase of the middle class by introducing humanistic information economics. People are ought to be paid for value they contribute, that is sent or stored on a digital network. For more fair trade, the author, is offering the idea of unique commercial identity in a universal market information system. 
I particularly enjoyed the criticism displayed, and some of his more philosophical thoughts throughout the book. But it’s hard (taking into consideration my current knowledge) to wrap my head around his offered solutions or double-links. In general, he is starting the discussion to rethink the path we are taking rather than offering ready to implement solution.

Ivaylo Durmonski

So, who owns the future?

If we look at the current trends, the odds are not in our favor. Big networks are gathering more and more information. This allows them to tailor their message the right way and pull out even more money out of us.

What can be done?

Well, according to Jaron Lanier, the author of this marvelous book, the only way we can bring back the balance to the world is by making more content online paid. This will allow the middle classes to rise and the economy in general to thrive. And it kind of makes sense. When average citizens gain more they’ll be able to support other citizens and eventually, more communities will thrive. That’s my main takeaway from the book.

Who Owns the Future? is not an easy read. There’s surely a lot going on inside the brain of Jaron Lanier. The writing is a bit polemical and long-winded. Kind of hard to get a good grasp of the ideas inside. Still, this books is definitely a gem.

More, here: https://durmonski.com/book-summaries/...

Who Owns the Future?

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