[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

INFOWAR: Infopeace

---------------------------------------------------------
ARS ELECTRONICA FESTIVAL 98
INFOWAR. information.macht.krieg
Linz, Austria, september 07 - 12
http://www.aec.at/infowar
---------------------------------------------------------
Many of the dialogues and statements being issued I am in favor of, just
to wave my flag of allegiance. Moreso the subtext holds my interest. The
core of this infowar for me is the taking away of our rights to the access
Steve Mann mentions below. Sure, if Nike exploits workers in another
country you can publish it, and maybe even generate some support. But the
reality is that its another stone thrown at the megalomaniac. Granted, we
can't live in fear scuttling about under the behemoths legs. But when an
individual acts, as Noam Chomsky stresses, she needs to be extremely aware
of what the outcome will be. Throwing stones simply gives the police cause
to subjugate, and that is where we are with this infowar. Control is
quickly being taken away from the individual. As the web becomes larger
and larger the masses will not enter that realm with the same delight and
anarchistic sense of discovery that many of us have experienced. No,
they'll be given browsers loaded with advertisements leading to sites that
have paid for the space, search engines that are more corrupt than the
politicians, and finding links to those subversive, informative sites will
be the casualty of this war. That's the infowar. I honestly believe that
the internet's renaissance has come and gone. I am truly interested in
what will become of the non-technical worker, which, as a reminder, is by
far the majority of the planet.

Enter industry.
Industry-  'An educated public is a dangerous public. One with the power
of the net's information exchange is a public with a gun. We need to
maximize the information =3D power equation.'=20

This is what they are clamping down on. Yes, there will always be the
dissenting percentages. We've been here for eternity. We're factored in
and accounted for. But the second element of the infowar, imho, is this:=20
knowledge is power. The education system give knowledge away for free.

Industry-  'Free? What was that? That's gotta stop. If I can make a buck
selling it, I will.'

So cut the public schools. Destroy the education system, and control the
flow of power. It's being done in the US as I write this. The voucher
system is just the beginning. One of the proposed tax laws for next year
is leading unswervingly in this direction. And the results are clearly
discernible. The US stock market is having the run of its existence.

Another more personal aspect of the infowar that I've noticed taking place
has already manifested itself on this listserve. Ebon Fisher had some
terrific sentiments on our direction. I'll try and take it a bit further.
It's about the individualized megalomaniac. Over the years, I've noticed
time and time again people arguing over trite irrelevancies. This I
believe is because the net caters to everyone, generating not
understanding in us, not peace and respect, but hyper attention to the
differences. For example, if you have a hobby of collecting plants, and
you start into the net, you are soon forced to faction that hobby into
something more specific. This is because there are so few decent
summarized, editorialized pieces of info on the net.  You'll find the
presentation of two types of info: the Industries info, and the
individual's info. Hobbies, and most personal aspects of our lives fall
into the latter category. Thus the longer you travel down the inforiver,
the smaller your focus becomes, until one day you find yourself an elitist
collector of african bonsai from Namibia right around Windhoek, not the
north side, but the south side, near the river, not the pines, the minty
ones. It's an elitist, egotistical ivory tower that you've constructed for
yourself, all others be damned, let the infowar begin, because My
Information is better, more pure, more Refined than yours. I wasn't duped
for a minute by that fake commencement speech by Kurt Vonnegut. My info is
pure. It's all about vying for position.  The equation of info =3D power is
becoming more and more lucid. The technology provides the solving of this
equation faster and more frequently than ever before. Labor and capital
are now utterly mobile.  Currencies are liquidated. The proposed economies
based purely on information are starting to pop up here and there. If you
don't have something to trade, then you are nothing.=20

The war for me is much more internal and psychological than anything I've
heard or read being discussed. It's about how we relate to one another.
How we relate to the world around us. How we are willing to torment
ourselves.  Because isn't that where every war is really fought, inside
ourselves?  What a clich=E9 line. Sensor away listserve. Make it hurt.=20

Oh, that's the other war. Attention deficit. Can you tell? Hey, look, a
bird!

Chris Jordan


---------------------------------------------------------------------------
You are subscribed to the English language version of INFOWAR
To (un)subscribe the English language version send mail to
infowar-en-request@aec.at (message text 'subscribe'/'unsubscribe')
To (un)subscribe the German language version of send mail to
infowar-dt-request@aec.at (message text 'subscribe'/'unsubscribe')
Send contributions to infowar@aec.at
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
[INFOWAR] [subscribe]