Dystopia is a Closed System

The dystopian scenario is the scenario in which the future is essentially beaten back and all systems become closed.  You can’t operate in an open way.  Some of that could come through government intervention, some of that could frankly come through spam and viruses. 

If the technological threat from openness becomes unbearable by the average citizen, who has zero ideological commitment to the internet, simply a commitment to utility, then this system can also close down as well.  

If we end up forestalling or shutting down one way or another the open Internet in the name of you keeping Hollywood safe, or fighting off viruses, I think it will be a huge loss for humankind. 

In Their Own Words is recorded in Big Think’s studio.

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