Sunday, January 16, 2011

Do Digital Artifact have Politics ?

 DO ARTIFACTS HAVE POLITICS?
[from Winner, L. (1986). The whale and the reactor: a search for limits in an age of high technology. Chicago, University of Chicago Press, 19-39.]
No idea is more provocative in controversies about technology and society than the notion that technical things have political qualities. At issue is the claim that the machines, structures, and systems of modern material culture can be accurately judged not only for their contributions to efficiency and productivity and their positive and negative environmental side effects, but also for the ways in which they can embody specific forms of power and authority. Since ideas of this kind are a persistent and troubling presence in discussions about the meaning of technology, they deserve explicit attention.
Within the realm of digital media, the development process takes a big influence from the society inside of it. It brings back the high school memories where everything is a popularity contest. Whichever website or service provider gets the most buzz receives the most attention and consideration. This is the politics of the Internet. In Langdon Winner’s “Do Artifacts Have Politics?”, he establishes a clear relationship between society and technology. The example of the construction of Long Island highway roads was brilliant. He pointed out that they were developed so only people who could afford their own cars were able to access those roads. This separated the rich from the poor, since the poor usually had to take buses as a means of transportation. It was clear that the development of the roads were well thought out before construction occurred and who ever had the money had a voice that was heard. Even before the age of the Internet, there already existed politics within the development of technology.
Referring back to the popularity contest on the Internet, Google seems to be the clear winner when it comes to search engines. Many Internet browsers come with a Google search bar already embedded next to the address tab. This is also common among cell phones and other pda devices. In blackberry browser there is a Google search bar right next to address tab. Even if you didn’t like using Google, the user-friendly accessibility just makes you want to use it. It is clear that Google is the heavy favorite when it comes to search engines. Tim Wu’s Net Neutrality, points out the network discrimination that can occur in the digital media. Internet service providers can make deals with certain popular/favored digital companies where they would be prioritized against their competition. This can essentially limit users to choose to use certain services over others, especially if the Internet speed is clearly different from one another. Why use a website that takes twice as long to load up when you can use their competitors’ site in half the time? As Internet policy is getting developed, network neutrality should be taken into deep consideration. I agree that the Internet should be open, accessible, and neutral to all users and providers. Otherwise the Internet will become a capitalist world. In some ways, it already is.


CH09B071
R.SURENDER NAIK

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