An interesting new podcast from RadioLab last week entitled "What does technology want?"
The discussion ranges from the origins of technologically innovative ideas, through to the way in which technology can develop a life of its own. To illustrate that latter point, the now near impossibility of turning off the internet is raised.
It's an interesting thought experiment. For all it's limitations these days, one of the design goals of the network protocols that we now know as the internet was to be able to survive (military) attack. If we wanted to turn it off, it would be at best very difficult.
But more importantly, three impact now would be highly significant, but also generally unpredictable. It has woven itself into so much of our lives now that it's very hard to foresee the impact of it not being there.
William Gibson's world is increasingly upon us…
mmitII 