Summary media technollogy
and society
Table of content
Frank Webster: Theories of the Information Society................4
The Internet & Society: What’s new?.............................................4
Information Age...........................................................................4
Value of Social Theory..................................................................5
Information Society?....................................................................5
Continuity vs. Change..................................................................6
Definitions...................................................................................6
6th definition.......................................................................................................... 6
TECHNOLOGY......................................................................................................... 7
ECONOMY............................................................................................................... 9
OCCUPATIONAL.................................................................................................... 10
SPATIAL................................................................................................................ 12
CULTURAL............................................................................................................ 13
QUALITY............................................................................................................... 15
WHAT IS INFORMATION VS BEING INFORMED...............................15
QUALITY OF INFORMATION.........................................................16
Innis & McLuhan :History and Early Approaches....................16
Technology & Communication.....................................................16
Double Bind...............................................................................17
Bias of Communication...............................................................18
2. McLuhan's Vision of Communication Eras.................................21
The Shift from Oral to Literate Culture................................................................21
Extension of Man.......................................................................22
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE....................................................23
The Global Village......................................................................24
McLuhan’s quote ................................................................................................. 26
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow......26
-Bill Gates............................................................................................................. 26
Daniel Bell : The Coming of Post-Industrial Society................28
Quantitative and Qualitative dimension...............................................................30
Global implications............................................................................................... 31
How Employment Defines Society........................................................................32
Separate Realms........................................................................33
Daniel Bell’s Threefold Division of Society............................................................34
Post-industrial society................................................................34
1
, service-based employment marked progress toward a better society.................36
service work marks the final stage of labor evolution..........................................36
Leisure society..................................................................................................... 37
Role of Information....................................................................37
Communal Society......................................................................38
From Industrial Work to a Caring, Service-Based Society.....................................39
Intellectual conservatism............................................................40
Carlotta Perez : Technological revolutions and techno-economic
paradigms............................................................................... 41
Inovation vs. Intention.......................................................................................... 42
The Space of the Technologically Possible...........................................................43
Interplay Between Radical and Incremental Innovations......................................45
Clusters................................................................................................................ 47
Technological Revolutions..........................................................49
From Innovation to Revolution — The Process.....................................................50
The Structure of Technological Revolutions.................................52
Revolution = Transformation “Across the Board”.................................................53
What Is a Techno-Economic Paradigm (TEP)?.......................................................54
Manuel Castells: Informationalism. Networks, and the Network
Society: A Theoretical Blueprint...............................................56
Network Society........................................................................56
Core concept – The network.................................................................................57
Network Flows...................................................................................................... 57
Binary logic of networks:......................................................................................58
Comparison with McLuhan (Global Village):.........................................................58
Three key features of networks (why they dominate):.........................................60
Paradigm shift:..................................................................................................... 61
Informationalism........................................................................63
Industrialism vs. Informationalism.......................................................................65
The Rise Of The Network Society.................................................68
1. Overview: Three overlapping historical processes............................................69
No predetermined trajectory................................................................................71
Cultural context.................................................................................................... 71
Alternative histories?.................................................................73
Network Society: Structure, Dimensions, Dynamics......................74
Power And Counter-power..........................................................77
Space Of Flows And Timeless Time..............................................78
1. Biological time.................................................................................................. 80
2. bureucratic time.............................................................................................. 81
3. clock time........................................................................................................ 81
4. Informationalism and the rise of timeless time.................................................81
John Tomlinson: The Culture of Speed...................................85
Immediacy.................................................................................85
Immediacy as a New Cultural Principle.................................................................87
Three Core Aspects....................................................................88
Liquid Modernity........................................................................92
Speed without progress - Arrival without departure.....................94
2
, Telemediated Presence, Consumption, Scarcity & Cultural Resistance................96
Media........................................................................................98
1. Mediation Has Become “Second Nature”........................................................100
Delivery...................................................................................101
Consumerism...........................................................................103
Production → Consumption → Immediacy...........................................................105
Market for Convenience............................................................109
Market for Convenience............................................................112
Impatient And Immoderate Media Technologies.........................113
Technologies of Spending.........................................................118
Judy Wajcman : Pressed for time........................................118
Tools for Time..........................................................................118
What predictions were made?............................................................................120
1. Wajcman’s Core Argument.............................................................................121
Key Questions Wajcman Wants to Answer.........................................................122
Time as a Social Entity.......................................................................................124
1. What is the “social shaping approach”?.........................................................128
2. Devices Have “Affordances”...........................................................................129
3. Human Agency: How We Use Technology Is Not Fully Predictable.................129
Feeling Harried........................................................................131
Time-Pressure Paradox.............................................................139
1. Cultural Shifts: The Rise of “Make the Most of Your Time”.............................140
High-Speed Society..................................................................143
Shoshana Zuboff: Big other: surveillance capitalism and the
prospects of an information civilization...................................145
Starting from ‘Big Data’............................................................145
Surveillance Capitalism............................................................147
Sur-veil-lance Cap-i-tal-ism, n. (book)........................................148
Computer Mediation.................................................................152
Division of Learning..................................................................154
Data, Extraction, Analysis.........................................................157
Surveillance Capitalism............................................................162
Monitoring and Contract...........................................................170
1. The “Big Other” – Zuboff’s Key Concept.........................................................172
Ellen Helsper: The digital Disconnect..................................179
What are digital inequalities.....................................................189
Access and infrastructure inequalities: First-level divides..................................191
Skills and use inequalities: Second-level divides................................................194
Outcome inequalities: Third-level divides...........................................................195
Intersectionality.......................................................................202
Relativity.................................................................................204
Free choice..............................................................................205
3
, Ivana Bratoletti: An Artificial Revolution : on power, politics
and AI................................................................................... 206
AI intelligence is a revolutionary as mobile phones and the internet
...................................................................................................207
“What Is AI?”..........................................................................211
3. The Hidden Reality: AI Is Labor-Intensive.......................................................213
1. Humanizing AI: A Defining Trait of Our Time..................................................216
The Politics of Data..................................................................220
The “sanctity of data”.......................................................................................220
Data is not neutral............................................................................................. 221
Connection with Zuboff.....................................................................................221
Relation to digital inequality (e.g. Helsper)........................................................222
Data, Algorithms, and Societal Structures..........................................................223
Three types of biases...............................................................226
Pre-existing bias................................................................................................. 226
Technical Bias.................................................................................................... 229
Emerging Bias.................................................................................................... 232
Algorithmic bias? Algo-sexism? Algo-racism?.............................235
1. From Bias to Discrimination............................................................................238
4. What Is New: Objectivity, Automation, and Distance......................................239
Frank Webster: Theories of the Information
Society
The Internet & Society: What’s new?
The speaker starts by referring to a famous 1995 interview between Bill Gates
and David Letterman, where they talked about the internet. The clip shows two
opposite reactions that still exist today:
1) Some people say the internet is revolutionary and will completely change
society.
2) Others are skeptical and think it’s just another technology, not so different
from radio, TV, or the telephone.
Information Age
Thirty years later, it’s clear that the internet has had a huge impact, but it’s
still hard to explain exactly why and how it changed society so deeply.
Many researchers, journalists, and politicians agree on one main idea — that
we live in a new kind of society shaped by information and technology. They
use different terms like information age, digital age, or internet society. However,
they don’t all agree on what this means:
• Some say it has created a more educated and informed public.
• Others think it has led to sensationalism, misinformation, and
propaganda.
• Some focus on the new economy built around information and data.
4
and society
Table of content
Frank Webster: Theories of the Information Society................4
The Internet & Society: What’s new?.............................................4
Information Age...........................................................................4
Value of Social Theory..................................................................5
Information Society?....................................................................5
Continuity vs. Change..................................................................6
Definitions...................................................................................6
6th definition.......................................................................................................... 6
TECHNOLOGY......................................................................................................... 7
ECONOMY............................................................................................................... 9
OCCUPATIONAL.................................................................................................... 10
SPATIAL................................................................................................................ 12
CULTURAL............................................................................................................ 13
QUALITY............................................................................................................... 15
WHAT IS INFORMATION VS BEING INFORMED...............................15
QUALITY OF INFORMATION.........................................................16
Innis & McLuhan :History and Early Approaches....................16
Technology & Communication.....................................................16
Double Bind...............................................................................17
Bias of Communication...............................................................18
2. McLuhan's Vision of Communication Eras.................................21
The Shift from Oral to Literate Culture................................................................21
Extension of Man.......................................................................22
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE....................................................23
The Global Village......................................................................24
McLuhan’s quote ................................................................................................. 26
The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow......26
-Bill Gates............................................................................................................. 26
Daniel Bell : The Coming of Post-Industrial Society................28
Quantitative and Qualitative dimension...............................................................30
Global implications............................................................................................... 31
How Employment Defines Society........................................................................32
Separate Realms........................................................................33
Daniel Bell’s Threefold Division of Society............................................................34
Post-industrial society................................................................34
1
, service-based employment marked progress toward a better society.................36
service work marks the final stage of labor evolution..........................................36
Leisure society..................................................................................................... 37
Role of Information....................................................................37
Communal Society......................................................................38
From Industrial Work to a Caring, Service-Based Society.....................................39
Intellectual conservatism............................................................40
Carlotta Perez : Technological revolutions and techno-economic
paradigms............................................................................... 41
Inovation vs. Intention.......................................................................................... 42
The Space of the Technologically Possible...........................................................43
Interplay Between Radical and Incremental Innovations......................................45
Clusters................................................................................................................ 47
Technological Revolutions..........................................................49
From Innovation to Revolution — The Process.....................................................50
The Structure of Technological Revolutions.................................52
Revolution = Transformation “Across the Board”.................................................53
What Is a Techno-Economic Paradigm (TEP)?.......................................................54
Manuel Castells: Informationalism. Networks, and the Network
Society: A Theoretical Blueprint...............................................56
Network Society........................................................................56
Core concept – The network.................................................................................57
Network Flows...................................................................................................... 57
Binary logic of networks:......................................................................................58
Comparison with McLuhan (Global Village):.........................................................58
Three key features of networks (why they dominate):.........................................60
Paradigm shift:..................................................................................................... 61
Informationalism........................................................................63
Industrialism vs. Informationalism.......................................................................65
The Rise Of The Network Society.................................................68
1. Overview: Three overlapping historical processes............................................69
No predetermined trajectory................................................................................71
Cultural context.................................................................................................... 71
Alternative histories?.................................................................73
Network Society: Structure, Dimensions, Dynamics......................74
Power And Counter-power..........................................................77
Space Of Flows And Timeless Time..............................................78
1. Biological time.................................................................................................. 80
2. bureucratic time.............................................................................................. 81
3. clock time........................................................................................................ 81
4. Informationalism and the rise of timeless time.................................................81
John Tomlinson: The Culture of Speed...................................85
Immediacy.................................................................................85
Immediacy as a New Cultural Principle.................................................................87
Three Core Aspects....................................................................88
Liquid Modernity........................................................................92
Speed without progress - Arrival without departure.....................94
2
, Telemediated Presence, Consumption, Scarcity & Cultural Resistance................96
Media........................................................................................98
1. Mediation Has Become “Second Nature”........................................................100
Delivery...................................................................................101
Consumerism...........................................................................103
Production → Consumption → Immediacy...........................................................105
Market for Convenience............................................................109
Market for Convenience............................................................112
Impatient And Immoderate Media Technologies.........................113
Technologies of Spending.........................................................118
Judy Wajcman : Pressed for time........................................118
Tools for Time..........................................................................118
What predictions were made?............................................................................120
1. Wajcman’s Core Argument.............................................................................121
Key Questions Wajcman Wants to Answer.........................................................122
Time as a Social Entity.......................................................................................124
1. What is the “social shaping approach”?.........................................................128
2. Devices Have “Affordances”...........................................................................129
3. Human Agency: How We Use Technology Is Not Fully Predictable.................129
Feeling Harried........................................................................131
Time-Pressure Paradox.............................................................139
1. Cultural Shifts: The Rise of “Make the Most of Your Time”.............................140
High-Speed Society..................................................................143
Shoshana Zuboff: Big other: surveillance capitalism and the
prospects of an information civilization...................................145
Starting from ‘Big Data’............................................................145
Surveillance Capitalism............................................................147
Sur-veil-lance Cap-i-tal-ism, n. (book)........................................148
Computer Mediation.................................................................152
Division of Learning..................................................................154
Data, Extraction, Analysis.........................................................157
Surveillance Capitalism............................................................162
Monitoring and Contract...........................................................170
1. The “Big Other” – Zuboff’s Key Concept.........................................................172
Ellen Helsper: The digital Disconnect..................................179
What are digital inequalities.....................................................189
Access and infrastructure inequalities: First-level divides..................................191
Skills and use inequalities: Second-level divides................................................194
Outcome inequalities: Third-level divides...........................................................195
Intersectionality.......................................................................202
Relativity.................................................................................204
Free choice..............................................................................205
3
, Ivana Bratoletti: An Artificial Revolution : on power, politics
and AI................................................................................... 206
AI intelligence is a revolutionary as mobile phones and the internet
...................................................................................................207
“What Is AI?”..........................................................................211
3. The Hidden Reality: AI Is Labor-Intensive.......................................................213
1. Humanizing AI: A Defining Trait of Our Time..................................................216
The Politics of Data..................................................................220
The “sanctity of data”.......................................................................................220
Data is not neutral............................................................................................. 221
Connection with Zuboff.....................................................................................221
Relation to digital inequality (e.g. Helsper)........................................................222
Data, Algorithms, and Societal Structures..........................................................223
Three types of biases...............................................................226
Pre-existing bias................................................................................................. 226
Technical Bias.................................................................................................... 229
Emerging Bias.................................................................................................... 232
Algorithmic bias? Algo-sexism? Algo-racism?.............................235
1. From Bias to Discrimination............................................................................238
4. What Is New: Objectivity, Automation, and Distance......................................239
Frank Webster: Theories of the Information
Society
The Internet & Society: What’s new?
The speaker starts by referring to a famous 1995 interview between Bill Gates
and David Letterman, where they talked about the internet. The clip shows two
opposite reactions that still exist today:
1) Some people say the internet is revolutionary and will completely change
society.
2) Others are skeptical and think it’s just another technology, not so different
from radio, TV, or the telephone.
Information Age
Thirty years later, it’s clear that the internet has had a huge impact, but it’s
still hard to explain exactly why and how it changed society so deeply.
Many researchers, journalists, and politicians agree on one main idea — that
we live in a new kind of society shaped by information and technology. They
use different terms like information age, digital age, or internet society. However,
they don’t all agree on what this means:
• Some say it has created a more educated and informed public.
• Others think it has led to sensationalism, misinformation, and
propaganda.
• Some focus on the new economy built around information and data.
4
