The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation

The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation - Paperback

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The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation
  • The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation
The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation - Paperback

The Internet Con: How to Seize the Means of Computation - Paperback

by Cory Doctorow
$19.95
$19.95

Book Overview

by Cory Doctorow (Author)

A USA TODAY BESTSELLER

Winner of the 2024 Neil Postman Award for Career Achievement in Public Intellectual Activity

"An essential read for anyone that wants to understand how we lost control of our digital spaces and infrastructure to Silicon Valley's tech giants, and how we can start fighting to get it back." -Tim Maughan, author of INFINITE DETAIL

"A brilliant barn burner of a book." -Kate Crawford, author of The Atlas of AI

When the tech platforms promised a future of "connection," they were lying. They said their "walled gardens" would keep us safe, but those were prison walls.

The platforms locked us into their systems and made us easy pickings, ripe for extraction. Twitter, Facebook and other Big Tech platforms hard to leave by design. They hold hostage the people we love, the communities that matter to us, the audiences and customers we rely on. The impossibility of staying connected to these people after you delete your account has nothing to do with technological limitations: it's a business strategy in service to commodifying your personal life and relationships.

We can - we must - dismantle the tech platforms. In The Internet Con, Cory Doctorow explains how to seize the means of computation, by forcing Silicon Valley to do the thing it fears most: interoperate. Interoperability will tear down the walls between technologies, allowing users leave platforms, remix their media, and reconfigure their devices without corporate permission.

Interoperability is the only route to the rapid and enduring annihilation of the platforms. The Internet Con is the disassembly manual we need to take back our internet.

Author Biography

Cory Doctorow is a science fiction author, activist and journalist. He is the author of many books, most recently RADICALIZED and WALKAWAY, science fiction for adults; HOW TODESTROY SURVEILLANCE CAPITALISM, nonfiction about monopoly and conspiracy; INREAL LIFE, a graphic novel; and the picture book POESY THE MONSTER SLAYER. His latest book is ATTACK SURFACE, a stand alone adult sequel to LITTLE BROTHER. In 2020, he was inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame. He works for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, is a MIT Media Lab Research Affiliate, is a Visiting Professorof Computer Science at Open University, a Visiting Professor of Practice at the University of North Carolina's School of Library and Information Science and co-founded the UK Open Rights Group.

Number of Pages: 192
Dimensions: 0.6 x 7.7 x 5 IN
Publication Date: September 03, 2024
ISBN9781804292143
Author Cory Doctorow
PublisherVerso
GenreNews & politics and Education
FormatPaperback
PublishedSeptember 2024
LanguageENG- English
Pages192
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Nonfiction Political Science Social Science

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About Cory Doctorow

Cory Doctorow is a Canadian, British, American blogger, journalist, and activist. For more than twenty-three years, he has worked with the Electronic Frontier Foundation on campaigns to further and safeguard our human rights online. He was coeditor of the weblog Boing Boing for nineteen years and now maintains a daily(ish) newsletter at Pluralistic.net. He has written more than thirty books, including nonfiction books like this one, many science fiction novels, collections of short stories and essays, young adult novels, graphic novels, and even a picture book. Born in Toronto, he now lives in Burbank, California. He was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Laws by York University and an Honorary Doctor of Computer Science from the Open University. He has been inducted into the Canadian Science Fiction and Fantasy Hall of Fame and was awarded the Arthur C. Clarke Award for Imagination in Service to Society. He holds visiting professorship and research appointments at MIT, the University of North Carolina, Cornell University, and the Open University,

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