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On the failure of oracles: reflections on a digital life
Across the globe, as the sun rises, people begin each day with a routine that marks 21stcentury life as very different from any other century. Before they get dressed, before they are even fully awake, most people start their morning by gazing at rectangular oleophobic panes of illuminated glass. Every day, a new world is painted in millions of individual organic light-emitting diodes which are embedded in a substrate under a layer of glass that is harder and thinner than any previously created. The screen is brighter than any reading surface we have ever known. The first thing we do each morning is to point this blaze of dazzling light straight into our eyes which carries the retina-quality notifications of the digital straight into our foggy brains. Before we are even fully conscious, the digital has disclosed a world to us, a stream of information and data, rivers of news, rivulets of reminders and lists.
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Publication status
- Published
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- Published version
Journal
Studies in Social and Political ThoughtISSN
1467-2219Publisher
University of SussexExternal DOI
Volume
29Page range
27-31Department affiliated with
- Media and Film Publications
Full text available
- Yes
Peer reviewed?
- Yes
Legacy Posted Date
2020-07-15First Open Access (FOA) Date
2020-07-15First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date
2020-07-14Usage metrics
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