University of Sussex
Browse
101-Article Text-162-1-10-20190831.pdf (463.68 kB)

On the failure of oracles: reflections on a digital life

Download (463.68 kB)
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-21, 06:01 authored by David BerryDavid Berry
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.

History

Publication status

  • Published

File Version

  • Published version

Journal

Studies in Social and Political Thought

ISSN

1467-2219

Publisher

University of Sussex

Volume

29

Page range

27-31

Department affiliated with

  • Media and Film Publications

Full text available

  • Yes

Peer reviewed?

  • Yes

Legacy Posted Date

2020-07-15

First Open Access (FOA) Date

2020-07-15

First Compliant Deposit (FCD) Date

2020-07-14

Usage metrics

    University of Sussex (Publications)

    Categories

    No categories selected

    Exports

    RefWorks
    BibTeX
    Ref. manager
    Endnote
    DataCite
    NLM
    DC