Tech evolution: a test

I have a running debate with a colleague about the nature of technological change. He thinks of tech as an exogenous, semi-autonomous force that drives social change in unforeseen directions.

My take on it* is that this approach ignores the role of human agency - that at any one time, the specific character and distribution of tech is the product of competition and cooperation between existing and potential interests.

The reason I mention this is because today I noticed a report in Information Week about a new 'Uncrackable' Secure Gigabit Quantum-Encryption Scheme. It's complicated stuff, but the short story is that quantum encryption (QE) enables effectively perfect secrecy - or rather, that QE can alert users (or rather, their software) to any eavesdropping.

The reason I mention this is because it occurs to me that such technologies are likely to challenge some existing interests (e.g., national security and law enforcement), while presenting an invaluable tool to others (e.g., citizens, consumers, online commerce, national security and law enforcement).

As we have seen with other encryption technologies, governments are uncomfortable with the idea of true secrecy (e.g., transfer of strong encryption still requires an export license from the US Dept of Commerce).

This suggests a testable hypothesis: if QE is widely implemented in five years without "back door access" - and without evidence of a heated conflict between states, markets, and citizens on this issue, I'll concede that technological change is largely exogenous. This means QE technology must have significant marketshare of high-speed aps and be free of content monitoring, and that citizens, consumers, and online commercial interests see no need to go toe-to-toe with state interests on this issue.

* Actually, I don't see how this is even a debate - got DRM?

The Skinny on Net Neutrality

CNET News has put together all of their 2006 articles on Net Neutrality:

Internet 'fast lane'? Not so fast

I'll stay off the soapbox here, but this issue is simply too important to ignore.

Addendum: MIT's Technology Review has an article by Wade Roush: "Net Neutrality: Far from a Done Deal" that points out once again that the price of freedom is eternal vigilance.

Engelbart

We've often debated the (unfortunate?) name of this blog, which is an homage to Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the mouse and visionary technologist.

For those interested in his life and work, The Invisible Computer Revolution is a fascinating web documentary that includes several interviews with him at his home (see especially the link to Mr Engelbart discussing augmentation).

Thanks to William H Dutton and Frode Hegland for the links.

Visualizations

Far cheaper than a Tufte book, and possibly more interesting (certainly more entertaining), the Periodic Table of Visualization Methods has been making the rounds over the past several days.

While there's quite a lot of overlap (exactly how is an "evocative knowledge map" different from a "concept map"?), this is also a brilliant reminder of the myriad ways we have for communicating our ideas.

Now, if it were only available in book form...

Blogosphere topos

Matthew Hurst (Nielsen BuzzMetrics) publishes a fascinating blog: Data Mining: Text Mining, Visualization and Social Media.

If you're wondering what this has to do with politics, check out his latest effort to map the "blogosphere", centered on DailyKos (others can be found here).

Those interested in seeing an in-depth (analytical) write-up on this might consider attending the upcoming International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media (Mar 26-28 in Boulder, CO).

Identity health

Another twist on identity theft: Business Week is reporting on the emerging practice of stealing victims' health records to acquire medical care or defraud insurance companies.

"I see you're having your spleen out again, Ms. Smith"

Yet another symptom of the increasing need for comprehensive privacy protections - both legislative and technical. Anyone aware of studies about why this hasn't already come about?

Feliz Año Nuevo

Welcome to 2007. Seeing as how it's not only a new year, but also a new month, the latest issue of First Monday is out. This article looked interesting:

Harley 2007 Why study users? An environmental scan of use and users of digital resources in humanities and social sciences undergraduate education