Objective

Digital pollution is the contamination of online environments with non-material waste. The phrase was popularized with support from internet pioneer Judy Estrin and Sam Gill in their co-authored article, 'The World Is Choking on Digital Pollution'. The creators of Authoritarian Technology have co-opted the human need for connection, and a desire for convenience, in pursuit of technological and corporate dominance which continues at the expense of humanity's mental health.

In this new age, names like Zuckerberg, Bezos, Brin, and Page are our new Carnegies, Rockefellers, and Fords. As always, progress has not been without a price. Like the factories of 200 years ago, digital advances have given rise to a [digital] pollution that is reducing the quality of our lives and the strength of our democracy. We manage what we choose to measure. It is time to name—and measure—not only the progress the information revolution has brought, but also the harm that has come with it. Until we do, we will never know which costs are worth bearing. [1]

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Reflections

"The question we face in the digital age is not how to have it all, but how to maintain valuable activity at a societal price on which we can agree. Just as we have made laws about tolerable levels of waste and pollution, we can make rules, establish norms, and set expectations for technology."

References

1. The World Is Choking on Digital Pollution, washingtonmonthly.com

Contexts

• #judy-estrin (See: Judy Estrin)

• #must-read-article