Award-winning author David Brin's subtitle pretty much says it all...will we have to make a choice between freedom and privacy? Or is it possible to have it both ways? Can a truly "open society," where the powerful are held to the same standards and accountability as the average citizen, and the watchers themselves are watched, exist? Should the ability to observe and track average citizens be held just in the hands of a few, or should it be made available to all? Along the way to the answers to these and other questions, the reader will learn about the workings of the latest technologies in surveillance and encryption, and how society is starting to learn to deal with these developments. Among the topics discussed are "The End of Photography as Proof of Anything At All," the ownership of information, and the ability to determine the credibility of news, politicians, and pundits. Brin's arguments for what he terms "reciprocal transparency" are powerful, and no matter what one's opinion on the subject may be, this book is most certainly food for thought. Like it or not, this is one genie that will not be banished to the bottle...controlling it, and determining who has control over it, is a must, and this book offers, at the very least, a potential first step in such a process. Everyone needs this book.
Title: The Transparent Society |
2/1/05
