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The Electric Leviathan

This article is more than 10 years old.

Hello, and welcome to my new Forbes blog. I will be writing about the sociology of technology and how we all now live inside an illegible and globe-spanning matrix of hidden plumbing and unseen forces that will either collapse under its own weight and kill us all, or transport us all to a post-scarcity techno-utopia in the next half-century or so. I call this matrix the Electric Leviathan. There is a story behind that name that I will share one of these days. If you follow my blog, or have read my book,  you can probably guess where I am going with this. At any rate, prepare for a manic-depressive ride.

In passing, we will talk about good versus evil, irrational exuberance versus dark euphoria, techno-utopian abundance versus collapsonimics, and good places to get coffee while watching the world end (or get taken over by Skynet). We will weave the evolving stories of dying companies and hot new startups, shiny new products and creaky old ones, into the unfolding Grand Narrative of technology.

Since my own background is obviously limited,  I'll be looking to call on others for expertise in unfamiliar areas. If you are a technologist with a good feel for your particular corner of the Electric Leviathan, and wouldn't mind me picking your brains occasionally over email, send me a note about subjects you think you understand better than the rest of us.

To kick things off, let me ask you to ponder a very fundamental question about your relationship with technology. Share your answer in the comments if you'd like it challenged.

What is the pattern of mental associations and emotions that the word "technology" evokes for you?

Try and boil it down to a single sentence. For example:

It is a confusing marketplace of shiny new products that makes me feel anxious and perennially out-of-touch.

It is a frontier of endless possibilities, where every new surprise excites and energizes me, leaving me impatient for my next fix.

It is a nasty, monstrous beast that is eating up our world; I stress out just looking at an iPhone.

It is a mysterious, but fundamentally trustworthy and benevolent force. I feel secure and in control in my little corner.

I for one, welcome our new AI overlords.

Macs Rule! PCs Drool!

I often find that people are surprisingly unaware of their own fundamental attitudes towards technology, or that they even have coherent (if unconscious) attitudes. In my experience, most people do have a coherent attitude, and are able to articulate it surprisingly clearly if they try. So give it a shot, and be prepared to defend your position.