Becoming Digital - by Vincent Mosco (Paperback)

About the Book

This book examines the convergence of Cloud Computing, Big Data, and the Internet of Things to forge the Next Internet. Ubiquitous computing enables universal communication, concentration of power, privacy erosion, environmental degradation, and massive automation and this title explores solving these issues to create a democratic digital world.

Book Synopsis

Becoming Digital examines the transition from the online world we have known to the Next Internet, which is emerging from the convergence of Cloud Computing, Big Data Analytics, and the Internet of Things. The Cloud stores and processes information in data centers; Big Data Analytics provide the tools to analyse and use it; and the Internet of Things connects sensor-equipped devices everywhere to communication networks that span the globe. These technologies make possible a post-Internet society filled with homes that think, machines that make decisions, drones that deliver packages or bombs, and robots that work for us, play with us, and take our jobs. The Next Internet promises a world where computers are everywhere, even inside our bodies, "coming alive" to make possible the unification of people and machines in what some call the Singularity.

This timely book explores this potential as both a reality on the horizon and a myth that inspires a new religion of technology. It takes up the coming threats to a democratic, decentralized, and universal Internet and the potential to deepen the problems of commercial saturation, concentrated economic power, cyber-warfare, the erosion of privacy, and environmental degradation. On the other hand, it also shows how the Next Internet can help expand democracy, empowering people worldwide, providing for more of life's necessities, and advancing social equality. But none of this will happen without concerted political and policy action. Becoming Digital points the way forward.

Review Quotes

Mosco, (Professor Emeritus, Queen's University, Canada) offers the reader a view into the not-to-distant future of the internet. He delves into ideas such as the Cloud, Big Data, surveillance capitalism and personal technology. The well researched text looks at the ways the future of the internet can be used for exploitation, and, conversely, discusses ways it may be used to promote democracy and social justice. What does it mean to have a "smart" house? What are the dangers of having not only all your information online, but having the internet make day to day decisions for you? Mosco weighs the pros and cons of this brave new world in this readable, research driven text.--Annotation (c)2018 "(protoview.com)"

About the Author

Vincent Mosco is Professor Emeritus, Queen's University, Canada where he held the Canada Research Chair in Communication and Society. He is also Distinguished Professor, New Media Centre, School of Journalism and Communication, Fudan University, Shanghai. Dr. Mosco is author or editor of 26 books and over 200 articles and book chapters on communication, technology, and society including The Digital Sublime, The Political Economy of Communication and To the Cloud: Big Data in a Turbulent World.