When I was younger, I daydreamed about the future. Specifically, I thought about the future technologies so many science fiction authors imagined us using in our everyday lives. A few examples: libraries of information on mobile devices (Star Trek), advanced robotics and AI (Blade Runner), DNA manipulation and data mining (numerous video games and shows), and the classic go-to future tech that is flying cars (Back to the Future, et al).
Though we're not quite up to consumer market flying cars yet, we do have our smartphones, and robotics is making leaps and bounds all the time. Most of yesterday's future is here, and what isn't is visibly within reach. Through ancestry.com, you can get a $100 DNA test, and with the help of a plethora of related sciences, find out about your ethnicity, genetic history, and possibly find blood relatives you didn't even know about. Objectively, I am so excited every day about our technological capabilities.
Unfortunately, my joy is severely checked by how oligarchy, lobbying, and systems of control are exploiting these advances. I saw that DNA test offer just today. Ten years ago, I would have been ecstatic that we could do such a thing. But, today, I am instead only angered and annoyed by the prospect that information gained from the tool would be mishandled for political or capitalistic gain. Such a tool might have been a selling point for me, if not for the things I know about the manipulation of our information economy.
Another tech advance that excites me is streaming media and the internet that supports it. At any time, anywhere I'm standing, I can access a vast database of music, movies, and shows and begin watching them instantly. Though I balk at many of the 800 pound corporations that create such content, I remain a happily indulgent (while enlightened) content consumer. My wife and I love House of Cards, the Netflix original series starring Kevin Spacey. We are certainly not alone, as it quickly became wildly popular and has the go ahead for multiple future seasons. Netflix provides its media via the internet, so I can watch it anywhere the internet is available.
At home, we connect to the internet through a cable connection provided at a monthly rate by Comcast. It so happens that Comcast has its own competing media service. What if Comcast decided, to give themselves an advantage, they would monitor my internet use and slow down content from their competition, creating a "fast lane" of sorts for their own? And what if they further decided that competitors needed to start paying a premium to allow their content to reach internet consumers that have Comcast? Such anti-competitive behavior would stifle innovation and needlessly increase costs for both customers and content providers, while Comcast lines its pockets trying to convince people they don't need faster internet.
For those who don't already know, this is not a hypothetical. This is a real problem that is happening right now among numerous internet providers. This problem directly relates to the concept of "net neutrality," which is an important matter that must be discussed.
Do not be confused by prime time news outlets or political double-speak: net neutrality IS A GOOD THING and we must keep it. Net neutrality as a mandate of the law demands that all internet traffic be treated equal and kept free from discriminatory action based on the content of that traffic, either by throttling speeds, blocking access, or otherwise. In short: Comcast should not be allowed to tell you what you can or can't do on the internet.
In the same way that we are not denied use of highways based on the popularity or brand name of our cars, nor are we prevented from watching a Sony DVD on a non-Sony player, we must keep the internet open and equally available for all content providers to create, innovate, and deliver information, regardless of the middleman between you and the internet. This is especially so in areas monopolized by a single internet provider.
The internet is as important a component of our world's infrastructure as roads, sewage, and electricity. It must be protected and regulated fairly. The USA is trailing the world's developed countries in education, health care, crime, and internet speed by cost because corporate profit continues to buy its priority over innovation and progress. When you have the option to vote in favor of net neutrality (or better education, health care, or law enforcement programs, for that matter), please do so. Start caring about your children's and children's children's future, get educated about the important issues, and fight for the best possible future FOR THE PEOPLE that will live in it.
http://www.savetheinternet.com/net-neutrality-101
On a related information technology note: if you don't know about the NSA revelations, get properly educated about that, too. Forget about the person that brought them to light; he is not important. The situation and its implications are important, and it does affect you, regardless of what you choose to believe.
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