The People Vs Tech: How the Internet Is Killing Democracy and How We Save It

數位革命已然危及民主，我們該如何保護這個得之不易且微妙平衡的民主制度？科技已經劇烈地改變了我們的生活方式，網路意味著自由解放？！但我們是否不夠理智地將過多的訊息交付給藏身密碼牆之後的權力組織？這個密碼牆是由一群不切實際的矽谷人和廣告商與風險投資者所完全操控。從臉書與劍橋分析爆出的個資外洩風波來看，民主的意義到底是什麼？這個微妙平衡的統治體系早在大數據、全面資訊與人工智慧被創造出來之前就已存在許久，如今卻岌岌可危。當我們毫不懷疑地擁抱大科技時，民主的基石正在慢慢地瓦解，中產階級漸漸地消蝕，主權獨立與公民社會被削弱，而身為公民的我們也逐漸失去判斷的能力，甚至失去了自由意志。 作者生動地描述了我們脆弱的政治體系正受到數位革命的威脅，但只要守住民主的六大柱石，我們就可以及時地挽救它：成為主動活躍的公民、擁護共同的民主文化、保護自由選舉、提倡平等、捍衛自由競爭與公民自由，並且信任至高無上的主權獨立性，那麼民主就不會落入如封建制度、極權君主制與共產主義這些政治體制無聲消逝的下場。This book could not have come at a better moment... The People Vs Tech makes clear that there is still time - just - for us to take back control.' - Camilla Cavendish, Sunday Times The internet was meant to set us free. Tech has radically changed the way we live our lives. But have we unwittingly handed too much away to shadowy powers behind a wall of code, all manipulated by a handful of Silicon Valley utopians, ad men, and venture capitalists? And, in light of recent data breach scandals around companies like Facebook and Cambridge Analytica, what does that mean for democracy, our delicately balanced system of government that was created long before big data, total information and artificial intelligence? In this urgent polemic, Jamie Bartlett argues that through our unquestioning embrace of big tech, the building blocks of democracy are slowly being removed. The middle class is being eroded, sovereign authority and civil society is weakened, and we citizens are losing our critical faculties, maybe even our free will. The People Vs Tech is an enthralling account of how our fragile political system is being threatened by the digital revolution. Bartlett explains that by upholding six key pillars of democracy, we can save it before it is too late. We need to become active citizens; uphold a shared democratic culture; protect free elections; promote equality; safeguard competitive and civic freedoms; and trust in a sovereign authority. This essential book shows that the stakes couldn't be higher and that, unless we radically alter our course, democracy will join feudalism, supreme monarchies and communism as just another political experiment that quietly disappeared.