Trade-offs in the digital age

Alain Bieber (holding microphone), Photo by Werner Laschinger

 (Written for the BaKaFORUM Blog and  re-posted here.)

Those technological Faustian bargains--articulated by Neil Postman with great clarity years ago--that we enter into with each new breakthrough, came up, indirectly, in the discussion at last night’s opening session of BaKaFORUM. Panelist Alain Bieber made a forceful statement advocating openness on the web with, for example, no copyright restrictions. To emphasize his point, Alain went on to say he supports the work of Wiki Leaks, to which he received enthusiastic applause from many of those attending the session.

As a long time news producer and later an executive, I regularly fought battles to get information released so it could be made public. So, on many levels, my heart is with Alain and those who supported him by their approving response. Okay, you’ve probably figured out that I’m about to say, “but on the other hand.” And yes, that is correct. All this openness has a price. Is there such a thing as “a reasonable expectation of privacy” for us in the digital age? I hope there is, though I’m no longer certain. And aren’t there times when the Wiki Leaks mentality promotes reckless disregard for the greater good? Isn't good journalism also about being a responsible "gate-keeper?" (Yes, all these rhetorical questions are designed to provoke a dialogue.)

The work of Wiki Leaks embarrasses the powerful. Those who speak truth to power are often persecuted, prosecuted or, in some cases, even murdered. These are risks journalists have been facing since long before the personal computer became a commodity. As we say in the American idiom, “it goes with the territory.” So let’s limit our consideration (or not!) to the more typical, every day varieties of copyright infringements and disclosures of what might be considered private information.

I, and I’m certain many of you, recognized, long ago, that there is a distinction between anonymity and privacy. Clearly, in today’s world, being anonymous is nearly impossible. But what is a reasonable expectation of privacy in today’s world, both for private individuals and the public person? As you answer the question consider it in terms of the tradeoffs we are willing to accept as the technological age leads us to new frontiers. Are we entering a new chapter of “Brave New World” or shining daylight on dark places hiding in the shadows? Obviously, we are in a gray area and I suppose that was Postman’s point when he alerted us to the dual nature of technological progress. As he said, “Technology giveth and technology taketh away.”

As for protecting copyrighted material on the internet, I tend to agree with Alain,with some minimal exceptions. As the saying goes, “the net just wants to be free.” For more on that, I recommend Free: The Future of a Radical Price, by Wired Magazine’s Chris Anderson.  

Finally, it appeared to me that one of the fiction film clips screened last night touched on some of these questions. Zero Point Seven (0.7) seemed to this non-German speaker to be headed in a direction that examines the march of technology in the not so far away future, perhaps touching on these current questions.

And a final, final point… thank you to our translator who did a fine job for those of us who understand English but not German. Simultaneous translation is a bit of an art form when done so well.