Tech Driven Monopolies and the Threat of Innovation
If you were born in the 1990s you might never have questioned the pervasiveness of companies like Google in the Internet domain. For you, such companies, products, services, and technologies have been ever present and seemingly unassailable.
Yet in the past few months we have seen the emergence of a set of technologies, especially ChatGPT, which have opened the real possibility of a technical and business threat to Google’s near monopoly on Internet search.
Tomatoes, Robots, Civilization, and Farm Fresh Equity
When we hear the word “Technology” we tend to think of electronics, flying cars, and the like. Since most of us live our lives as urbanites or suburbanites and few of us make a living farming, the Tech of Agriculture may seldom cross our minds. In this entry of the Tech & Society blog we will turn that around by asking how civilization even exists without the Agriculture Tech we rely on every day to stay alive. We will also look at how new and emerging technology including AI and robotics are shaping the future of Digital Agriculture and what this means on a global scale for Equity and economic fairness in light of the teachings of Henry George.
The “Unland Land” Around Us
Most of us have a shared understanding of what is meant when we hear the word land. Normally, people think of the ground underfoot or the plains stretching to the mountains or the contrast of the Earth and the sea. However, some technical abstractions can also be considered as land in the view of Henry George. In this blog entry we will discuss the societal implications of how we manage certain ethereal properties affecting satellites, cell phones, and even your Wifi connection. These naturally occurring elements are what I call “Unland Land.” As we will see they are universal, impactful, and highly valuable.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
James Cusick is an interdisciplinary applied researcher specializing in Software Engineering, Cybersecurity, History of Science, and Political Economy…read more
