Neuromined: Triumphing over Technological Tyranny
Robert Edward Grant, Michael Ashley, 1639080341, 978-1639080342, 9781639080342, 9781639080366, 9781639080359, 978-1639080366, 978-1639080359, B0CCK6MNM6
Nonfiction Book Awards Bronze Medal
Are advances in technology working for us or against us?
When our phones become our keys to access everything, will our lives be more convenient or more at the mercy of whoever can hack into our devices? Will self-driving cars help us maximize our time and get to our destination safely, or will they erode the autonomy and freedom we feel when we drive ourselves? What happens if the government, in the name of public health, gains access to the data in our handy fitness trackers and uses it to reward or limit us?
In Neuromined, data sovereignty advocate Robert Edward Grant and prolific technology author Michael Ashley team up to explore significant questions such as these. Each chapter imagines a near-future surveillance dystopia through a riveting fictional tale and provides a companion analysis connecting the story to our present reality. Entertaining and provoking, this book shows readers how the technology that has promised a lifetime of convenience has also constrained a public’s individual options and agency.
But all hope is not lost. Neuromined, at its core, demonstrates how technology, when viewed through a different ethos and used by a conscientious public, can instead provide greater autonomy and greater access to liberation.