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borna761's review against another edition
5.0
Whatever your thoughts are on technology and its use to solve problems, To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism will change your mind. And if it doesn't change your mind, it will at least make you start thinking about the Internet and blindly applying technology as a solution to every problem we face and experience.
Unfortunately I read the book over too long a period of time so my memory is quite disjointed. Evgeny Morozov spends a great part of the book looking at various ideas on how technology has been used to improve certain areas of life, and then looking at the implications of it. We realize that just because technology can help us solve a certain apparent problem (e.g. preventing jumping the turnstiles at the subway), it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea. Somewhere we also need to raise the understanding and awareness of the citizens, so that they don't just become people mindlessly following whatever the latest technology fad allows or prevents them to do.
There is also great critique of the quantification of self and self-tracking, gamification, and the application of morality to technology restrictions. The style of writing can be a bit hard to read at times as there is a lot of negativity going on, but I feel that Morozov still manages to keep a positive tone, and suggesting a fair amount of alternatives. While not necessarily solutions, they're at least raising awareness of the issues involved. Should definitely be read!
Unfortunately I read the book over too long a period of time so my memory is quite disjointed. Evgeny Morozov spends a great part of the book looking at various ideas on how technology has been used to improve certain areas of life, and then looking at the implications of it. We realize that just because technology can help us solve a certain apparent problem (e.g. preventing jumping the turnstiles at the subway), it doesn't necessarily mean that it's a good idea. Somewhere we also need to raise the understanding and awareness of the citizens, so that they don't just become people mindlessly following whatever the latest technology fad allows or prevents them to do.
There is also great critique of the quantification of self and self-tracking, gamification, and the application of morality to technology restrictions. The style of writing can be a bit hard to read at times as there is a lot of negativity going on, but I feel that Morozov still manages to keep a positive tone, and suggesting a fair amount of alternatives. While not necessarily solutions, they're at least raising awareness of the issues involved. Should definitely be read!
goth's review against another edition
4.0
After trying for quite some time to try and understand what Jaron Lanier wants to tell me about the internet and what it means for us, I gave up and turned to Morozov. He's also not immune to name-dropping quite some, but he mostly places them in a good context with patient explanations of how their work is relevant for his discussion. Explaining is what I really liked about this book: I understood the issue Morozov talked about, the ideas he criticized and the arguments he used while doing so. In that way, I can actually start thinking on my own whether I agree with him! (the fact that there is an exclamation mark is really sad)
I agree with a lot of his sentiments; particularly his defense of democracy as "it's never going to be as sexy as you all want to make it; unsexy and slow compromise is at the heart of this process" was surprising and from a different angle than I'd usually heard. The discussions of criminology and technology and extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation for behaving a certain way are still stuck in my head.
He may focus too much on the negative side in his book, but all his criticisms seem valid to me(there is an issue with personal attacks he is being criticized for that I haven't looked into).
An interesting perspective on technology and the impact it has on different aspects of our society.
I agree with a lot of his sentiments; particularly his defense of democracy as "it's never going to be as sexy as you all want to make it; unsexy and slow compromise is at the heart of this process" was surprising and from a different angle than I'd usually heard. The discussions of criminology and technology and extrinsic vs intrinsic motivation for behaving a certain way are still stuck in my head.
He may focus too much on the negative side in his book, but all his criticisms seem valid to me(there is an issue with personal attacks he is being criticized for that I haven't looked into).
An interesting perspective on technology and the impact it has on different aspects of our society.
lucaconti's review
2.0
Sometimes interesting, too long, too aggressive, too sarcastic, not really enjoyable
wilte's review
3.0
Activistic book against Internet-centrism and solutionism. Morozov provides some anti-dote against techno-optimists (but also against nudging). His main point is summed up in this quote from p.189: "We cannot circumvent legal procedures and subvert democratic norms in the name of efficiency alone."
Crowdsourcing is nothing new: https://twitter.com/wilte/status/908576022207057921
p75: Solutions are not assessed based on their merits but rather on how wel they sit with the idea of a free, open, transparent "network" and its "architecture". (Morozov frequently talks about "the Internet", between quotes).
p168 Sveiby, Gripenberg & Segercrantz (2012) studied all academic articles about innovation since 1960s. Among thousends of articles, they found only 26 that adressed negative or undesirable consequences of innovation. Roughly 1 per 1000 articles, proportion that hasn't changed since 1960s.
http://www.sveiby.com/book/Challenging-the-Innovation-Paradigm
p197 According to Roger Brownsword, regulators can use three registers to get us to do the right thing:
* Moral register - it's right or wrong relative to well-established community standards
* Prudential register - appeal to our self-interest, we shouldn't do something because it will ultimately harm us.
* Register of practicability (technological) - make something technologically infeasible, obviating the need to appeal to our moral or prudential interests.
p220 Motto of Chicago's 1933 WOrld's Fair: Science Finds - Industry Applies - Man Conforms
p330 Spore 1.1 project (http://www.swamp.nu/projects/spore-1-1/)
The plant has already died five times - due to overwatering.
Final words on p358:
Crowdsourcing is nothing new: https://twitter.com/wilte/status/908576022207057921
p75: Solutions are not assessed based on their merits but rather on how wel they sit with the idea of a free, open, transparent "network" and its "architecture". (Morozov frequently talks about "the Internet", between quotes).
p168 Sveiby, Gripenberg & Segercrantz (2012) studied all academic articles about innovation since 1960s. Among thousends of articles, they found only 26 that adressed negative or undesirable consequences of innovation. Roughly 1 per 1000 articles, proportion that hasn't changed since 1960s.
http://www.sveiby.com/book/Challenging-the-Innovation-Paradigm
p197 According to Roger Brownsword, regulators can use three registers to get us to do the right thing:
* Moral register - it's right or wrong relative to well-established community standards
* Prudential register - appeal to our self-interest, we shouldn't do something because it will ultimately harm us.
* Register of practicability (technological) - make something technologically infeasible, obviating the need to appeal to our moral or prudential interests.
p220 Motto of Chicago's 1933 WOrld's Fair: Science Finds - Industry Applies - Man Conforms
p330 Spore 1.1 project (http://www.swamp.nu/projects/spore-1-1/)
Spore 1.1 uses an on-board computer with a Wi-Fi connection to monitor The Home Depot’s stock price at the end of each week, keeping a database of week-to-week stock fluctuations. As The Home Depot’s stock value grows, so too does the plant. If the company suffers losses, the plant does not get watered. If the plant should perish due to poor stock performance, it is returned to The Home Depot and replaced with another at no additional cost
The plant has already died five times - due to overwatering.
Final words on p358:
Technology is not the enemy; our enemy is the romantic and revolutionary problem solver who resides within. We can do nothing to tame that little creature, but we can do a lot to tame its favorite weapen: "the Internet." Let's do that while we can - it would be deeply ironic if humanity were to die in the crossfire as its problem solvers attempted to transport that very humanity to a trouble-free world.
pbokelly's review
4.0
I thought I was going to find "To Save Everything, Click Here" more valuable, after reading Morozov on Tim O'Reilly (http://thebaffler.com/past/the_meme_hustler), his lively exchange with Farhad Manjoo on Slate (http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/features/2013/to_save_everything_click_here/to_save_everything_click_here_farhad_manjoo_and_evgeny_morozov_debate_morozov.html), and several of his articles in publications including The New Republic, but the book was ultimately a bit of a disappointment. It's still a timely Silicon Valley theme/meme reality check, in any case.
bibliocyclist's review
4.0
“For someone with a hammer, everything looks like a nail.”
“The book speaks only to those who know already the kind of thing to expect from it and consequently how to interpret it.”
“Here is modernity in a nutshell: We are left with possibly better food but without the joy of cooking.”
"'The Internet' is a great solution to a problem that doesn't exist."
"Boredom with established truths is the great enemy of the free man."
“Is there anything more sacred than serving at the altar of our Holy Efficiency?”
“Memories are crafted by oblivion as the outlines of the shore are created by the sea.”
“As more is preserved, less is remembered.”
“The book speaks only to those who know already the kind of thing to expect from it and consequently how to interpret it.”
“Here is modernity in a nutshell: We are left with possibly better food but without the joy of cooking.”
"'The Internet' is a great solution to a problem that doesn't exist."
"Boredom with established truths is the great enemy of the free man."
“Is there anything more sacred than serving at the altar of our Holy Efficiency?”
“Memories are crafted by oblivion as the outlines of the shore are created by the sea.”
“As more is preserved, less is remembered.”
kapsar's review
5.0
If you believe that 'the Internet' is the end all be all, then you'll probably hate this book. If you think that there's only black and white, you'll probably not like this book. Morozov paints a very complex pictures of how society, philosophy, and technology interact. His two main arguments is that "solutionism" and "Internet Centrism" are damaging, opaque, and loaded with unintended consequences.
He specifically calls out authors like Jeff Jarvis and Kevin Kelly as being specifically bad in this arena. Personally, I found their optimism around technology and "the internet" extremely off-putting, so it was refreshing to find someone that agreed with my assessment. Furthermore, I believe that this book highlights dangerous and risks for our culture that we aren't having conversations about. Things are being decided that have major implications for platform users in terms of applications and true internet architecture that are ill defined and have far reaching impact.
Morozov points out repeatedly that much of the philosophical underpinnings to internet centrism isn't new and can be traced back to the 1800's and the development of technologies like the Telegraph. Morozov believes in open debate about these topics and for clear airing of biases in all of our technologies. I'm not sure how realistic all of that is because these are companies that make money off their algorithms, but at least a conversation about these is vital.
I gave this book 5 stars not because it was particularly accessible - it's not there's a lot of philosophy that I'm not very keen on, or because it was the best written book ever. I gave it this many stars because I feel the book is an important contrarian voice on the topic of the "internet" that desperately needs to be heard. We need more robust debates about technology, we need to bring out the complexity of life and stop behaving as if life is simple and can be easily controlled and managed.
He specifically calls out authors like Jeff Jarvis and Kevin Kelly as being specifically bad in this arena. Personally, I found their optimism around technology and "the internet" extremely off-putting, so it was refreshing to find someone that agreed with my assessment. Furthermore, I believe that this book highlights dangerous and risks for our culture that we aren't having conversations about. Things are being decided that have major implications for platform users in terms of applications and true internet architecture that are ill defined and have far reaching impact.
Morozov points out repeatedly that much of the philosophical underpinnings to internet centrism isn't new and can be traced back to the 1800's and the development of technologies like the Telegraph. Morozov believes in open debate about these topics and for clear airing of biases in all of our technologies. I'm not sure how realistic all of that is because these are companies that make money off their algorithms, but at least a conversation about these is vital.
I gave this book 5 stars not because it was particularly accessible - it's not there's a lot of philosophy that I'm not very keen on, or because it was the best written book ever. I gave it this many stars because I feel the book is an important contrarian voice on the topic of the "internet" that desperately needs to be heard. We need more robust debates about technology, we need to bring out the complexity of life and stop behaving as if life is simple and can be easily controlled and managed.
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