You Are Not a Gadget Part I

In "You Are Not A Gadget" by Jaron Lanier, he criticizes modern Internet landmarks, such as Google and Wikipedia, along with Web 2.0, to reach his conclusion with the growth of technology, we are in turn losing our humanity. In the Preface, Lanier says that because we are in the twenty-first century it is likely his book is being read by nonpersons, his words taken out of context and being misinterpreted. He concludes with, "And yet it is you, the person, the rarity among my readers, I hope to reach." It is clear from the start Lanier is interested in connecting to human emotions, because in his mind, this is something technology can not and should not replace.

In Chapter one, Lanier states that the most important thing to note about technology is the effect it has on people. As a user of digital technology, such as blogging, Twitter or Facebook, we are accepting in a corner of our minds that to another person we are conceived as a program, drifting among the crowds that flood the digital landscape. Lanier asks, "What is a person?" As if it can be defined by a software program, however he states that there is no formula for a person, for a person is leap of faith. Lanier talks about the development of the web in the 1990s and its simplicity. There was an open flow of information, people could create their own websites and anyone could access it, nothing was regulated yet. He reverts back to the creation of MIDI, the software which made musical notes into a rigid structure. However, it raises the question, if music can be reduced to a rigid structure, then can people become restricted to what can be represented by a computer? The new web 2.0 asks people to define themselves. It allows for anonymity therefore reducing our ability to connect with one another and requires us to describe ourselves in a limited fashion. Lanier suggests putting more effort into your personal voice and expressing yourself through a website. He encourages "being a person instead of a source of fragments to be exploited by others." Do not become addicted to digital creative materials, utilize what is tangible and mysterious, such as a love for a musical instrument.

In Chapter two Lanier emphasizes the importance of humans and our necessary role in the survival of technology. Lanier talks about "levels of description," which he argues that soon the Internet will function as a higher level of description than our brain, essentially making our brains obsolete. He argues automated computer functions, such as an automated indentation in Microsoft Word, provide proof of an assumption that the computer is evolving into a life-form that can understand people better than we understand ourselves. However, he thinks this is unnecessary because often people don't want their paper formatted that way and then we waste more time changing it back. Lanier says the point of virtual reality and digital technology was to enhance the world, making it more creative and exciting, not to provide an outlet for people to escape from reality or create a new virtual identity. Lanier returns to his point that technology changes people with the discussion of the "circle of empathy." Our circle of empathy determines the things we care about and what we think doesn't deserve empathy. The point of this is to prove that no relationship can be represented in a digital database because we never fully understand what goes on between us and others, as each person's circle of empathy is different.

Chapter three talks about the Internet becoming a platform for abuse and how it has mashed society up into a crowd and lost sight of individuality. One point Lanier makes is that the web creates large networks of people, however by themselves a network is meaningless, the people being networked are all that matter. It is important for people not to lose sight in the fact that they are necessary in the digital game. In this time it's important to not glorify the "wisdom of crowds." For example, Wikipedia uses a collection of ideas, however suppresses the voice of the individual. Anonymity on the web has also created a space for "trolls." A troll is a an anonymous person who is abusive online. These negative comments and harassment of people in the Internet have let to suicides and tragedies. Lanier argues that this negative commenting and behavior are not random incidents but have become the status quo of the online world.

Throughout the first part of the book Lanier is constantly reminding his reader that technology will not understand complex humans needs and emotions. For example in chapter three he references Facebook and its inability to understand the concept of a friendship. Lanier encourages his reader to make sure that when we reduce ourselves to a statistic or a model, we are not reducing the importance of life itself. We have to maintain our personhood.