Re: CS-234 Discussion

CS234 <cs234@lhmerino.dont-email.me> wrote:

This thread is intended for the students of CS-234: Technologies for democratic society
 
How does Usenet fit into the vision presented by Licklider and Taylor in
"The Computer as a Communication Device"?
Usenet, created in 1979, fits well with the vision presented by JCR Licklider and Robert Taylor presented in their paper.

Usenet allowed people from all over the world to communicate via these forums and created a wide online community in order to communicate
 on a variety of subjects, working towards global communication and forming communities via these forums.
 Usenet also decentralized knowledge and that aligns well with Licklider and Taylor's ideas in the process of democratizing knowledge by offering a
 platform where anyone could contribute and get to learn about various subjects wherever they came from.
 It was also used as a tool of problem solving just as Licklider and Taylor saw a human-computer collaboration that enhanced the human's
job and daily life, same goes for usenet as any problem could be solved with the help of the community that was asked a question regarding
any special matter and that was one point of the vision that Licklider and Taylor embodied in their 1968 paper.
Usenet brought to life many aspects of Licklider and Taylor’s vision by fostering global communication, it was one of the first large-scale systems to
demonstrate the transformative power of computer-mediated communication, aligning with their belief in the computer as a tool for interactive,
networked communities.
On the other hand, there are also aspects that have evolved in another way that was exactly what Licklider and Taylor envisioned in their paper.
One might say that the commercialization of the internet is one of the aspect that both writers did not predict in their paper. As they saw in the
internet a more public space that was oriented by the communities that used it on a daily basis rather than a commercialy oriented way.
Usenet started in this spirit, but over time, the internet evolved into a highly commercialized space, dominated by corporate interests and advertising.
They also envisioned a decentralized, egalitarian network where knowledge and information were freely exchanged.
While Usenet was decentralized and open, much of the modern internet has become highly centralized.
Major tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon now control large portions of the web’s infrastructure, services, and data.
Usenet and early internet platforms like it embodied much of Licklider and Taylor’s vision, the internet has evolved in ways that they did not predict.
The rise of commercialism and centralization has shifted the focus from their original ideals.
Despite these deviations, their core vision of using computers as communication devices has profoundly shaped the modern internet.

Reflect on:
- Which aspects of their vision are realized through Usenet?
- What aspects have evolved differently from what they imagined?
 
Feel free to respond to comments made by your classmates as well.