From: antonsen-AT-alf.nbi.dk
Subject: Re: tract  
Date: Tue, 12 Nov 96 17:08:55 +0100


Hi Luke,

I have some questions to your comments.

>The internet holds the promise of true democracy, of true egalitarianism, of
>overcoming alienation and powerlessness

I must admit I cannot agree with this completely. It appears to me that the new 
technology will be more likely to _further_ alienation, and therefore, at the 
end of the day (or night), a hollowing out of the otherwise progressive 
tendencies and promises at _also_ shows.
Could you elaborate?

>For this group-mind to work optimally, it must not be biased by the
>interests of any organization or government, it must be capable of
>communicating ANY information freely amongst it's parts.

With this I essentially agree, as I think we all do. But the only source of 
contamination of the "group mind" is not to be found on the internet, but much 
more likely in the biases of each individual mind forming part of the 
collective, group mind. The 'Net merely reflects the world outside. 

>"Information gathering" and "Information filtering" technologies will
>develop and help us hunt through the vastness of cyber-space

Wont these technologies rather _introduce_ a bias? These programs will be mass 
produced by somebody else and that somebody else will, at least to an extent, 
invest it with what (s)he thinks valid or important or interesting information 
should be.

>Censorship's ONLY function then
>is to impede personal expression - nothing more.

I don't think anybody doubts that.

Frank