In the Age of the Smart Machine

What Hacker News says

1. nabla9Mar 2018
   The author, Shoshana Zuboff, is one of the pioneers of the information age. Her book 1988 book "In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power" is a classic.

   Zuboff's Laws:

   1. Everything that can be automated will be automated.

   2. Everything that can be informated will be informated.

   3. In the absence of countervailing restrictions and sanctions, every digital application that can be used for surveillance and control will be used for surveillance and control, irrespective of its originating intention.

   The Surveillance Paradigm : Be the friction - Our Response to the New Lords of the Ring, Von Shoshana Zuboff 2013 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16642643

   http://www.faz.net/aktuell/feuilleton/the-surveillance-parad...

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2. dredmorbiusFeb 2021
   On authors who were publishing information technology panopticon concerns in the 1980s, or earlier

   Paul Baran / RAND

   - "On the Engineer's Responsibility in Protecting Privacy"

   - "On the Future Computer Era: Modification of the American Character and the Role of the Engineer, or, A Little Caution in the Haste to Number"

   - "The Coming Computer Utility -- Laissez-Faire, Licensing, or Regulation?"

   - "Remarks on the Question of Privacy Raised by the Automation of Mental Health Records"

   - "Some Caveats on the Contribution of Technology to Law Enforcement"

   Largely written/published 1967--1969.

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/b/baran_paul.html

   Willis Ware / RAND

   Too numerous to list fully, 1960s --1990s. Highlights:

   - "Security and Privacy in Computer Systems" (1967)

   - "Computers in Society's Future" (1971)

   - "Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens" (1973

   - "Privacy and Security Issues in Information Systems" (1976)

   - "Information Systems, Security, and Privacy" (1983)

   - "The new faces of privacy" (1993)

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/w/ware_willis_h.html

   Misc

   Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power (1988) Notably reviewed in the Whole Earth Catalog's Signal: Communication Tools for the Information Age (1988).

   https://www.worldcat.org/title/in-the-age-of-the-smart-machi... https://archive.org/details/inageofsmartmach00zubo/page/n7/m...

   "Danger to Civil Rights?", 80 Microcomputing (1982)

   https://archive.org/stream/80_Microcomputing_Issue_26_1982-0... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14329877)

   "Computer-Based National Information Systems: Technology and Public Policy", NTIS (September 1981)

   http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ota/Ota_5/DATA/1981/8109.PDF

   "23 to Study Computer ‘Threat’" (1970)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/12/archives/23-to-study-comp...

   The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

   "Privacy and Information Technology" bibliography is largely 1990--present, but contains some earlier references.

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/it-privacy/#Bib

   Similarly "Privacy"

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/privacy/

   Credit Reporting / Legislation

   US Privacy Act of 1974

   https://www.justice.gov/opcl/privacy-act-1974

   Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 - Queensland Government, Australia

   https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/...

   Arthur R. Miller, The assault on privacy: computers, data banks, and dossiers

   https://archive.org/details/assaultonprivacy00mill/page/n7/m...

   "The Computer, the Consumer and Privacy" (1984)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/04/weekinreview/the-computer... Richard Boeth / Newsweek

   The specific item I'd had in mind:

   Richard Boeth, "Is Privacy Dead", Newsweek, July 27, 1970

   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/11/is-privacy-...

   Direct PDF: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/712228/1970-newsw...

   Based on an HN comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2

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3. dredmorbiusNov 2020
   A few weeks back, an HN reader asked "Can you name some of the authors who were publishing panopticon concerns [in the 1980s or earlier], or the media they were publishing in?"

   As there didn't seem to be a useful compilation, I created one. This seems useful in answering persistent questions, tropes, and dismissals concerning privacy and surveillance.

   A formatted version lives at: https://joindiaspora.com/posts/bf4f5f10f6120138799c002590d8e...

   (Additions welcomed.)

   On authors who were publishing information technology panopticon concerns in the 1980s, or earlier

   Paul Baran / RAND

   - “On the Engineer’s Responsibility in Protecting Privacy”

   - “On the Future Computer Era: Modification of the American Character and the Role of the Engineer, or, A Little Caution in the Haste to Number”

   - “The Coming Computer Utility – Laissez-Faire, Licensing, or Regulation?”

   - “Remarks on the Question of Privacy Raised by the Automation of Mental Health Records”

   - “Some Caveats on the Contribution of Technology to Law Enforcement”

   Largely written/published 1967–1969.

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/b/baran_paul.html

   Willis Ware / RAND

   Too numerous to list fully, 1960s --1990s. Highlights:

   - “Security and Privacy in Computer Systems” (1967)

   - “Computers in Society’s Future” (1971)

   - “Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens” (1973

   - “Privacy and Security Issues in Information Systems” (1976)

   - “Information Systems, Security, and Privacy” (1983)

   - “The new faces of privacy” (1993)

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/w/ware_willis_h.html

   Misc

   - Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power (1988) Notably reviewed in the Whole Earth Catalog’s Signal: Communication Tools for the Information Age (1988).

   https://www.worldcat.org/title/in-the-age-of-the-smart-machi... https://archive.org/details/inageofsmartmach00zubo/page/n7/m...

   - “Danger to Civil Rights?”, 80 Microcomputing (1982)

   https://archive.org/stream/80_Microcomputing_Issue_26_1982-0... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14329877)

   - “Computer-Based National Information Systems: Technology and Public Policy”, NTIS (September 1981)

   http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ota/Ota_5/DATA/1981/8109.PDF

   - “23 to Study Computer ‘Threat’” (1970)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/12/archives/23-to-study-comp...

   The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

   “Privacy and Information Technology” bibliography is largely 1990–present, but contains some earlier references.

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/it-privacy/#Bib

   Similarly “Privacy”

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/privacy/

   Credit Reporting / Legislation

   US Privacy Act of 1974

   https://www.justice.gov/opcl/privacy-act-1974

   Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 - Queensland Government, Australia

   https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/...

   Arthur R. Miller, The assault on privacy: computers, data banks, and dossiers

   https://archive.org/details/assaultonprivacy00mill/page/n7/m...

   “The Computer, the Consumer and Privacy” (1984)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/04/weekinreview/the-computer...

   Richard Boeth / Newsweek

   The specific item I’d had in mind:

   Richard Boeth, “Is Privacy Dead”, Newsweek, July 27, 1970

   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/11/is-privacy-...

   Direct PDF: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/712228/1970-newsw...

   Based on an HN comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24851736

   Show morethread
4. dredmorbiusOct 2020
   On authors who were publishing information technology panopticon concerns in the 1980s, or earlier.

   Paul Baran:

   - "On the Engineer's Responsibility in Protecting Privacy"

   - "On the Future Computer Era: Modification of the American Character and the Role of the Engineer, or, A Little Caution in the Haste to Number"

   - "The Coming Computer Utility -- Laissez-Faire, Licensing, or Regulation?"

   - "Remarks on the Question of Privacy Raised by the Automation of Mental Health Records"

   - "Some Caveats on the Contribution of Technology to Law Enforcement"

   Largely written/published 1967--1969.

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/b/baran_paul.html

   Willis Ware, too numerous to list fully, 1960s --1990s. Highlights:

   - "Security and Privacy in Computer Systems" (1967)

   - "Computers in Society's Future" (1971)

   - "Records, Computers and the Rights of Citizens" (1973

   - "Privacy and Security Issues in Information Systems" (1976)

   - "Information Systems, Security, and Privacy" (1983)

   - "The new faces of privacy" (1993)

   https://www.rand.org/pubs/authors/w/ware_willis_h.html

   Shoshana Zuboff, In the Age of the Smart Machine: The Future of Work and Power (1988) Notably reviewed in the Whole Earth Catalog's Signal: Communication Tools for the Information Age (1988).

   https://www.worldcat.org/title/in-the-age-of-the-smart-machi...

   "Danger to Civil Rights?", 80 Microcomputing (1982)

   https://archive.org/stream/80_Microcomputing_Issue_26_1982-0... (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14329877)

   "Computer-Based National Information Systems: Technology and Public Policy", NTIS (September 1981)

   http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/ota/Ota_5/DATA/1981/8109.PDF

   "23 to Study Computer ‘Threat’" (1970)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1970/03/12/archives/23-to-study-comp...

   The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy "Privacy and Information Technology" bibliography is largely 1990--present, but contains some earlier references.

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/it-privacy/#Bib

   Similarly "Privacy"

   https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/privacy/

   US Privacy Act of 1974

   https://www.justice.gov/opcl/privacy-act-1974

   Invasion of Privacy Act 1971 - Queensland Government, Australia

   https://www.legislation.qld.gov.au/view/pdf/inforce/current/...

   Arthur R. Miller, The assault on privacy: computers, data banks, and dossiers

   https://archive.org/details/assaultonprivacy00mill/page/n7/m...

   "The Computer, the Consumer and Privacy" (1984)

   https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/04/weekinreview/the-computer...

   Several popular periodical pieces in the early 1970s, though I need to track down links.

   Found the one I had in mind:

   Richard Boeth, "Is Privacy Dead", Newsweek, July 27, 1970

   http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/06/11/is-privacy-...

   Direct PDF: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/712228/1970-newsw...

   Show morethread
5. dredmorbiusJul 2020
   That's a near restatement of Zuboff's Third Law:

   Every digital application that can be used for surveillance and control will be used for surveillance and control, irrespective of its originating intention.

   Coined in the early 1980s, in The Age of the Smart Machine.

   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoshana_Zuboff

   thread
6. dredmorbiusSep 2019
   The question wasn't selling points, but design foundations.

   The principle of technology reducing trust is a general one I'd first considered a few years ago. Bitcoin is a specific instance, as are numerous other surveilance, manipulation, and scoring systems. Shoshana Zuboff beat me to the punch by a good three-to-four decades with her three laws of automation and information, in The Age of the Smart Machine (published 1988, based on research in the late 1970s):

   1. Everything that can be automated will be automated.

   2. Everything that can be informated will be informated.

   3. Every digital application that can be used for surveillance and control will be used for surveillance and control.

   https://www.worldcat.org/title/in-the-age-of-the-smart-machi...

   Show morethread