How nature metaphors shade technology companies from scrutiny
Mother Jones|May/June 2023
IN 2006, at an industry conference, thenGoogle-CEO Eric Schmidt introduced a now ubiquitous term: "the cloud."
- LEO KIM
How nature metaphors shade technology companies from scrutiny

Here was a grand technological shift, Schmidt explained, that would let information exist simultaneously nowhere and everywhere. Naming it "the cloud" made the change sound almost natural. Your information is not in a massive bank of servers in Nevada; it is, as he put it, "in a 'cloud' somewhere." Data as a nimbus floating above.

The cloud is just one of many linguistic elisions between the artificial and natural worlds. These appropriations span the gamut: Firefox, OpenSea, OnStar, Airbnb, Apple (Yosemite, Monterey, Big Sur), internet surfing, neural networks, mouses, viruses. Sue Thomas a writer and scholar of digital culture-argues that bringing nature into the lexicon lets technologists position their domain as "a real and integrated extension to human experience." This framing brings a sense of comfort to complex innovations but encourages us to not think too deeply, either. As researchers have noted, the phrase "data mining" does not exactly clarify the privacy concerns at play when Meta sorts through your personal information.

この蚘事は Mother Jones の May/June 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

この蚘事は Mother Jones の May/June 2023 版に掲茉されおいたす。

7 日間の Magzter GOLD 無料トラむアルを開始しお、䜕千もの厳遞されたプレミアム ストヌリヌ、9,000 以䞊の雑誌や新聞にアクセスしおください。

MOTHER JONESのその他の蚘事すべお衚瀺
Food + Health / Global Warning - Why Project 2025 is an environmental catastrophe in the making
Mother Jones

Food + Health / Global Warning - Why Project 2025 is an environmental catastrophe in the making

When President Joe Biden took office, Democrats held a slim majority in the House of Representatives and a single-vote edge in the Senate. Despite the monumental odds, he has presided over the most productive presidential term for climate action in American history. Under Biden’s direction, the federal government took up the arduous task of incorporating climate considerations into scores of administrative operations and procedures. The epa cracked down on superpollutants and issued stricter emissions regulations for passenger vehicles. The Inflation Reduction Act, the biggest climate spending bill Congress has ever passed, brings the nation closer to its goal of slashing carbon emissions in half by 2030.

time-read
5 分  |
November/December 2024
Trumpnesia - To get a second chance, Trump needs voters to forget his disastrous presidency.
Mother Jones

Trumpnesia - To get a second chance, Trump needs voters to forget his disastrous presidency.

One of the most oft-quoted sentences ever penned by a philosopher is George Santayana’s observation that “those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In 2024, this aphorism is practically a campaign slogan. Donald Trump, seeking to become the first former president since Grover Cleveland to return to the White House after being voted out of the job, has waged war on remembrance. In fact, he’s depending on tens of millions of voters forgetting the recent past. This election is an experiment in how powerful a memory hole can be.

time-read
6 分  |
November/December 2024
WHEN IN DROUGHT
Mother Jones

WHEN IN DROUGHT

This obscure yet adaptable grain could be a healthy staple for a warming planet.

time-read
3 分  |
November/December 2024
BAD HABITS
Mother Jones

BAD HABITS

A spate of recent horror movies recycle tired tropes about nuns-and reveal society's ongoing discomfort with independent women.

time-read
9 分  |
November/December 2024
Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.
Mother Jones

Taking the Fifth For a glimpse of the Supreme Court after a second Trump term, look at the radical circuit court that's already driving America to the right.

Imagine obamacare is dead and millions of Americans have lost health coverage.

time-read
10+ 分  |
November/December 2024
THE ARCHITECT
Mother Jones

THE ARCHITECT

TRUMP WANTS TO BE KING. RUSS VOUGHT HAS A PLAN TO MAKE IT HAPPEN.

time-read
10+ 分  |
November/December 2024
Losing Faith
Mother Jones

Losing Faith

As an evangelical leader, I enticed lawmakers and federal judges to adopt a conservative Christian agenda. Donald Trump’s rise proved how wrong I was.

time-read
10+ 分  |
November/December 2024
GOD'S COUNTRY
Mother Jones

GOD'S COUNTRY

These Christian nationalists have a plan to take over Americafrom small towns to the highest court in the land.

time-read
10+ 分  |
November/December 2024
IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHER
Mother Jones

IN THE NAME OF THE MOTHER

How Shyamala Gopalan Harris raised a presidential contender

time-read
6 分  |
November/December 2024
KILL THE MESSENGER
Mother Jones

KILL THE MESSENGER

The anti-disinformation field is retreating under attack.

time-read
6 分  |
November/December 2024