digital fool game

Diego Hidalgo Demosoa published with Fyp Editions titled “Anesthesia – Humanity Under the Influence of Technology”.

AdvertisingMeteorologist and atmospheric chemist Paul Joseph Crutzen, winner of the 1995 Nobel Prize in Chemistry, and biologist Eugene Stoermer have popularized the hotly contested concept of the Anthropocene over the past 20 years. It is a question of defining a geological age in which human action is geologically sensitive (since about the eighteenth century). But in the face of eras lasting millions or even billions of years, the Little Anthropocene and a few centuries ago is not worth all that weight. Especially if it would now end in “numéricocene”. This talk is new, due to the author of this article, but it describes well the situation presented by Diego Hidalgo Demosoa in his book Anesthesia – Humanity Under the Influence of Technology, published by Fyp Editions.

Sociologist, international frequent social entrepreneur, multilingual… The author profile is amazing but it’s not technical or technical. His subject matter is indeed sociology, philosophy, and anticipation, not computer science in the technical sense of the word. His book begins with a childhood memory: a magician, who deliberately deceived gullible onlookers into a hoax. But modern times, according to the author, see people constantly being deceived without even knowing it, and therefore willingly. He built his observations around the three digital periods: solid (1960-2007) where the computer is visible and finite, liquid (2007-2020) where it is mobile and finally gaseous where the computer is pervasive or even invisible. He goes back at length to the limitations of current regulation and the need to restore individual control, which first requires awareness.

The topic is good, clearly explained. But the diagnosis is neither original nor unique. Bringing digital technology back at the service of humans while avoiding role reversal is a very cliched discourse that one can read and reread (at least) since Isaac Asimov’s robotics saga or even the Jewish myths of Golem. Diego Hidalgo Demeusois’ book gives a very complete view of the question and is updated according to the state of technology. It will undoubtedly allow those who have doubt to realize. As for CIOs and other CIOs, this updated insight will enable them to understand precisely what falls under their individual and professional responsibility.