Unfortunately, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" was fiction based on an idealistic world, and real engineers get paid too well to risk their livelihoods and families for moral principles.
While I firmly believe that the intelligent and moral people of the world should easily topple the corrupt dipshits who work the system for their own gains, it is realistically impossible for this kind of techie rebellion to happen. In the real world, without these big corporations we'd all be out of work.
The most successful grassroots movement in history was the environmentalist movement, and that took about 25 years of hippies (who had a valid point) bitching and moaning before it was universally accepted and written into corporate strategy.
Technology doesn't progress without the resources of large corporations, but groups like the EFF are integral in making sure that the immediate interests of these companies do not conflict with the progress of technology.
The best that any individual can do is to seek out and support movements in which they believe, and to hope that enough support can be rallied to publicize a rational argument....Then wait around for a quarter of a century and see if your employer has you sign a "progress of technology" awareness agreement. That's when you'll know you've made a difference.
Slashdot Mirror
Playing anything by Savage Garden would probably cause the plane to crash due to the pilot's sudden desire to die in a horrible plane crash.
Read Neal Stephenson's "The Diamond Age", as referenced in the header. It covers some of these possibilites and touches upon nanotech as well.
Unfortunately, Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" was fiction based on an idealistic world, and real engineers get paid too well to risk their livelihoods and families for moral principles. While I firmly believe that the intelligent and moral people of the world should easily topple the corrupt dipshits who work the system for their own gains, it is realistically impossible for this kind of techie rebellion to happen. In the real world, without these big corporations we'd all be out of work. The most successful grassroots movement in history was the environmentalist movement, and that took about 25 years of hippies (who had a valid point) bitching and moaning before it was universally accepted and written into corporate strategy. Technology doesn't progress without the resources of large corporations, but groups like the EFF are integral in making sure that the immediate interests of these companies do not conflict with the progress of technology. The best that any individual can do is to seek out and support movements in which they believe, and to hope that enough support can be rallied to publicize a rational argument. ...Then wait around for a quarter of a century and see if your employer has you sign a "progress of technology" awareness agreement. That's when you'll know you've made a difference.