Privacy Must End: Freeing Information for the Future of Mankind

Privacy, because of its perceived necessity today, is rarely questioned in the context of tomorrow. To question privacy is to commit a graven act of heresy. As a result, the Age of Information has engendered an information model that has divided humanity into those with information and those without information. The measuring stick that serves as the fulcrum between those divisions is privacy. This fulcrum is slightly off-center, however. We want privacy, but we want information too. We want information from others, and about others, but we do not want our information to be known. A subtle paradox exists therein. Thus, if we are to survive as species during the next age, the Virtual Age, we need to ask tough questions about privacy. To to begin with, we can ask: is information privacy good for Mankind's future?In this book, Dr. Jason M. Pittman describes one possible answer to this question. In doing so, Dr. Pittman explores what privacy is, why privacy is in demand, and ultimately how privacy is flawed to such a degree that the rational conclusion is for privacy to end. Drawing upon extensive expertise in technology, philosophy, and information architecture, Pittman illuminates the consequences of the escalating demand for privacy in the coming Virtual Age.