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Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

novaramedia.com

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Re: Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

#2

Post by cyberlab »

This is a synopsis of the book described here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3184-breaking-things-at-wor... Breaking Things at Work. The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job, by Gavin Mueller

The basic gist is that software is eating people's jobs, and everything has to be an /app/ these days or it's not credible.

Re: Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

#3

Post by infoseek12 »

cyberlab wrote: post #2

This is a synopsis of the book described here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3184-breaking-things-at-wor... Breaking Things at Work. The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job, by Gavin Mueller The basic gist is that software is eating people's jobs, and everything has to be an /app/ these days or it's not credible.

Can you explain how this relates to hackers being the new Luddites? I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet but I can’t see how it’s description or yours relates to the title.

Re: Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

#4

Post by cyberlab »

infoseek12 wrote: post #3
cyberlab wrote: post #2

This is a synopsis of the book described here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3184-breaking-things-at-wor... Breaking Things at Work. The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job, by Gavin Mueller The basic gist is that software is eating people's jobs, and everything has to be an /app/ these days or it's not credible.

Can you explain how this relates to hackers being the new Luddites? I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet but I can’t see how it’s description or yours relates to the title.

> the seeds of this resistance are already present in the neo-Luddite efforts of hackers, pirates, and dark web users who are challenging surveillance and control, often through older systems of communication technology

I actually don't agree that using the dark web is using older technology (but I can see why using the postal system to deliver contraband to households would be old tech). Tor is relatively recent tech that people can use. I think what the writer means is that hackers usually try to avoid prosecution by encrypting literally everything they do (an old cypherpunk tactic), so when they eventually get vanned by a LEA they have nothing to hand over for evidence.

How this is being a Luddite though is questionable. There is a disconnect there.

Re: Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

#7

Post by tomc1985 »

infoseek12 wrote: post #3
cyberlab wrote: post #2

This is a synopsis of the book described here: https://www.versobooks.com/books/3184-breaking-things-at-wor... Breaking Things at Work. The Luddites Are Right About Why You Hate Your Job, by Gavin Mueller The basic gist is that software is eating people's jobs, and everything has to be an /app/ these days or it's not credible.

Can you explain how this relates to hackers being the new Luddites? I haven’t had a chance to listen to the podcast yet but I can’t see how it’s description or yours relates to the title.

I identify as a 'hacker' in the 2600/Phrack tradition, and I definitely feel like a luddite rejecting the centralization of control as everything moves into the cloud, and proliferation of anti-consumer software that disempowers. Linux and BSD are beginning to feel like the last bastions of true user freedom, and the only remaining place that I have any control over my destiny as a user (and creator) of software.

DRM, app stores, subscription models, SaaS... I would burn all of these things to ground if I could

Re: Are Hackers the New Luddites? [audio]

#9

Post by FpUser »

IAmWorried wrote: post #6

Beside the point, but IMO, all podcasts should have a transcription option as well. I unfortunately just don't have the attention span to listen to hours of people talking, but put it in text format and I have zero issues.

Same here. When something can be answered in few written words now there is often lengthy video tutorial where most of the time taken by mouse aimlessly jumping all over the screen in search of that magical button. Same with podcasts obviously.
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