The Web Is Broken: Digital Makers vs. Lords of the Web
The internet has become a battleground for nations, a platform for economic warfare, and a repository for violent imagery. Amidst this chaos, the promise of virtual currency remains unfulfilled due to volatility and eroded trust in digital structures. Dyne.org offers free open-source software in the spirit of democratic sharing, but its impact is hard to gauge. Antoni Abad's BlindWiki project crowdsources data on mobility obstacles for the blind, yet quantifying such initiatives' influence on the broader digital landscape is difficult. Peter Sunde, co-founder of Pirate Bay, declares, "The Internet is shit today. It's broken." The countercultural dream of free exchange clashes with market barriers and political control, exemplified by Donald Trump's calls for a total internet shutdown in response to ISIS. Lorenzo Taiuti, art and media critic and professor at Sapienza University of Rome, authored this piece for Artribune Magazine #29.
Key facts
- The internet is described as a place of telematic war between nations, economic actions, and violent reality.
- Virtual currency as a monetary circulation possibility is considered perhaps already outdated.
- Agreements between economic agencies and banks are difficult, and trust in digital structures is declining.
- Dyne.org provides free online software based on sharing and democratizing culture.
- Antoni Abad's BlindWiki project creates a database on mobility obstacles for the blind.
- Peter Sunde, founder of Pirate Bay, states 'The Internet is shit today. It's broken.'
- Donald Trump invoked a total block on immigration from Islamic countries and total control over the internet.
- Lorenzo Taiuti is a critic of art and media and a professor of architecture at Sapienza University of Rome.
Entities
Artists
- Antoni Abad
- Lorenzo Taiuti
Institutions
- Pirate Bay
- dyne.org
- Sapienza University of Rome
- Artribune
Locations
- United States
- Rome
- Italy