These are nice ideas, but as the Arab Spring and China's effective use of censorship demonstrates, the net effect appears to be far more harmful than helpful to these regimes. The internet makes it a lot easier for hidden knowledge (we all hate the dictator and want him deposed) to become public knowledge. Normally, stating that you hate the dictator would cost you your life. The internet makes it incredibly easy to share that sentiment with millions while not dying. A game changer.
This speech should resonate a lot more with the current Wikileaks situation. His assertion that the internet is useful for MISinformation as well as Information, means that the most valuable commodity in the digital age is the certainty of truth. Wikileaks is the first successful effort to develop a reputation for truth so leaks can be trusted.
Think about it, this is how the power of the net can be used to expose despots and free people.
The best point he makes is the intelligence gathering ability's of dictatorships. Using teh internet is not only faster, it is much cheaper than having to scramble field ops.
at minute 4:07 you can pick up mih saying "they r building what I call the spenternet." then there is a "the" that has been added to the audio and then it goes back to normal.
sphincter net, this is boring and obvious and stinks, the internet is used delude the masses that they have a say in their daily lives. wake-up the world belongs to handful of ultra rich the rest of us are cattle, we are stupid cunts drowning in a stagnant pond
@jay19xxx Why are you here then? If your really trying to persuade people i think your preaching to the wrong choir. But maybe im so far down i dont even know wich way is up any more. I think you have a lot of anger, but i also think it could be directed at better places.
It's not the internet who's at fault for people's stupidity, though I can see how, like video games, it can prevent learning...
I'm not sure how it "strengthens" dictatorships though. If the internet is regulated then yes, it does strengthen dictatorships... but the fact that the internet is there isn't to blame...
What is he suggesting people do about it? Get rid of the internet?
What the fuck is wrong with this guys arms. He can't fucking stop. Look at him. OMG STOP DUDE IT DOESN'T EMPHASIZE ANYTHING IF YOU DO IT FOR EVERYTHING! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT IMGOIDGNSOIDNFOSIDNFIURNFIRUNGkjgn
What is the difference in your definitions? So he is right, but stupid?
so he is stupid because he doesn't do things like you...
Are you aware in other cultures there are intelligent people who do things differently that you do? they usually don't have stupid people talking at TED but maybe you're right and they accidental let him talk.
No, he's not right either. Waving your arms can't be right or wrong. It doesn't apply.
This has nothing to do with culture. This has to do with a bimbo waving his arms around for no reason. I can guarantee you not everyone in his "culture" waves their arms around for no reason.
Stop pretending like everything anything says about anyone is a racial slur. I hate people like you.
so you hate me because you assume I accuse you of being racist? Can I clarify (I think I have a better idea of my intent than you and we are not communicating, so let me be clear)
I never thought of you as a racist.
Let me get this right to make sure I am understanding you. He moves his hands when he talks therefore he is stupid. Is this what you are saying?
Maybe, he is stupid, just doesn't sound that way to me, It is OK to thing someone is stupid, but I usually bsae this on the words
This is a great talk. Internet is a great resource for those who use it. People who were active without the internet will still be active with the internet. People who were not active without the internet will not be active with the internet. I have been using the internet as a source of knowledge for a couple months and it is amazing what i have learned. He also made a great point about activists and networks, i should tell this to the activists I know.
I've lived in China, and I heard there the same thing that we hear in these comments -- that the West and America looks down on China and only says bad things about it.
Here's a news flash guys, until China became an economic power in the last decade, we never really thought about China. The CCP demonizes the U.S. to make it seem as though it protects/defends the Chinese people. In reality, it just tells them the U.S. looks down on China, when it really doesn't.
current authoritarian regimes maintain power differently than they used to. They used to micro-manage (top down soviet style) everything. Now they do what this guy is talking about. China's market economic policies accomplish similar things.
Western elites actually use similar tactics to control people (e.g. mass media). People are sheep wherever they are. I still think democracy is better than autocracy, but better to be controlled by pleasurable distractions than threat of violence.
Living in the Middle East, I can definitely say this is true, and not just in Internet, but also in newspapers, books, speeches, and practically all forms of media...
It had been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience had proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.
ipods/internet really do spread democracy. pop culture too. but it just can't save everyone, right away. some people are just too intense in their ideology and culture to immediately benefit from it. some govmts may be agile in counteracting its positive influence, locally.
but no doubt on the long term ways of thinking/cultures will change.
The guy "justforwatchingcraps" his name is Riyadh. He is the most awesome guy on the planet. He is very smart. He should be studying Physio right now but is rather watching this crappy video online and discussing it with a bunch of losers
people are always stupider than they think they are, the internet is a potential forum for lay ppl to get together and validate eachothers unfounded opinions. you get enough ppl and those ignorant, unfounded opinions become an accepted belief that ppl just fall into.
why is he talking about iran, china and russia. and not talking about all the pro-american dictatorships in the middle east for example like jordan, egypt, saudi arabia? this is another proof the TED is just another american propaganda supporting it's imperialism
This isn't that great of a point. The benefits to dictators that the internet gives them is most likely outweighed by the potentials for free speech / exchange of ideas. The true reason regimes stand as they do now are the power of modern weapons (and the resulting chasm between military weaponry and public personal weaponry) as well as an international distaste for war. A crappy little dictatorship like N. Korea would be invaded by a superior society 1000 years ago. Today it is allowed to rot.
all of hte modern weapons in the world mean nothing if the people themselves hold an idea strongly enough to overthrow their own governments. propaganda, not weapons, are the most powerful tool of dictators...u sway ppls minds enough and start herding them into a group mentality, any new minority idea/opinion that goes against accepted belief is snuffed by the people themselves (such as the internet being a potential propaganda tool...like he said...an unpopular idea).
you're off topic...this isn't about people fighting powerful foreign governments, its about people fighting their own governments...in which case, propaganda and a promotion of disunity are more important tools than weapons are when a dictatorship government deals with its people
you think a single dictator alone can wield all his weapons and keep everyone in line? he needs a group of people who listen to and believe in him to do it for him...
Yes but he now needs a small amount of people to do it with. If England had tanks and apache helicopters in 1776, I don't think history would've turned out the way it did. That is how things are today: governments control massively powerful weaponry while civilians have small arms. A dictator does indeed need others, but very few. A dictator plus about 25% of a country and do damn well.
Propaganda IS a powerful tool but I believe it hurts the dictator more than it helps.
The TED slogan above says "ideas worth spreading". There is no evil bit that can tell the internet what ideas are worth, it attempts to spread them all. Dictator's generally don't like competing ideas so will attempt to eradicate them from their part of the internet. Neither the net nor the dictator will be fully successfull but barring a global dictator the net will gain the upper hand. The internet means that dictators can no longer simply smash the presses of those with different ideas.
Ah well, I don't really have time for that; there's probably more than one international computer network (internets), but when that term is used online, in 90% of the cases it is meant as a joke, so, there's a 90% chance that it actually IS funny.
YouTube shouldn't really be at the "HAVE FUN" class on the hierarchy pyramid... as it incorporates all categories on his lil list there... it isn't solely for fun... just nit picking here
The problem with his pyramid of hierarchy is it lacks a major lure to the internet, which is as a creative outlet with sights like deviantArt and fictionpress and authonomy.
As an "internet native" the creative area of the internet is where I spend most of my time followed by learn and talk respectively.
many of his points were well taken but these are all just examples of dictatorships finding more effective ways to cope with the internet than some practiced in the past, he in no way convinced me that the internet benefits dictatorships though
This refrain is so true, it always has been. Everybody wants to make the world a better place, in his own way. But because we all have other ways (we all have another interpretation of that better world and so there's no unity) it's very hard to do; So what happens: you don't know what to do and you forget about it, hoping that other people will do it for you
Interesting, I kinda agree with this guy. I mean on the surface we all have heard people got fired because of facebook and twitter.
The intelligence must have jumped ship to the network to gather information, silently. We always think that internet is the place where people win. wait a minute, that can be a wrong assumption. They, the govt and Intels have power, money, controls, and they can easily hire intelligent people who can predict and calculate everything.
If a dictatorship stops torturing people for information, draws citizens into dialogue and allows them to influence policy in a transparent and open forum that is visible to the public and the international community it becomes a little difficult to continue to call them a dictatorship, doesn't it?
Although their motives may be oppressive, I think by purposefully "infecting" themselves with democracy, there might be some hope for such "dictatorships", perhaps more so than alternative solutions.
The internet will bring an intellectual revolution just as the printing press did. Even if governments printed a lot of propaganda, the printing press helped good ideas spread even faster.
The internet greatly decreases the transaction cost of communication. That's all, it's not a magic spell of democracy and peace. There is nothing inherent in the internet other than that.
But never underestimate what people can do when they can communicate.
It's up to US to make sure we do not hinder the internet, censor it and treat packets equally no matter their source, respecting the integrity from our end. Respecting anonymity, encouraging privacy. It must be understood that this new idea (embraced by google and others, surprisingly) of the "end of anonymity" being a good thing is actually the worst concept in decades. No anon, no whistleblowers. No anon, no underground, no rebellions?.. eventually no democracy and no freedom. Count on it.
"no underground, no rebellions?.. eventually no democracy and no freedom. Count on it."
You might be right, though this could be because this flattening of the power structure might simply mean that there is very little to rebel against and very little to hide "underground" from, democracy and freedom may have no possible counterparts.
But perhaps I'm being a little overly optimistic, though I think it provides a balance to your street corner "the end is nigh" tone. Cheers.
I'm no pessimist, but this idea that we would ever live in a world with "very little to hide underground from" seems a bit pollyannaish. It's a little past optimism, in my opinion. And there's a vast difference between fearing the very real threat to the possibility of anonymity (the "end of anonymity" to quote Google's Marissa Mayer) and standing on a street corner claiming the end of the world is coming. And I'm a bit of a google fanboy, so the paranoia is minimal. I just think it's important.
Open source intelligent! Exactly, Try a Physical protest-chances are you'd be stopped before you started & your Rep would be destroyed by the media in no time. Rupert Murdoch buying Myspace?why? Myspace is the "Pulse" of the future andFacebook gives the illussion of a moremature and private version. I have both as i'm sure everyone has, the first with comments like'.. I'll B there 2nite! C U 2mrw"', and the latter,..I'm at the Market right now..another long line." Either way, They are watching!
Did anyone watching this actually learn anything new? Of course means of communication can be exploited by (and not limited to) authoritarian states. As long as its stays free, however, it will always do more good than harm.
Even though he has an extremely annoying way of speaking and an even more annoying way of moving his arms (I'm pretty sure they were sore the next day), he might actually have a point there.
'Some figured that if everyone gets on the net (i.e. china and iran etc), then democracy/christianity will spread without the use of force.'
Yes, it definitely makes it easier for the lure of capitalist pop-culture to take hold of the remaining cultures and essentially indoctrinate them into a new (western) way of thinking and perceiving. It's all about the memes.
Its so true, look how Israel uses the internet. They are one of the most connected countries and people. They blog falsely, create websites to push their illegal occupation of arab land, change facts and push throught falsied ones.
ultimately it's a good point: genuine individual empowerment is more than just one particular enabling technology... but the internet is a tremendously enabling technology, and surely does more net good than harm.
It's an undesirable side-effect of a global communication network, not by no means a show stopper. So while it may well be true, it can be disregarded at once, on my opinion.
Look at Iran, a large percentage of the population twittered for action agains the government, and they have protested but, it will take much more to actually accomplish anything.
Fail logic, he is arguing that the internet is being used as a medium for political propaganda and manipulation of behavior ,not that the usage of internet empowers dictatorships.
same thing man, when a dictatorship has the ability to influence more people by increasing publicity and take control of important social tools it becomes more effective in winning public opion. Examples come from Queen Elizabeth 1 who fought a 16 year war which bankrupted the country but is to this day our most populour monarch in large part through effective control of church propaganda. or Trotsky who wrote his essays on the power of "vodka, the church,n cinema" social control is totalitarian
This guy should go on Facebook more and see how it is being used by growing groups of individuals to FIGHT BACK against corporate and government power. I have hundreds of friends' who are doing so, and we are creating a network that promotes empowering consumers and ordinary workers with information about the deceptions and crimes of corporations and governments'. We can reach people much easier via this media, than if we had to phone people or send them leaflets, etc.
At the end of the day, Facebook is owned by a corporation. How do you think it manages to stay up? It is funded by companies who pay to have their ads up. The people don't have any control of the internet at the end of the day.
Excellent talk - but jeez, I am glad his arms stopped waving around - kind of ironic, considering the subject matter: saying something so important but diluting the message with hand gestures. Perhaps the first step is to send all the intellectuals to Toastmaters. :-)
you cannot argue simultaneously that the internet does not affect a totalitarian regime while arguing that the internet can strengthen that same regime. The internet weakens the legitimacy of a totalitarian regime through the free exchange of ideas and news - but in the end guns will always trump the internet.
Sooo... the freedom given to the people, is bad because of what they do with it, so this strengthens dictatorships. So cyber freedom will replace real freedom via cyber Opioum? I do not agree.
And it is true, internet is not activisim. The question is... should it be?? I do not think so. but does this make it better for the dictatorship??? neither.
also consistently try to convince each other by starting sentences with you are wrong motherfucker end of argument. Which makes people consider the viewpoints their hold and be more compassionate to other
I don't think humanity is smart enough to overcome our humanity.
we are biological machines designed to consume and reproduce. The majority of 'thinking' that is being done by our brains is merely scheming on how to better consume and satisfy ourselves.
Many many times ive read or heard some evangelical (of quite a number of religions too) say that the internet is evil and that more than 80% of internet traffic is porn.
Very insightful talk. But for all his arm-swinging, his two feet stayed planted on that stage. Hopefully his next talk won't involve any attempts to take flight.
There were a few false premises in this presentation. One was that problems are always 'over there'. Totalitarian states have less need for propoganda than democracies. People are inherently skeptical to the state and therefore it is less valuable. Propoganda is far more important in democracies, as shown by the study of Bernays et al. Another is the supposition that only 'over there' states use the internet to monitor communication. Anyone familiar with the Patriot Act or British Security laws?
totalitarian states are known to use way more propaganda then democracies. Because of freedom of speech it is much harder to spread government propaganda. Media is spreading the propaganda in democracies which doesn't benefit government as much.
its mostly from history (hitler stalin, China) . Some of it is logic. Simply because when you are controlling information then you can spread whatever propaganda you want. when there is free speach you arent only source of information because there is media. Unless goverment limits free speach and owns media (or is has its support) in amounts that is visible in totalitarian countries cannot be achieved.
It is true that totalitarian regimes advocate propoganda and limit free speach, but propoganda has limited value because no one believes it and the State can enforce its authority though coercion. In ostenibly 'free' societies where corporate and State power has merged, such as the US or Britain, propoganda is far more important. Any impartial review of the US's media coverage of the Iraq wars, Afghanistan, Iran or Palestine will reveal this.
No one believes in it? Really so people didnt really believe in Hitlers propaganda. For me perfect example is given in the video how government in china controls people and keeps them calm. People believe misinformation in totalitarian systems Hitler himself said "tell a lie make it big repeat it over and over and people will believe it". I do believe that there is no real free speech in USA and that there is propaganda here. I just think it plays even bigger role in totalitarian systems.
No, the Internet is not what Orwell feared. This has very little to do with Orwell. I guess he put Orwell in the title just to get attention. He had few good points but his english is terrible to listen and he speaks it quite fast. Freedom of speech doesnt only benefit the good but also the evil. Still I think on the whole it is better then the alternatives.
It's the myth that totalitarian governments just spawn out of nowhere that is the false assumption.
The myth that there's still, behind the totalitarian government, a repressed and scared but sane population at large.
This is sadly not the case!
A government is always a mirror image of the population at large and people deserve the governments they get.
Turning that around, a totalitarian country will not have a lot of sane people in there.
This ain't no fairy tale.
aaaaaaaars 6 days ago
Great talk, Evgeny talks a lot of sense.
discostu333 1 week ago
These are nice ideas, but as the Arab Spring and China's effective use of censorship demonstrates, the net effect appears to be far more harmful than helpful to these regimes. The internet makes it a lot easier for hidden knowledge (we all hate the dictator and want him deposed) to become public knowledge. Normally, stating that you hate the dictator would cost you your life. The internet makes it incredibly easy to share that sentiment with millions while not dying. A game changer.
gpomputius 2 months ago
Yeah, dictatorships are getting stronger and more sinister, but hey, as long as I have access to my Porn (yeah, with capital P) I'm safe and sound.
FractalBolt 5 months ago
60 astroturfers detected
SizarieldoR 8 months ago
This guy is genius.
IanEColeman 8 months ago
This speech should resonate a lot more with the current Wikileaks situation. His assertion that the internet is useful for MISinformation as well as Information, means that the most valuable commodity in the digital age is the certainty of truth. Wikileaks is the first successful effort to develop a reputation for truth so leaks can be trusted.
Think about it, this is how the power of the net can be used to expose despots and free people.
kanojo1969 1 year ago 2
the internet has ruined everything but I can't seem to stop using it.
jawdust3 1 year ago
This has been flagged as spam show
I love the irony: this video is right next to "The Web as random acts of kindness"
The positioning of these two next to each other actually does reflect on the paradox of the internet rather well.
stoddcrew 1 year ago
The best point he makes is the intelligence gathering ability's of dictatorships. Using teh internet is not only faster, it is much cheaper than having to scramble field ops.
EveryHumanBeing 2 years ago
Great video!! Thank you so much!
SophosVII 2 years ago
Why is the audio of this video has been edited?
at minute 4:07 you can pick up mih saying "they r building what I call the spenternet." then there is a "the" that has been added to the audio and then it goes back to normal.
What is the need of this cut?
moxedana 2 years ago
sphincter net, this is boring and obvious and stinks, the internet is used delude the masses that they have a say in their daily lives. wake-up the world belongs to handful of ultra rich the rest of us are cattle, we are stupid cunts drowning in a stagnant pond
jay19xxx 2 years ago
@jay19xxx Why are you here then? If your really trying to persuade people i think your preaching to the wrong choir. But maybe im so far down i dont even know wich way is up any more. I think you have a lot of anger, but i also think it could be directed at better places.
Darc1228 1 year ago
Does anyone know wich region of Russia he is talking about - that 2020 strategy project.
kaugurs 2 years ago
anustan
jay19xxx 2 years ago
Why does he go on about the internet...
It's not the internet who's at fault for people's stupidity, though I can see how, like video games, it can prevent learning...
I'm not sure how it "strengthens" dictatorships though. If the internet is regulated then yes, it does strengthen dictatorships... but the fact that the internet is there isn't to blame...
What is he suggesting people do about it? Get rid of the internet?
cloud1232006 2 years ago
..................stupid comment
Yamakashi1 2 years ago
What orchestra is he conducting?
dryan22 2 years ago
Online activism tends to be somewhat like prayer - 'doing something' without actually, like, doing something.
soundofgeek 2 years ago 17
What the fuck is wrong with this guys arms. He can't fucking stop. Look at him. OMG STOP DUDE IT DOESN'T EMPHASIZE ANYTHING IF YOU DO IT FOR EVERYTHING! STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT IMGOIDGNSOIDNFOSIDNFIURNFIRUNGkjgn
eggkunt 2 years ago
maybe is is from a different culture and simply does things different than you
Many people would see this as wrong, I guess you are one of these.
johndela1 2 years ago
Wrong? No.
Stupid? Yes.
eggkunt 2 years ago
What is the difference in your definitions? So he is right, but stupid?
so he is stupid because he doesn't do things like you...
Are you aware in other cultures there are intelligent people who do things differently that you do? they usually don't have stupid people talking at TED but maybe you're right and they accidental let him talk.
johndela1 2 years ago
No, he's not right either. Waving your arms can't be right or wrong. It doesn't apply.
This has nothing to do with culture. This has to do with a bimbo waving his arms around for no reason. I can guarantee you not everyone in his "culture" waves their arms around for no reason.
Stop pretending like everything anything says about anyone is a racial slur. I hate people like you.
eggkunt 2 years ago
so you hate me because you assume I accuse you of being racist? Can I clarify (I think I have a better idea of my intent than you and we are not communicating, so let me be clear)
I never thought of you as a racist.
Let me get this right to make sure I am understanding you. He moves his hands when he talks therefore he is stupid. Is this what you are saying?
Maybe, he is stupid, just doesn't sound that way to me, It is OK to thing someone is stupid, but I usually bsae this on the words
johndela1 2 years ago
i give up... subtitles please
Bootwell 2 years ago
It wasn't until about 10 minutes in that I started to agree with him. The pyramid clinched it, he's totally right.
mooxim 2 years ago
Great job tearing down the internet activism illusion.
saigonpunkid 2 years ago 3
This is a great talk. Internet is a great resource for those who use it. People who were active without the internet will still be active with the internet. People who were not active without the internet will not be active with the internet. I have been using the internet as a source of knowledge for a couple months and it is amazing what i have learned. He also made a great point about activists and networks, i should tell this to the activists I know.
LemonLimeLaughter 2 years ago
this man is clerly a zionis capitalis cia operatoritive!
WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS INSULTING GLOURIAS NOTION OF CHINESE PEOPLE!!
underpantsjihad 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
the internet allows the Chinese to see that the white country is not all white.
it also allows them appreciate their own strengths more...................
It makes Chinese love their own country even more.
the internet makes it more difficult for white men to lie about China.
wankee8 2 years ago
you have a problem with people with white skin?
dont blame all people with the same skin tone because of the actions of a few.. theres idiots and great people of all skin colours or 'races'
mrlowdangle 2 years ago 5
It's not a tanning salon... It's race, not skin color
nomorefooling 2 years ago
Go back making toilet seats china man
nomorefooling 2 years ago
I've lived in China, and I heard there the same thing that we hear in these comments -- that the West and America looks down on China and only says bad things about it.
Here's a news flash guys, until China became an economic power in the last decade, we never really thought about China. The CCP demonizes the U.S. to make it seem as though it protects/defends the Chinese people. In reality, it just tells them the U.S. looks down on China, when it really doesn't.
crock703 2 years ago
TYPING WONT CHANGE YOUR MIND! Its when you talk to people face to face where they can actually punch you is when you listen.
princeofexcess 2 years ago 2
current authoritarian regimes maintain power differently than they used to. They used to micro-manage (top down soviet style) everything. Now they do what this guy is talking about. China's market economic policies accomplish similar things.
Western elites actually use similar tactics to control people (e.g. mass media). People are sheep wherever they are. I still think democracy is better than autocracy, but better to be controlled by pleasurable distractions than threat of violence.
joab1234321 2 years ago
On the same note, it's better to have knowledgeable people than a bunch of idiotic dumbshits.
GoldenZealot21 2 years ago
the internet is just a tool, and like any tool it can be used for good or evil :)
bajorjor1 2 years ago 4
technology, is and always has been a tool of repression.
freedom to watch youtube is not liberty.
cicatriz79 2 years ago
ipods spread democracy? lol
sixpackspy 2 years ago
smart but damn the language barrier gets annoying
DJAlfredPBJ 2 years ago
Living in the Middle East, I can definitely say this is true, and not just in Internet, but also in newspapers, books, speeches, and practically all forms of media...
josepharte 2 years ago
It had been observed that a pure democracy if it were practicable would be the most perfect government. Experience had proved that no position is more false than this. The ancient democracies in which the people themselves deliberated never possessed one good feature of government. Their very character was tyranny; their figure deformity.
Alexander Hamilton June 21, 1788
arclight777 2 years ago
I have long been convinced that institutions purely democratic must, sooner or later, destroy liberty or civilization, or both.
Thomas Babington Macaulay
arclight777 2 years ago
hm no. disagree.
ipods/internet really do spread democracy. pop culture too. but it just can't save everyone, right away. some people are just too intense in their ideology and culture to immediately benefit from it. some govmts may be agile in counteracting its positive influence, locally.
but no doubt on the long term ways of thinking/cultures will change.
Animalll2003lll 2 years ago
Pop culture just spreads idiocy and rejection of simple morals...
GoldenZealot21 2 years ago
The guy "justforwatchingcraps" his name is Riyadh. He is the most awesome guy on the planet. He is very smart. He should be studying Physio right now but is rather watching this crappy video online and discussing it with a bunch of losers
ansaritaha 2 years ago
people are always stupider than they think they are, the internet is a potential forum for lay ppl to get together and validate eachothers unfounded opinions. you get enough ppl and those ignorant, unfounded opinions become an accepted belief that ppl just fall into.
justforwatchingcraps 2 years ago 2
this is an unfunded opinion.
kriptonis 2 years ago
why is he talking about iran, china and russia. and not talking about all the pro-american dictatorships in the middle east for example like jordan, egypt, saudi arabia? this is another proof the TED is just another american propaganda supporting it's imperialism
dtolab 2 years ago
americans are the only ones who need to be freed from their goverments' well designed dictatorship
dtolab 2 years ago
pure shouting ...
dmlled 2 years ago
This isn't that great of a point. The benefits to dictators that the internet gives them is most likely outweighed by the potentials for free speech / exchange of ideas. The true reason regimes stand as they do now are the power of modern weapons (and the resulting chasm between military weaponry and public personal weaponry) as well as an international distaste for war. A crappy little dictatorship like N. Korea would be invaded by a superior society 1000 years ago. Today it is allowed to rot.
majinspy 2 years ago
all of hte modern weapons in the world mean nothing if the people themselves hold an idea strongly enough to overthrow their own governments. propaganda, not weapons, are the most powerful tool of dictators...u sway ppls minds enough and start herding them into a group mentality, any new minority idea/opinion that goes against accepted belief is snuffed by the people themselves (such as the internet being a potential propaganda tool...like he said...an unpopular idea).
justforwatchingcraps 2 years ago
tell that to the iraquis ... or to the people of gaza...
right, weapons have no power ... :S
kriptonis 2 years ago
you're off topic...this isn't about people fighting powerful foreign governments, its about people fighting their own governments...in which case, propaganda and a promotion of disunity are more important tools than weapons are when a dictatorship government deals with its people
you think a single dictator alone can wield all his weapons and keep everyone in line? he needs a group of people who listen to and believe in him to do it for him...
justforwatchingcraps 2 years ago
Yes but he now needs a small amount of people to do it with. If England had tanks and apache helicopters in 1776, I don't think history would've turned out the way it did. That is how things are today: governments control massively powerful weaponry while civilians have small arms. A dictator does indeed need others, but very few. A dictator plus about 25% of a country and do damn well.
Propaganda IS a powerful tool but I believe it hurts the dictator more than it helps.
majinspy 2 years ago 3
Propaganda is very effective in the United States...
GoldenZealot21 2 years ago 2
The TED slogan above says "ideas worth spreading". There is no evil bit that can tell the internet what ideas are worth, it attempts to spread them all. Dictator's generally don't like competing ideas so will attempt to eradicate them from their part of the internet. Neither the net nor the dictator will be fully successfull but barring a global dictator the net will gain the upper hand. The internet means that dictators can no longer simply smash the presses of those with different ideas.
Tapecutter59 2 years ago
this is why anonymous websites are superior to registered forums
Zetimenvec 2 years ago
"The Internets" haha
Waranoa 2 years ago
That is actually not "false" .. and his reference to spin-ternets.. not an bad analogy.
dominice112 2 years ago
what are you talking about?
Waranoa 2 years ago
Read up on your IP and ARPANET knowledge.. and you'll find out why it isn't that funny :)
dominice112 2 years ago
Ah well, I don't really have time for that; there's probably more than one international computer network (internets), but when that term is used online, in 90% of the cases it is meant as a joke, so, there's a 90% chance that it actually IS funny.
Waranoa 2 years ago
ahhh fake statistics.
kriptonis 2 years ago
Yeah sorry, it's probably closer to 99.99% :)
Waranoa 2 years ago
just a quick note
YouTube shouldn't really be at the "HAVE FUN" class on the hierarchy pyramid... as it incorporates all categories on his lil list there... it isn't solely for fun... just nit picking here
Casualmisfit 2 years ago
@Vid
I watched this.. and maybe its just because he mentioned so many things.. it really didn't seem like he had a point.
I don't know if he hates the internet or likes it.. or if he was feeding a line of bs.
I couldn't understand his logic.
MRSketch09 2 years ago
The problem with his pyramid of hierarchy is it lacks a major lure to the internet, which is as a creative outlet with sights like deviantArt and fictionpress and authonomy.
As an "internet native" the creative area of the internet is where I spend most of my time followed by learn and talk respectively.
Silverwhirl 2 years ago
Comment removed
remygwaramadze 2 years ago
Dictators using the Internet for propoganda and lies? Whatever next?
Soon we'll have elected presidents and priministers using mainstream media such as the BBC and Fox News to spread lies and WMDs.
dazzagazza6969 2 years ago 2
Is he saying that people are looking on the Internet only to porn and Youtube? And the solution for this is to stop trying to buy/sell iPods?
I guess he didn't heard about Moldova's Twitter Revolution ( just a small example connected to what he's complaining about ).
alexdobrinbv 2 years ago
many of his points were well taken but these are all just examples of dictatorships finding more effective ways to cope with the internet than some practiced in the past, he in no way convinced me that the internet benefits dictatorships though
lwanatt 2 years ago
subtitles please
maxshojiowenohsawa 2 years ago
If only I had administrative privileges over a physical environment. Dang.
mrhumanamerican 2 years ago
Mind control has always been the true purpose of the internet...
swyft187 2 years ago
He has a point. Where do you think the "birther" movement came from?
inquisitive871 2 years ago
Yeah, let's enpower the NGOs like ChOf Scientology and AIPAC!
GetLostInCompost 2 years ago
AIPAC is a criminal organization. Totally crooked and they are harming America.
Every American should search for videos on AIPAC.
CHVNX 2 years ago
He makes some great point, so obviously someone will address these issues. Now, back to watching porn and lol-cats.
graveyardpc 2 years ago 36
I love lolcats. What's wrong with lolcats?
bernardzyx 2 years ago
bystander effect FTW
princeofexcess 2 years ago 2
@graveyardpc So true. - 10 years after
I'd love to change the world
But I don't know what to do
So I'll leave it up to you
This refrain is so true, it always has been. Everybody wants to make the world a better place, in his own way. But because we all have other ways (we all have another interpretation of that better world and so there's no unity) it's very hard to do; So what happens: you don't know what to do and you forget about it, hoping that other people will do it for you
Government?
Slavestorms 1 year ago
"I don't want to stop exploitation, I want to find a way to become the exploiter" - Paraphrased from some EP of star trek DS9
Might be true of more peoples mindset then you might think.
by this i mean, many times, the people who support systems like this are brought into the fold, by this i mean they get fulfillment.
Purpose, income, and in many cases fulfillment of a nominator, alpha male ego.
branboom 2 years ago
He is very wrong. It is only when governments control and censor the internet.
lothrazar 2 years ago
That is kind of implied, look at china.
ferrari8888 2 years ago
This guy is a complete idiot.
paganiniGOGO 2 years ago
*thinks about Samuel Jackson's lines in Pulp Fiction, where he interrogates a very nervous person*
doloppost 2 years ago
ugh reminds me of my physics professors
Sharpshooterjoe 2 years ago
"exdample!"
ninawillams 2 years ago
da... da... da........................
sikes1379 2 years ago
really great!
Thank you@
Forkroute 2 years ago
Interesting, I kinda agree with this guy. I mean on the surface we all have heard people got fired because of facebook and twitter.
The intelligence must have jumped ship to the network to gather information, silently. We always think that internet is the place where people win. wait a minute, that can be a wrong assumption. They, the govt and Intels have power, money, controls, and they can easily hire intelligent people who can predict and calculate everything.
gori1503 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
Well, I completely disagree. This guy is clearly a complete moron. And whats with that goofy accent? Typical capitalist.
Don't waste your time with this video, theres nothing to see here. Everyone go about your business.
Ormaaj 2 years ago
He has a Russian accent, I recognize it.
Why do you say that he is a "typical capitalist"?
dewonthegrass 2 years ago
It's not a typical russian accent. he said he's from belarus anyway.
Dayvit78 2 years ago
It is a typical Russian accent. They speak Russian in Belarus.
dewonthegrass 2 years ago
What nonsense. It's amazing the way people can string words together and still say nothing at all.
TheBiophiliacBright 2 years ago
I'm referring to Ormaaj.
TheBiophiliacBright 2 years ago
The Internets has no sense of humor.
Ormaaj 2 years ago
Enjoyed the speech, I really saw it as supporting freedom, equality, and openness, though.
angelwhite 2 years ago 2
awesome talk.
jwfcp 2 years ago
This has been flagged as spam show
brb. Going to watch some funny videos of cats.
elegantmoose 2 years ago
Internets??? He must be a /b/ tard! (1:25)
recognizetrill 2 years ago
Like your mother?
Ibersexualac 2 years ago
The internet is a free for all forums, until government fully controls it.
freedomnow2012 2 years ago
If a dictatorship stops torturing people for information, draws citizens into dialogue and allows them to influence policy in a transparent and open forum that is visible to the public and the international community it becomes a little difficult to continue to call them a dictatorship, doesn't it?
Although their motives may be oppressive, I think by purposefully "infecting" themselves with democracy, there might be some hope for such "dictatorships", perhaps more so than alternative solutions.
jamesstephenbrown 2 years ago 2
in other words if people feel like there is a democracy its really easy to control them. Makes me think of this one country called USA.
princeofexcess 2 years ago 8
The internet will bring an intellectual revolution just as the printing press did. Even if governments printed a lot of propaganda, the printing press helped good ideas spread even faster.
JohnJ2427 2 years ago 3
The internet greatly decreases the transaction cost of communication. That's all, it's not a magic spell of democracy and peace. There is nothing inherent in the internet other than that.
But never underestimate what people can do when they can communicate.
DesireSpasm 2 years ago 3
If I had to pick a gesture to make for an entire speech, I'd pick that one too.
funkalunatic 2 years ago
I call paper tiger.
clearmenser 2 years ago
It's up to US to make sure we do not hinder the internet, censor it and treat packets equally no matter their source, respecting the integrity from our end. Respecting anonymity, encouraging privacy. It must be understood that this new idea (embraced by google and others, surprisingly) of the "end of anonymity" being a good thing is actually the worst concept in decades. No anon, no whistleblowers. No anon, no underground, no rebellions?.. eventually no democracy and no freedom. Count on it.
gotilk 2 years ago 5
"no underground, no rebellions?.. eventually no democracy and no freedom. Count on it."
You might be right, though this could be because this flattening of the power structure might simply mean that there is very little to rebel against and very little to hide "underground" from, democracy and freedom may have no possible counterparts.
But perhaps I'm being a little overly optimistic, though I think it provides a balance to your street corner "the end is nigh" tone. Cheers.
jamesstephenbrown 2 years ago
I'm no pessimist, but this idea that we would ever live in a world with "very little to hide underground from" seems a bit pollyannaish. It's a little past optimism, in my opinion. And there's a vast difference between fearing the very real threat to the possibility of anonymity (the "end of anonymity" to quote Google's Marissa Mayer) and standing on a street corner claiming the end of the world is coming. And I'm a bit of a google fanboy, so the paranoia is minimal. I just think it's important.
gotilk 2 years ago
Fair enough. "Pollyannaish" very nice.
jamesstephenbrown 2 years ago
Open source intelligent! Exactly, Try a Physical protest-chances are you'd be stopped before you started & your Rep would be destroyed by the media in no time. Rupert Murdoch buying Myspace?why? Myspace is the "Pulse" of the future andFacebook gives the illussion of a moremature and private version. I have both as i'm sure everyone has, the first with comments like'.. I'll B there 2nite! C U 2mrw"', and the latter,..I'm at the Market right now..another long line." Either way, They are watching!
MAY1EXPRES 2 years ago
Keep the internet free from government and corporate control. It belongs to you and me.
Stop Bill S.773
-Gives Government Unprecedented power over the internet. Proposed by John Rockefeller
Support Bills
Internet Freedom Preservation Act of 2009 (H.R. 3458).
silversobe 2 years ago 4
Did anyone watching this actually learn anything new? Of course means of communication can be exploited by (and not limited to) authoritarian states. As long as its stays free, however, it will always do more good than harm.
MononofuBlood 2 years ago
Even though he has an extremely annoying way of speaking and an even more annoying way of moving his arms (I'm pretty sure they were sore the next day), he might actually have a point there.
DancingInChains 2 years ago
'Some figured that if everyone gets on the net (i.e. china and iran etc), then democracy/christianity will spread without the use of force.'
Yes, it definitely makes it easier for the lure of capitalist pop-culture to take hold of the remaining cultures and essentially indoctrinate them into a new (western) way of thinking and perceiving. It's all about the memes.
mermadeinheaven 2 years ago
Knowledge is power....secret's destroy the soul.
I think the internet has helped mankind evolve.
TheUrbanSurvivalistS 2 years ago 3
genius and great logic
i believe 20% of people doing something useful with the INTERNET the other 80% y bet not
tenisplayer 2 years ago
Its so true, look how Israel uses the internet. They are one of the most connected countries and people. They blog falsely, create websites to push their illegal occupation of arab land, change facts and push throught falsied ones.
abuelhid 2 years ago
This comment has received too many negative votes show
how this stupid guy appeared on ted ????
///we should drop more i-pod than bombs///
wow , i mean as if he wanted to say , no drop more bombs than i-pod !!!!!
lamice1979 2 years ago
I love this guy's accent
zorztronic 2 years ago
ultimately it's a good point: genuine individual empowerment is more than just one particular enabling technology... but the internet is a tremendously enabling technology, and surely does more net good than harm.
whiteire 2 years ago 2
Totally agree
TheUrbanSurvivalistS 2 years ago
It's an undesirable side-effect of a global communication network, not by no means a show stopper. So while it may well be true, it can be disregarded at once, on my opinion.
HiAdrian 2 years ago
*in :)
HiAdrian 2 years ago
Look at Iran, a large percentage of the population twittered for action agains the government, and they have protested but, it will take much more to actually accomplish anything.
LudicrousTachyon 2 years ago
subtitles please...
bamboocha923 2 years ago
still liked the speech though
asdf2000 2 years ago
So if it is true that the internet strengthens dictatorships, then logically TED is strengthening dictatorships by posting this talk on Youtube.
canadianmaple09 2 years ago
Fail logic, he is arguing that the internet is being used as a medium for political propaganda and manipulation of behavior ,not that the usage of internet empowers dictatorships.
ragnarocks0 2 years ago 3
you're correct in the sense that this is done everywhere, not just in dictatorships
bosyeux2 2 years ago
same thing man, when a dictatorship has the ability to influence more people by increasing publicity and take control of important social tools it becomes more effective in winning public opion. Examples come from Queen Elizabeth 1 who fought a 16 year war which bankrupted the country but is to this day our most populour monarch in large part through effective control of church propaganda. or Trotsky who wrote his essays on the power of "vodka, the church,n cinema" social control is totalitarian
selurbrainonebay 2 years ago
use your brain seriously.
VincentBlouin 2 years ago
Regardless, the internet is still a source of free information for those willing to do their own investigative research.
Sheep are sheep regardless.
asdf2000 2 years ago 7
This guy should go on Facebook more and see how it is being used by growing groups of individuals to FIGHT BACK against corporate and government power. I have hundreds of friends' who are doing so, and we are creating a network that promotes empowering consumers and ordinary workers with information about the deceptions and crimes of corporations and governments'. We can reach people much easier via this media, than if we had to phone people or send them leaflets, etc.
PersianPaladin 2 years ago
At the end of the day, Facebook is owned by a corporation. How do you think it manages to stay up? It is funded by companies who pay to have their ads up. The people don't have any control of the internet at the end of the day.
inquisitive871 2 years ago
Excellent talk - but jeez, I am glad his arms stopped waving around - kind of ironic, considering the subject matter: saying something so important but diluting the message with hand gestures. Perhaps the first step is to send all the intellectuals to Toastmaters. :-)
Cyrius01 2 years ago
interesting perspectives, not all I agree but all valid.
Atoyota 2 years ago
you cannot argue simultaneously that the internet does not affect a totalitarian regime while arguing that the internet can strengthen that same regime. The internet weakens the legitimacy of a totalitarian regime through the free exchange of ideas and news - but in the end guns will always trump the internet.
doughboy1547 2 years ago 5
Sooo... the freedom given to the people, is bad because of what they do with it, so this strengthens dictatorships. So cyber freedom will replace real freedom via cyber Opioum? I do not agree.
And it is true, internet is not activisim. The question is... should it be?? I do not think so. but does this make it better for the dictatorship??? neither.
jeosoriogu 2 years ago 2
interesting the ad in 4:05 is actually an advert for Tencent QQ and has nothing to do with government and it's the website mentioned in 5:53.
xingfenzhen 2 years ago
The internet is a magical place where people come together to bitch about movies and share pornography.
invisiblebears 2 years ago 8
also consistently try to convince each other by starting sentences with you are wrong motherfucker end of argument. Which makes people consider the viewpoints their hold and be more compassionate to other
princeofexcess 2 years ago
Are you out of your mind? The internet is the strongest juggernaut breaking down the walls of silence in oppressed societies!
corenothing 2 years ago 2
....
SmileyWhiplash 2 years ago
Not to make any comment on agreeing or not agreeing but... can you give me some examples of this?
Grysham 2 years ago
I don't think humanity is smart enough to overcome our humanity.
we are biological machines designed to consume and reproduce. The majority of 'thinking' that is being done by our brains is merely scheming on how to better consume and satisfy ourselves.
LordoftheJamesClan 2 years ago 3
The internet seems to be more what Huxley feared.
andrewtheman19 2 years ago 2
Eh, the world is more like Brave New World, than 1984.
Soma=pharmaceutical drugs.
Internet= orgy porgies
Society is about entertainment, distraction, and consumption.
I guess you could say it's both in a way.
Anyway, that dude looks like the Numa-Numa guy.
magog1138 2 years ago 6
this is incredibly accurate for chavez's venezuela, correa's ecuador and morales' bolivia.
evidencebasedliving 2 years ago
@evidencebasedliving
yeah, thank God in Colombia everything is fine tho !
pinochet222 2 years ago 3
As it turns out, heavy weapons guy has an intellectual side beyond "SANVICH!"
I learn something new every day.
Senoska 2 years ago 2
Many many times ive read or heard some evangelical (of quite a number of religions too) say that the internet is evil and that more than 80% of internet traffic is porn.
I guess they were wrong. Royally.
neil73 2 years ago
Very insightful talk. But for all his arm-swinging, his two feet stayed planted on that stage. Hopefully his next talk won't involve any attempts to take flight.
P00P0STER0US 2 years ago 3
Comment removed
chris42259 2 years ago
Internet is for Porn!
SonicYouthXXX 2 years ago 6
In short:
TYPING IS NOT ACTIVISM
...and now back to lolcats.
EquitoErgoSum 2 years ago 6
captions please!!
Future5305 2 years ago
I am concerned that many people online will use the Internet as an outlet for their grievances against the state rather than acting upon them.
biantai888 2 years ago 3
There were a few false premises in this presentation. One was that problems are always 'over there'. Totalitarian states have less need for propoganda than democracies. People are inherently skeptical to the state and therefore it is less valuable. Propoganda is far more important in democracies, as shown by the study of Bernays et al. Another is the supposition that only 'over there' states use the internet to monitor communication. Anyone familiar with the Patriot Act or British Security laws?
flyhead2 2 years ago 7
totalitarian states are known to use way more propaganda then democracies. Because of freedom of speech it is much harder to spread government propaganda. Media is spreading the propaganda in democracies which doesn't benefit government as much.
princeofexcess 2 years ago
Where did you read that?
flyhead2 2 years ago
its mostly from history (hitler stalin, China) . Some of it is logic. Simply because when you are controlling information then you can spread whatever propaganda you want. when there is free speach you arent only source of information because there is media. Unless goverment limits free speach and owns media (or is has its support) in amounts that is visible in totalitarian countries cannot be achieved.
princeofexcess 2 years ago
I think you are very naive.
It is true that totalitarian regimes advocate propoganda and limit free speach, but propoganda has limited value because no one believes it and the State can enforce its authority though coercion. In ostenibly 'free' societies where corporate and State power has merged, such as the US or Britain, propoganda is far more important. Any impartial review of the US's media coverage of the Iraq wars, Afghanistan, Iran or Palestine will reveal this.
Turn off your TV.
flyhead2 2 years ago
No one believes in it? Really so people didnt really believe in Hitlers propaganda. For me perfect example is given in the video how government in china controls people and keeps them calm. People believe misinformation in totalitarian systems Hitler himself said "tell a lie make it big repeat it over and over and people will believe it". I do believe that there is no real free speech in USA and that there is propaganda here. I just think it plays even bigger role in totalitarian systems.
princeofexcess 2 years ago
Comment removed
luckystrke 2 years ago
shut the fuck up you racist
DewdMusic 2 years ago
No, the Internet is not what Orwell feared. This has very little to do with Orwell. I guess he put Orwell in the title just to get attention. He had few good points but his english is terrible to listen and he speaks it quite fast. Freedom of speech doesnt only benefit the good but also the evil. Still I think on the whole it is better then the alternatives.
Darvinisti 2 years ago 2