About the book
Over the last half century, \"smartness\"—the drive for ubiquitous computing—has become a mandate: a new mode of managing and governing politics, economics, and the environment.
Smart phones. Smart cars. Smart homes. Smart cities. The imperative to make our world ever smarter in the face of increasingly complex challenges raises several questions: What is this \"smartness mandate\"? How has it emerged, and what does it say about our evolving way of understanding—and managing—reality? How have we come to see the planet and its denizens first and foremost as data-collecting instruments?
In The Smartness Mandate, Orit Halpern and Robert Mitchell radically suggest that \"smartness\" is not primarily a technology, but rather an epistemology. Through this lens, they offer a critical exploration of the practices, technologies, and subjects that such an understanding relies upon—above all, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The authors approach these not simply as techniques for solving problems of calculations, but rather as modes of managing life (human and other) in terms of neo-Darwinian evolution, distributed intelligences, and \"resilience,\" all of which have serious implications for society, politics, and the environment.
The smartness mandate constitutes a new form of planetary governance, and Halpern and Mitchell aim to map the logic of this seemingly inexorable and now naturalized demand to compute, to illuminate the genealogy of how we arrived here and to point to alternative imaginaries of the possibilities and potentials of smart technologies and infrastructures.
Editions of The Smartness Mandate
- Paperback
- ISBN 9780262544511
- EBook
- ISBN 9780262371940
- EBook
- ISBN 9780262371957
Read an Excerpt
Over the last half century, \"smartness\"—the drive for ubiquitous computing—has become a mandate: a new mode of managing and governing politics, economics, and the environment.
Smart phones. Smart cars. Smart homes. Smart cities. The imperative to make our world ever smarter in the face of increasingly complex challenges raises several questions: What is this \"smartness mandate\"? How has it emerged, and what does it say about our evolving way of understanding—and managing—reality? How have we come to see the planet and its denizens first and foremost as data-collecting instruments?
In The Smartness Mandate, Orit Halpern and Robert Mitchell radically suggest that \"smartness\" is not primarily a technology, but rather an epistemology. Through this lens, they offer a critical exploration of the practices, technologies, and subjects that such an understanding relies upon—above all, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The authors approach these not simply as techniques for solving problems of calculations, but rather as modes of managing life (human and other) in terms of neo-Darwinian evolution, distributed intelligences, and \"resilience,\" all of which have serious implications for society, politics, and the environment.
The smartness mandate constitutes a new form of planetary governance, and Halpern and Mitchell aim to map the logic of this seemingly inexorable and now naturalized demand to compute, to illuminate the genealogy of how we arrived here and to point to alternative imaginaries of the possibilities and potentials of smart technologies and infrastructures.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is The Smartness Mandate about?
Over the last half century, \"smartness\"—the drive for ubiquitous computing—has become a mandate: a new mode of managing and governing politics, economics, and the environment.
Smart phones. Smart cars. Smart homes. Smart cities. The imperative to make our world ever smarter in the face of increasingly complex challenges raises several questions: What is this \"smartness mandate\"? How has it emerged, and what does it say about our evolving way of understanding—and managing—reality? How have we come to see the planet and its denizens first and foremost as data-collecting instruments?
In The Smartness Mandate, Orit Halpern and Robert Mitchell radically suggest that \"smartness\" is not primarily a technology, but rather an epistemology. Through this lens, they offer a critical exploration of the practices, technologies, and subjects that such an understanding relies upon—above all, artificial intelligence and machine learning. The authors approach these not simply as techniques for solving problems of calculations, but rather as modes of managing life (human and other) in terms of neo-Darwinian evolution, distributed intelligences, and \"resilience,\" all of which have serious implications for society, politics, and the environment.
The smartness mandate constitutes a new form of planetary governance, and Halpern and Mitchell aim to map the logic of this seemingly inexorable and now naturalized demand to compute, to illuminate the genealogy of how we arrived here and to point to alternative imaginaries of the possibilities and potentials of smart technologies and infrastructures.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in The Smartness Mandate?
Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes > Technology: general issues > History of engineering and technology
Where can I read a sample of The Smartness Mandate?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9780262544511
Who is/are the Author/s of the book The Smartness Mandate?
Orit Halpern, Robert Mitchell
Who is the Publisher of the book The Smartness Mandate?
MIT Press
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
The Smartness Mandate is available as paperback(ISBN 9780262544511) and ebook(ISBN 9780262371940) and ebook(ISBN 9780262371957)
Where can I buy The Smartness Mandate online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy The Smartness Mandate from below
Where can I buy The Smartness Mandate?