num_pages: 358
description:  New Dark Age is among the most unsettling and illuminating books Ive read about the Internet which is to say that it is among the most unsettling and illuminating books Ive read about contemporary life.  New YorkerAs the world around us increases in technological complexity our understanding of it diminishes. Underlying this trend is a single the belief that our existence is understandable through computation and more data is enough to help us build a better world.In reality we are lost in a sea of information increasingly divided by fundamentalism simplistic narratives conspiracy theories and post-factual politics. Meanwhile those in power use our lack of understanding to further their own interests. Despite the apparent accessibility of information were living in a new Dark Age.From rogue financial systems to shopping algorithms from artificial intelligence to state secrecy we no longer understand how our world is governed or presented to us. The media is filled with unverifiable speculation much of it generated by anonymous software while companies dominate their employees through surveillance and the threat of automation.In his brilliant new work leading artist and writer James Bridle surveys the history of art technology and information systems and reveals the dark clouds that gather over our dreams of the digital sublime.
language: English
title: New Dark Age: Technology and the End of the Future
publisher: Verso