Opportunity, Threat, and Dependency in the Social Infosphere

The technological revolution outlined in the previous chapter has unleashed a social upheaval. If a suite of machines came to be so central in global and national social order, as well as in our personal lives, how does that affect our security? Bearing in mind that we are only at the dawn of the cyber age, what will the future hold? This chapter gives an overview of the profound impact of the information revolution on human welfare for better and for worse, from the individual and community levels to the national and international levels. The chapter begins with some insight into how philosophers have viewed these questions. It then looks at how leading actors have responded to the opportunities and threats. The chapter’s most important single theme is the issue of dependency, arguably the most ignored security aspect of the information age.