Technological pioneer and provocative thinker Jaron Lanier challenges the visions of a 'brave new world' of the digital age in his book, where information flows freely through networks and everything will be available to everyone and practically for free. Such a world, however, awaits only a permanent economic decline and social degradation for the majority of people, while money and power will concentrate in the hands of those who own and control the most powerful computer servers and the largest networks. The author's warning about the recently embarked direction in the development of networks is based on a pessimistic thesis that digital technologies are the first technology in history that ultimately destroys more jobs than it creates. The most powerful computer servers, which the author calls 'Sirens,' lure users with fast and free services and obtain a huge volume of information from them practically for free. This information (user-generated content, personal data, preferences, and habits) is then sold further, which, according to the author, subtly destroys the middle class, with its own help.
