steve on Nostr: “Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s ...
“Power to the People: How Open Technological Innovation is Arming Tomorrow’s Terrorists” by Audrey Kurth Cronin
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Cronin is an international security professor from American University and attempts to use this book to explore how individuals and groups who engage in political violence have made use of emerging technologies. In doing so, she hopes to shed light on how they’re likely to do so in the future. She lays out a 12-point “lethal empowerment theory” intended to predict if and when a technology is likely to diffuse to violent extremists. She tests this theory on two case studies (which notably appear to be cherry-picked for their validity): the disruptive invention and diffusion of 1️⃣ dynamite and the 2️⃣ AK-47. While the case studies are interesting, Cronin’s “theory” is merely a long list of attributes that technology are likely to exhibit if they are to be diffused. This book contains a lot of exemplar historical analysis to support a non-existent theory that proves a commonly understood point: technology is inherently deflationary. It’s price (and consequent rate of diffusion) crashes to its marginal cost of production. Nuclear weapons are difficult to develop and manufacture, thus their diffusion is limited. AK-47s on the other hand, have only grown cheaper and thus have diffused at higher rates. This book was once coined a “dad book” due to the ease of reading and somewhat interesting content that makes it a compelling airport purchase. Do yourself a favor: pick out a different book. 🧨🔫
⭐️
Cronin is an international security professor from American University and attempts to use this book to explore how individuals and groups who engage in political violence have made use of emerging technologies. In doing so, she hopes to shed light on how they’re likely to do so in the future. She lays out a 12-point “lethal empowerment theory” intended to predict if and when a technology is likely to diffuse to violent extremists. She tests this theory on two case studies (which notably appear to be cherry-picked for their validity): the disruptive invention and diffusion of 1️⃣ dynamite and the 2️⃣ AK-47. While the case studies are interesting, Cronin’s “theory” is merely a long list of attributes that technology are likely to exhibit if they are to be diffused. This book contains a lot of exemplar historical analysis to support a non-existent theory that proves a commonly understood point: technology is inherently deflationary. It’s price (and consequent rate of diffusion) crashes to its marginal cost of production. Nuclear weapons are difficult to develop and manufacture, thus their diffusion is limited. AK-47s on the other hand, have only grown cheaper and thus have diffused at higher rates. This book was once coined a “dad book” due to the ease of reading and somewhat interesting content that makes it a compelling airport purchase. Do yourself a favor: pick out a different book. 🧨🔫