Il Rovescio / Wednesday 6 January 2021
Let’s stop the 5G network and the digitalisation of our lives
Let human imagination prevail over artificial stupidity
THE MYTH OF PROGRESS
Our era is based on the myth of progress, a myth that imposes the attainment of every possibility offered by technological development, without considering the consequences that might result from it. Industrial society, in order to solve the current 
catastrophe and the irreparable consequences of technological development, is giving us digitisation, automation, artificial intelligence, smart cities and objects as the only solutions. Further irreversible damage can only come from technological society, so the starting point must be to radically question it.
A STRANGLEHOLD ON FREEDOM
We only have to look around us to realise that the deterioration of living conditions is progressing at the same speed as the arrival on the market of new technological gadgets. We saw this with the global spread of the Covid-19, when the deep contradictions of this model of society became evident. During confinement, for many people, work, school and sociability took place ‘at a distance’ and digitally. All this happened at a disconcerting speed. Our contacts and movements have been tracked through apps, smartphones and drones. Under the guise of health and safety, the stranglehold on individual freedom was tightened even further.
THE 5G NETWORK
While people were confined to their homes, in many cities the preparatory work for the 5G network was intensified. But what is it? The 5G network is not just a way of using the internet faster. It is much more important. The 5G network is the essential infrastructure for the realisation of the ‘smart planet’: a world of hyper-connected devices that collect and process data and information about the environment and people, a world of machines that are able to solve and constrain all human dreams and needs along predetermined paths. This network will irreversibly transform our perception of the world and the way we live in it. It will invade every aspect of our lives: from work to school, from life in cities to the management of people’s health, from the way we wage war to the exploitation of people and the environment in distant countries. Continue reading “Italy: Let’s stop the 5G network and the digitalisation of our lives”