The Dictator's Dilemma

Ethan Zuckerman

I am not sure, but I may have been first to use the term "dictator's dilemma" in a 1997 report on the Internet in Cuba:

This presents a "dictator's dilemma" -- the desire to have the benefits of the Internet without the threat of political instability. How do you give people access to information for health care, education, and commerce while keeping them from political information?

I was naive at the time, and imagined the Internet as a force for democracy, but my view is more balanced these days. It is clear that dictators use the Internet as well as democrats -- they restrict access, block sites and people, and conduct surveillance. Terrorists use the Net for propaganda and recruiting, planning and logistics. Furthermore, happy, well fed citizens (for example in China) are relatively complacent in their attitudes toward Internet openness -- see this report and this interview.
With recent events in North Africa and the Middle East, the dictator's dilemma is back in the news. Hillary Clinton talked about it in a recent speech, and I wrote a post on current developments in Cuba, but the best discussion I have heard lately was on the radio show On The Media. On February 18th, they broadcast an excellent discussion of the topic with Ethan Zuckerman from Harvard’s Berkman Center for Internet and Society. If you are interested in the role of the Internet in politics and democracy, check it out. You can listen to the 19-minute discussion or read the transcript.

The Beloit College Mindset List -- Technology changes the experience of young people

We cover the implications of technology for individuals. For ten years, Beloit College has published its Mindset List of characteristics of the incoming freshman class. The list for each year has about 70 items, and some of them are relevant to our course. For example, the lists for the classes of 2010 and 2011 include these statements about incoming freshmen:

• They are wireless, yet always connected.
• “Google" has always been a verb.
• Bar codes have always been on everything, from library cards and snail mail to retail items.
• They have rarely mailed anything using a stamp.
• Being techno-savvy has always been inversely proportional to age.
• Music has always been “unplugged.”
• Thanks to MySpace and Facebook, autobiography can happen in real time.
• Virtual reality has always been available when the real thing failed.
• The World Wide Web has been an online tool since they were born.
• They’re always texting 1 n other.

(Click here for more student characteristics).

Do these and other items on the list accurately describe you? In what ways should our class change to reflect these changes?