Porn and the Future
Posted by Paul 18 August 2009I am commonly asked about methods we use to look at the future and what might happen. I often tell people that “the best guide to the future is previous behaviour”. Therefore anyone could have predicted that the internet would have been in part powered by pornography, crime, betting, shopping, and socialising. These are long standing human behaviours and as long as the technology to enable them was workable on the internet they were going to flourish. So whenever you look at the future think about long standing human behaviour and make sure you have a very good reason to bet against it.
Paul Higgins
December 15th, 2009 at 3:08 am
I THINK THAT YOU ARE ABSOLUTELY CORRECT. MY OWN SPIN ON THE AVAILABILITY OF PORNOGRAPHY AND GAMBLING IS THAT THEY HAVE NEGATIVE CONNOTATIONS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM FOR SOME OR MOST ADULTS. WHAT THE COMMUNITY NEEDS IS A GOVERNMENT ENFORCED FILTER THAT DOES NOT SLOW DOWN THE INTERNET OR IF IT DOES, IT IS TO AN ABSOLUTE MINIMUM. I DO NOT BELIEVE IN CENSORSHIP FOR ADULTS WHO WANT TO MAKE A PERSONAL CHOICE WITH REGARDS TO GAMBLING OR PORN. IF YOU WANT TO RECEIVE SUCH MATERIAL, YOU SHOULD HAVE THE CAPACITY TO ASK THAT THE FILTER DOES NOT APPLY TO YOUR ACCOUNT. WHAT I BELIEVE IN IS THE CAPACITY OF ADULTS TO FREELY CHOOSE THESE THINGS WHILE OTHER INDIVIDUALS AND FAMILIES CAN CHOOSE TO STOP THEM FROM ENTERING THE PRIVACY OF THEIR HOME, OR TO RESTRICT SUCH ITEMS FROM WITHIN THE WORKPLACE. I THINK THAT MOST FAMILIES AND INDIVIDUALS WOULD PREFER SUCH A SYSTEM AND WOULD CONSIDER IT A REASONABLE MATTER. THIS MUST BE DONE WITHOUT SLOWING THE INTERNET OR MISTAKENLY RESTRICTING UNOBJECTIONALBLE WEBSITES. THIS IS PROBABLY SOMETHING THAT HOPEFULLY WILL BE DEVELOPED IN THE FUTURE. A GOOD METAPHORE FOR THE EVOLUTION OF THE INTERNET IS IT IS CURRENTLY SIMILAR TO 19th CENTURY CAPATALISM, WHERE THERE WERE VERY LITTLE SUPERVISION OR LEGISLATION COMPARED TO TODAY IN TERMS OF THE ENVIRONMENT, PERSONAL PROTECTION AND SAFETY, OR CONSUMER PROTECTION GENERALLY. THE INTERNET WILL DEFINITELY FOLLOW THIS COURSE IN FUTURE. I THINK THAT WE WILL HAVE A DAY WHERE THE INTERNET WILL BE AS GOVERNED AND SUPERVISED AS MARKETS ARE OR WILL BE POST THE GFC. THANK YOU.