Wired magazine backs "The Internet" for Nobel Peace Prize

[SlyPokerDog]

The internet can be considered the first weapon of mass construction, which we can deploy to destroy hate and conflict and to propagate peace and democracy,” said Riccardo Luna, editor-in-chief of the Italian edition of Wired magazine. “What happened in Iran after the latest election, and the role the web played in spreading information that would otherwise have been censored, are only the newest examples of how the internet can become a weapon of global hope

http://www.wired.com/underwire/2009/11/internet-for-peace-nobel/

I'm hesitant to post this here because I'm afraid it's going to turn into an Obama/ left vs right/everyone bashing each other thread. Personally I didn't agree with the committee's choice in who they gave the award to, that is now in the past and has nothing to do with this article or this idea.

Giving the Peace Prize to "The Internet" makes a lot of sense, (oh and lets head this off right now, it doesn't mean that Al Gore would be getting his 2nd Nobel either) very fascinating and yet it also is a little sad.

Anyway, just wondering what all your thoughts are on this...

 

[ABM]

Has the prize ever been given to the technology itself, as opposed to its inventor(s), before?

Interesting stuff.

 

[hasoos]

The internet is an awesome weapon for bringin enlightenment to the masses about what is happening out there. IMO what has been happening in Iran is actually just started. If we are patient, the proper way to make Iran not a problem anymore is to actually inundate Iran with knowledge about what the rest of the world is like, the freedoms many of us enjoy, and what they are missing out on. If we are patient, and can keep the government there isolated long enough, the people there will take care of the rest. They already did it once to the Shah. What's really funny is the group that threw the Shah out, has came full circle and is as bad as he was. That will be it's demise.

 

[andalusian]

Someone at Wired magazine got a hold of the 1982 Time magazine man of the year issue, where they gave it to "The Computer".

It's a publicity stunt. And a pretty stupid one, too. And not that original. Hooray, Beer.

 

[BLAZER PROPHET]

They should just give it to Al Gore- he invented the internet.

 

[ABM]

They should just give it to Al Gore- he invented the internet.

Did you even read the op? Yeesh!

 

[SlyPokerDog]

Someone at Wired magazine got a hold of the 1982 Time magazine man of the year issue, where they gave it to "The Computer".

It's a publicity stunt. And a pretty stupid one, too. And not that original. Hooray, Beer.

Stunt? No.

Publicity? Yes.

Not sure why it's stupid to recognize that the internet is probably the greatest voice/tool for peace that we currently have. It's widely recognized that it's the greatest voice/tool for knowledge.

 

[ABM]

It's widely recognized that it's the greatest voice/tool for knowledge.

HCP might possibly disagree. He claims to have the greatest voice, biggest tool.

 

[andalusian]

Stunt? No.

Publicity? Yes.

Not sure why it's stupid to recognize that the internet is probably the greatest voice/tool for peace that we currently have. It's widely recognized that it's the greatest voice/tool for knowledge.

It's a stunt because they look "cool" by suggesting that the prize, which is an individual prize, is given to an inanimate "collective" object. I would have no problems if they suggested it needs to be given to Tim Berners-Lee who came with the hypertext implementation on the IP technologies of what became the world wide web - and say that his contributions that allowed thoughts and information to be distributed around the world against the wills of dictatorships are helping advance peace around the world.

This, I would agree with.

But, taking the shtick that was invented 27 years ago and doing it again while going out of the "context" of the award - is a stunt.

 

[number 10]

utter nonsense, Wired magazine has obviously never read commenters on youtube. In fact, given that people are usually nicer to someone they've met in real life versus an anonymous person on the internet, you could just as easily argue that the internet gives a platform for people to be dicks without any repercussions.

 

[SlyPokerDog]

It's a stunt because they look "cool" by suggesting that the prize, which is an individual prize, is given to an inanimate "collective" object. I would have no problems if they suggested it needs to be given to Tim Berners-Lee who came with the hypertext implementation on the IP technologies of what became the world wide web - and say that his contributions that allowed thoughts and information to be distributed around the world against the wills of dictatorships are helping advance peace around the world.

This, I would agree with.

But, taking the shtick that was invented 27 years ago and doing it again while going out of the "context" of the award - is a stunt.

I 100% agree that Time mag naming "The Computer" man of the year was a publicity stunt but this seems more than that.

The Internet for Peace manifesto, which will be translated into more than a dozen languages on the Internet for Peace site, outlines the reasons for the nomination:

We have finally realized that the internet is much more than a network of computers. It is an endless web of people. Men and women from every corner of the globe are connecting to one another, thanks to the biggest social interface ever known to humanity.

Digital culture has laid the foundations for a new kind of society. And this society is advancing dialogue, debate and consensus through communication. Because democracy has always flourished where there is openness, acceptance, discussion and participation. And contact with others has always been the most effective antidote against hatred and conflict.

That’s why the internet is a tool for peace. That’s why anyone who uses it can sow the seeds of nonviolence. And that’s why the next Nobel Peace Prize should go to the net. A Nobel for each and every one of us.

Wired Italy will promote the initiative in each issue through September 2010, telling the stories of “those who — thanks to the web — have tried and still try to give peace a chance.” Current TV will produce videos about the stories for U.S., British and Italian audiences.

The Internet for Peace project was announced Friday during the Science for Peace conference organized by the Umberto Veronesi Foundation. “Should the web win the Nobel, we would demonstrate two things to future observers: That we had grasped the importance of the global revolution represented by the internet, and that we were determined to channel its power in the right direction, to make the most out of it in the interest of mankind,” Veronesi writes in the December issue of Wired Italy.

The project will also be backed by the U.S. and British editions of Wired magazine.

“People want peace, and when given a voice, they’ll work tirelessly for it,” said Wired U.S. Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson. “In the short term, a Twitter account may be no match for an AK-47, but in the long term the keyboard is mightier than the sword.”

This seems to be more than a stunt to me.

 

[speeds]

LOL, try reading YouTube comments for fifteen minutes and get back to me.

The internet's tubes should be tied.

 

[number 10]

LOL, try reading YouTube comments for fifteen minutes and get back to me.

i beat u 2 dat comment lolz u r such a epic fa.g tard

 

[Eastoff]

The internet is definitely not worth the peace prize. I'm look at you trolls!