>> Meanwhile we were all happily building and participating in the largest dystopian society that has ever happened to mankind.
Ironically that is caused by an increase in freedom that the internet brought about.
We have long had the right to freedom of speech but it was expensive to interact with a large number of people. The internet made it much easier to actually use the rights heralded by politicians.
I think sci-fi has done a better job of realising some of the social implications of this explosion in rights. For example in showing how national allegiance can be lost in favour of geographically desperate groups of like minded indviduals.
Yes, he has a strange definition of dystopia. In Star Trek the leadership clearly knows where everyone is at all times, is that a dystopia? Very few people go full Stallman, although they could.
Maybe he's thinking of a Huxleyan dystopia. Very few of us would call the setting of Brave New World a utopia, but very few of the inhabitants of that world would call it anything else. Our joyful new information-dense world has brought with it compromises that the culture hasn't really assimilated yet, often isn't even aware of yet.
Ironically that is caused by an increase in freedom that the internet brought about.
We have long had the right to freedom of speech but it was expensive to interact with a large number of people. The internet made it much easier to actually use the rights heralded by politicians.
I think sci-fi has done a better job of realising some of the social implications of this explosion in rights. For example in showing how national allegiance can be lost in favour of geographically desperate groups of like minded indviduals.