The term “lock-in” used by Jaron Lanier is not based on how much we have become addicted to the use of the internet. The term “lock-in” is more or less defining how the internet has become part of our lives that instead of us consciously making decisions, the internet or software is making it for us. The open culture described is more of an interaction between humans and computers. It is the freedom of communication and of a new type of culture that could only be found if there is an interaction between a “user” and a “program” (internet). Such program is what allows us to communicate with others around the globe. The interaction of a program and a human is becoming more realistic much faster than expected by computer scientists. Over time we are giving computers human ideas in order to have a better connection with it. The internet is becoming into a superhuman that’s is going to be evolving thanks to the effort of millions of users.
Furthermore, this interaction between a human (user) and a machine (software) becomes a psychological and philosophical topic where we start questioning whether a human becomes part of the software too. This new culture we have created is based on the reliance humans have on the internet to solve many of their problems. Such as students saying “maybe if I Google this I could find how to do it.” It is an extension of our memory as described by Lanier by which is not only based on what we personally think on a topic but what everyone else around thinks about it.
Jaron Lanier is one of the founders of “virtual reality” which is used today as a way to look at a world on a different (software) perspective. It is an extension of what and how we see things. It is based on manipulating our experiences based on our senses. The web has become this virtual reality that has changed the identity of millions. We have become these cybernetic patterns that is helping us to understand a type of a computer reality beyond our senses.
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