Should The Internet Be Censored? | Ella Whelan, Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Nigel Inkster
Summary
TLDRIn this thought-provoking discussion, panelists debate the impact of internet anonymity on human behavior. They explore whether people inherently need oversight to act ethically, drawing parallels to Hobbes' view of human nature. The conversation delves into how the internet's global reach dilutes social control and common goals, potentially fostering online abuse. The panel also addresses the balance between freedom of speech and the need for regulation, cautioning against knee-jerk reactions that could erode democratic values.
Takeaways
- 🌐 The Internet's anonymity has led to an increase in abuse, suggesting a need for oversight to ensure good behavior.
- 🧭 The concept of human nature being inherently wicked or good was discussed, with the idea that culture and environment play significant roles in shaping behavior.
- 🌍 The global nature of the Internet has disconnected people from local social controls, potentially leading to increased online abuse.
- 🌱 The idea that a strong internal moral compass can replace the need for external oversight was presented.
- 📈 The Internet has been a test for societal tolerance and the ability to handle freedom of speech over the last 30 years.
- 🚫 There is a concern about the overreaction to Internet abuse leading to increased censorship and loss of freedom.
- 🔑 Social media platforms' business models encourage outrage and fit, which can perpetuate negative behavior online.
- 🌟 The debate highlighted the importance of not letting authoritarian regimes dictate democratic values and freedoms.
- 📝 The necessity for sensible regulation in contrast to censorship was emphasized, drawing a comparison to the print sector's standards.
- 🔄 The discussion underscored the ongoing debate about balancing freedom of speech with the need to prevent harm and abuse online.
Q & A
What is the central debate in the discussion?
-The central debate revolves around whether human beings require oversight to behave ethically online, and whether the anonymity of the internet has led to increased abuse and negative behavior.
What does Janos suggest about human nature and the internet?
-Janos suggests that human beings are neither inherently good nor bad, but act based on survival and cultural influences. The internet has expanded our social group globally, which can lead to a lack of common purpose and increased online abuse due to the absence of immediate social feedback.
What does Ella Whelan believe the internet has revealed about society?
-Ella Whelan believes the internet has revealed a darker side of human nature, but also a tendency to react with censorship and control in response to internet abuse, which she sees as a threat to freedom of speech.
How does Nigel Inkster view the role of social media in promoting negative behavior?
-Nigel Inkster sees social media platforms as promoting negative behavior like outrage and fear due to their business model, which relies on keeping users online to collect data for targeted advertising.
What does Yasmin alibi Brown argue about the need for regulation on the internet?
-Yasmin alibi Brown argues that censorship should not be confused with sensible regulation. She differentiates between the freedom of speech and the need for responsible publishing practices on the internet.
What is the main concern Nigel Inkster raises about authoritarian regimes?
-Nigel Inkster is concerned that authoritarian regimes would like to see democracies clamp down on freedom of speech, and he warns against implementing wide-scale controls that would justify their own actions.
What is the role of social control in smaller communities according to the discussion?
-In smaller communities, there is a certain amount of social control and common purpose which helps regulate behavior. However, this is lost in larger, more diverse communities and especially on the internet.
How does the internet's global reach affect human behavior according to Janos?
-Janos suggests that the internet's global reach multiplies the diversity of people we interact with, making it easier to act in ways that may be detrimental to others without immediate social consequences.
What does Ella Whelan think about the reaction to internet abuse?
-Ella Whelan is critical of the knee-jerk reaction to censor and control the internet in response to abuse, arguing that it reveals a lack of tolerance and an overreaction that threatens freedom.
What is the importance of having a 'human compass' according to the discussion?
-Having a 'human compass' refers to an internal sense of right and wrong that can guide behavior even in the absence of external oversight. It is seen as crucial for ethical behavior online.
What is the potential danger of giving up freedom to speak and think freely according to Ella Whelan?
-Ella Whelan warns that giving up freedom to speak and think freely to governments and social media giants could lead to a limitation of the content we access and a reduction in our tolerance for diverse opinions.
Outlines
🌐 The Impact of Anonymity on Internet Behavior
The panel discussion begins with a focus on the anonymity provided by the internet and its potential to enable abusive behavior. The question posed is whether human beings inherently require oversight to behave ethically, referencing philosopher Thomas Hobbes' view of human nature. The panelists include a diverse group of experts such as Ella Whelan, a political commentator and journalist, Janos, a former conflict adviser for the EU and UN, Nigel Inkster, the former director of operations and intelligence for MI6, and Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, a respected pundit. The conversation delves into the idea that humans act based on survival and cultural influences, suggesting that the internet's global reach may have disconnected individuals from a shared sense of community and purpose, leading to increased online abuse. The discussion also touches on the importance of having a personal moral compass and the challenges of developing one in a diverse, global online environment.
🗣️ Freedom of Speech vs. Internet Censorship
In the second paragraph, Ella Whelan argues that the internet has not revealed a dark side of humanity but rather a cavalier approach to freedom and liberty. She expresses concern over the tendency to react to internet abuse with censorship and policing, which she sees as a threat to freedom of speech. Whelan points out that social media regulations already restrict online content and debate, and she warns against surrendering freedom of speech to governments or social media giants. Nigel Inkster follows up by suggesting that the internet reveals the 'lizard brain' aspect of human nature, driven by emotions like outrage and fear, which are exploited by social media platforms for profit. He advises caution against authoritarian desires for control over speech and emphasizes the importance of not implementing measures that authoritarian regimes would applaud. The paragraph concludes with a call for careful consideration of language and regulation, distinguishing between censorship and sensible regulation, with an example of the abuse directed at public figures like Diane Abbott.
📢 Call to Action for Intellectual Engagement
The final paragraph is a call to action for viewers to subscribe to the Institute of Arts and Ideas' channel, presumably to engage with more content that stimulates intellectual debate and discussion on topics like the ones presented in the panel discussion. This paragraph serves as a prompt for viewers to continue their exploration of complex issues such as anonymity, freedom of speech, and the impact of the internet on human behavior.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Anonymity
💡Oversight
💡Human Nature
💡Internet Abuse
💡Freedom of Speech
💡Censorship
💡Regulation
💡Social Control
💡Success Criteria
💡Authoritarian Regime
💡Internal Compass
Highlights
The anonymity of the Internet has led to an epidemic of abuse.
Questioning whether human nature is inherently wicked and requires restraint.
Discussion on whether online anonymity should be abolished for a better world.
Ella Whelan suggests that human beings act to survive and are influenced by their cultural surroundings.
The Internet has made our social group global, complicating social control and common purpose.
Online abuse is rampant due to the lack of immediate feedback and consequences.
The need for a strong internal compass to distinguish right from wrong without external oversight.
Ella argues that the Internet reveals a dark side but also challenges censorship and calls for tolerance.
The Internet has been a test for our tolerance and ability to deal with difficult situations.
Nigel Inkster points out the business model of Internet giants promotes negative behavior for profit.
The importance of not implementing wide-scale controls on freedom of speech as authoritarian regimes desire.
Yasmin alibi Brown differentiates between censorship and sensible, decent regulation in the media.
The necessity of considering the damage caused by unregulated freedom of speech on the Internet.
The panelists agree on the need for careful consideration of how to regulate the Internet without compromising freedom.
The debate highlights the complexity of balancing freedom of speech with the need for social responsibility.
Transcripts
[Music]
the anonymity of the Internet's has
enabled an epidemic of abuse do we need
the oversight of others to behave well
was hobbes right after all and humankind
is just at core wicked and requiring
restraints should we abolish online
anonymity to create a better world or is
there a culture where our essential
goodness would flourish without us
needing to be watched see my left
we've got Ella Whelan she's a political
commentator at freelance journalist
after graduating in 2014 she joined
online politics magazines spiked and
quickly rose to assistant editor also to
my left we have Janos hello before she
got into writing she worked as a
conflict adviser for the EU and the UN -
my rights
Nigel Inkster is the former director of
operations and intelligence for the
British Secret Intelligence Service
otherwise known as mi6
last but definitely not least to my
right is Yasmin alibi Brown she's a
respected pundit who writes regularly
for the I International Business Times a
new European as you can tell we're not
going to be having a light chat tonight
so get ready buckle up your seat belts
brains on please do we need the
oversight of others to behave well yeah
no I'd love to start off with you human
beings are neither as I see good or bad
we act to survive and depending on the
culture around us
we'll do actual acts that are better to
others or not in that process it depends
on the success criteria of our culture
what we need to act in ways that is not
detrimental to other people is a purpose
that sets us on a path that means the
better survival not just for ourselves
but also for our surroundings it's it's
a kind of understanding of that and when
our success criteria therefore is the
better survival of the entire group we
tend to act in a better way the problem
then with the Internet is it has made
the group
to which we relate to totally global I
mean when you're in within a village
there's a certain amount of social
control a certain amount of common
purpose of people who live under the
same circumstances already in a big city
we lose that because there are too many
people two different people two
different social and economic
circumstances you have common conditions
that leads us in one direction but on
the internet you can multiply that with
a at least a few hundred maybe thousand
times that we all connect or can
influence people with whom we we don't
know anything about and we don't
necessarily have immediate goals in
common and therefore it becomes so easy
to say well to advance my success to the
denture ment of someone else who my
actually might influence but just
through this screen you don't have a
feedback where you feel it and you don't
see the consequences and I think that's
why abuse online is absolutely rampant
it's not because human beings are more
or less evil it's simply a mechanisms of
how we function and to come back this do
we need the oversight of others to be
here well yes unless we have a very
strong internal human compass if we
really can distinguish right and wrong
ourselves we don't need others to keep
an eye on but most of us who have lived
more or less mono culturally and without
I mean even within a country but in a
certain village type of community where
there are rights and wrongs we don't
even know we don't have a personal
compass that if we are on our own and
total different culture we wouldn't even
need know what is right or wrong but if
we have been challenged then we develop
that human compass you know if you're
put in another culture you actually may
be killing is allowed but you say no I
don't like to kill that shows that you
have your own personal human compass
regardless of your surroundings if we
have that there would not be a problem
with the internet the problem is that we
don't have around the world cultures
where we developed out and I also
don't think is realistic to have this
willing a reasonable timeframe therefore
we do need oversight excellent thank you
Ella has the internet revealed something
dark within us your thoughts please well
I mean it's interesting that we're
having this discussion remember that the
Internet is only 30 years old so I
actually think that it has revealed
something definitely it potentially
isn't very dark and I don't actually
think it's about us do the general
public of Internet users and I think
what the Internet what Internet abuse
has revealed is the opposite side of us
are very Cavalier approach to freedom
liberty and freedom of speech because
however bad Internet abuse might be from
time to time I think what's far more
worrying is the knee-jerk reaction to
censor to police to commission people to
be the those who have oversight to place
controls on us and really the Internet
has been a test for our over the last
thirty years for our tolerance and our
ability to deal with difficult
situations and we've been found wanting
I mean a cursory look at the kind of
regulations and policies that are used
within social media show us that
actually on your day to day use of the
internet you are quite restricted and
the consequences of that is that we are
having a debate online throughout
different channels and the content that
we access is much more limited than you
might actually perceive I mean there's
certainly an issue with social media in
particular that we might get into that
rather than this being a dark issue of
internet abuse they're really
problematic and quite frightening side
of it is that we are giving up our
freedom to speak and think freely to at
the government to social media giants to
those that are largely unaccountable so
I want to turn the question on its head
and actually say that rather than the
internet being the problem it actually
the Internet has revealed a
long-standing and now sort of an issue
that's becoming more and more pertinent
of how we value freedom how we value
engagement communication and freedom of
speech
great thank you very much Ella Nigel
yep has the has this shown us anything
about ourselves by implication that we
didn't already know I think the answer
is no it's revealed that we have two
parts to our brains you know the the
cortex and the lizard brain and what
we're seeing at the moment is the lizard
brain at work trial by Twitter is
nothing more than a modernization of our
earlier propensity to attend
gladiatorial contests or public
executions you know they'd say it's the
same drivers that are at work and the
problem is that the business model of
the Internet giants is actually so
configured as to have to promote and
encourage this kind of behavior it's all
about keeping us online as long as
possible so they can scrape our data so
they can sell it for targeted and
predictive ad advertising and what keeps
you online outrage and fit you know
these two emotions are the things that
keep you scrolling through you know
looking at the next YouTube you know
shocker beheading whatever it works you
know it works extremely well having said
that I mean I agree with the last
speaker with Ella that you know we need
to be very careful about knee-jerk
reactions that something must be done
mentality I spend a lot of my time
talking to people from countries like
China and Russia about things like
cybersecurity they would love us to
clamp down you know they would really
really like to see us implement
wide-scale controls our own freedom of
speech because that would of course
justify precisely what it is they want
to do and I would feel that when you've
got something that an authoritarian
regime wants you to do that's probably a
very good reason as to why you should
not do it and I'll end it there thank
you very much Kevin I think we should be
really really careful of how will you
use language and how we use concepts the
fact the China
the Arab nations or many African nations
and several others undemocratic nations
absolutely want to clamp down on freedom
cannot be used as the reason why in
proper democracies which this is just
until Boris comes into power then who
knows what's going to happen
anarchy so I just want to be clear
censorship is not the same as sensible
decent regulation I work for the print
sector I cannot write whatever I fancy
whenever I'm writing my columns quite
rightly the legal department looks at it
my bosses look at it we have restraint
on what we can do with what we write you
might not think that but actually even
the most outrageous papers in this
country are subject to some kind of
regulation so for me the Internet is a
publishing venture it's not beyond
publishing and therefore we have to
consider the damage that is being done
is it OK in the name of this spurious
freedom that Diane Abbott gets the kind
of abuse she gets hour after hour debate
please subscribe today to the Institute
of Arts and ideas her III TV
you
Посмотреть больше похожих видео
42. OCR GCSE (J277) 1.6 Investigating technologies
Georgia L. Anderson, Rory Sutherland, Stephan Pretorius and Antonis Kocheilas – AI | Nudgestock 2024
Joe Rogan | Crazy Facts About Multiple Personality Disorder w/Christopher Ryan
Hobbes vs. Locke vs. Rousseau - Social Contract Theories Compared
The panel discussion on Rise of the Machines | SiGMA Eurasia Conference 2024
Mustafa Suleyman & Yuval Noah Harari -FULL DEBATE- What does the AI revolution mean for our future?
5.0 / 5 (0 votes)