don't get blinded by the possibilities

http://liberationtechnology.stanford.edu/publications/list/

'It is tempting to think of the Internet as unprecedented in its potential
for political progress. History, however, cautions against such hubris. In
the fifteenth century, the printing press revolutionized the accumulation
and dissemination of information, enabling the Renaissance, the Protestant
Reformation, and the scientific revolution. On these foundations,
modern democracy emerged. But the printing press also facilitated the rise
of the centralized state and prompted the movement toward censorship.3
A century and a half ago, the telegraph was hailed as a tool to promote
peace and understanding. Suddenly, the world shrank; news that once
took weeks to travel across the world could be conveyed instantly. What
followed was not peace and freedom but the bloodiest century in human
history. Today’s enthusiasts of liberation technology could be accused of
committing the analytic sins of their Victorian forebears, “technological
utopianism” and “chronocentricity”—that is, “the egotism that one’s own
generation is poised on the very cusp of history.”4
In the end, technology is merely a tool, open to both noble and nefarious
purposes.'

I tend to get all gushy about the possibilities of ICA.  It's a hazard of being absorbed in one subject that you tend to put more applicability and positive spin on that subject than it might warrant. So the above is a good reminder that ICA is a tool.  Whether it works or not depends on how well it is used, who is using it, and the situation surrounding its use. 

That said,  I still believe that ICA is a tool that should be studied and considered for what good uses can be made of it. Also, any pitfalls should be discovered so people don't have to make mistakes with this tool.  I hope to help with the discussion with this blog.