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Wrenching us out of the ‘age of anonymity’ brought about by urbanisation and industrialisation, the information age has profoundly diminished privacy as we increasingly share our personal data in exchange for a vast array of services. With the loss of privacy has come a new kind of power broker: tech leaders who control the flow of information and, increasingly, influence world leaders. In this Aeon interview, the UK-based Italian philosopher Luciano Floridi examines how the power paradigm is shifting in the 21st century, and suggests that rushing to answer questions about privacy and policymaking is exactly the wrong way for society to best adapt to the precipitous change of the times.
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Mood and emotion
A century of letters captures the emotions of life in a new city, far from home
21 minutes
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Ageing and death
Death is a trip – how new research links near-death and DMT experiences
9 minutes
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The environment
Photographs of rainforests dissolving in acid strike a beautiful note of warning
10 minutes
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Technology and the self
Adaptive technologies have helped Stephen Hawking, and many more, find their voice
5 minutes
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Ecology and environmental sciences
Experience the dazzling displays that fireflies create when humans are far away
5 minutes
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Gender and identity
‘When you’re done, you stay human!’ What gender transition means to John
6 minutes
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Stories and literature
Solaris and beyond – Stanisław Lem’s antidotes to the bores of American sci-fi
7 minutes
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Music
Before the Beatles dropped acid, a BBC workshop was creating far-out sounds
6 minutes
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Art
Is paying with hand-drawn banknotes artistry or forgery? The knotty case of J S G Boggs
10 minutes