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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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Family life
The precious family keepsakes that hold meaning for generations
10 minutes
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Neuroscience
This intricate map of a fruit fly brain could signal a revolution in neuroscience
2 minutes
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Archaeology
What did the first people who entered Tutankhamun’s tomb see?
5 minutes
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Information and communication
Coverage of the ‘balloon boy’ hoax forms a withering indictment of for-profit news
17 minutes
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Childhood and adolescence
Marmar is living through a devastating war – but she’d rather tell you about her new dress
8 minutes
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Meaning and the good life
Wander through the English countryside with two teens trying to make sense of the world
10 minutes
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Computing and artificial intelligence
The ‘cloud’ requires heaps of energy to stay aloft. Could synthetic DNA be the answer?
12 minutes
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Art
A puppeteer makes sense of an overwhelming world by shrinking it down to size
5 minutes
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History
There are fragments of Romani Gypsy history all over the UK – if one knows where to look
3 minutes