The Silent Revolution: How Digitalization Transforms Knowledge, Work, Journalism and Politics Without Making Too Much Noise

How is digitalization changing journalism and our public sphere? What role does the expert play now that knowledge can be downloaded? What is it to think and work in a world in which technology has become our second nature? Since Google has become the most important way to gather information, the role of knowledge in our societies has fundamentally changed. Exploring the role of digital platforms such as Google, Twitter and Facebook, this engaging book maps out the knowledge landscape of today, delivering an overview of the most important debates and comparing the discussions of the digital era with the ones of our industrial past. Calling for a more active role of the human towards technology, it also serves as a philosophically informed introduction to academic debates, and delivers an inspiring reading of the newly discovered French philosopher Gilbert Simondon. Engaging with the social forces that unfold with digitalization, this book finds a silent revolution.

"Finally, a 'Structural Transformation of the Public Sphere' (Habermas) for the digital age! This smart book maps the transformation of the public sphere in the age of digitalization, and is an important contribution to the sociology of media." - Scott Lash, Professor of Sociology and Director of the Centre of Cultural Studies at University of London, Goldsmiths, UK

"This book offers a critical analysis of contemporary debates around the issue of algorithms, software and code, giving rich examples to explain its impact on society and the potential ways forward for developing our understanding of these control technologies. As such the book is an important contribution to scholarly work on the digitalization of knowledge and the growing field of software studies." - Dr David M Berry, Author of The Philosophy of Software and Reader in Digital Media, University of Sussex, UK

Critically engaging, illustrative and with numerous examples, The Silent Revolution delivers a philosophically informed introduction to current debates on digital technology and calls for a more active role of humans towards technology.

Mercedes Bunz is Lecturer in Media Studies at Leuphana University, Germany, where she is also Director of the Hybrid Publishing Lab, exploring academic publishing in the digital age. She writes on digital media, journalism and the philosophy of technology, and she has been the technology reporter of The Guardian.

Acknowledgements
Preface
PART I: WHEN ALGORITHMS LEARNED HOW TO WRITE
1. Hidden Relationship Issues
2. Looking Into the Clouds
PART II: HOW THE AUTOMATION OF KNOWLEDGE CHANGES SKILLED WORK
3. Discourse and Distress
4. On a New Accuracy of Facts
PART III: THE SECOND NATURE
5. Google and the Four Aspects of Technology
6. An Indifferent Beast
PART IV: ON THE PRODUCTION OF CROWDS
7. The Publishing Society
8. The Digitalization of the Press
PART V: THE DIGITAL PUBLIC
9. The Archive of the Present
10. Reported by a Choir of Voices
PART VI: THE SILENT REVOLUTION
11. On Digital Politics and Crowds
12. The Internet of Things