<p>Two phrases that one invariably encounters these days are ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘climate change’. To which I might add ‘information technology’. That the three phrases are intimately related is hard to see but the connections are there and have been around for quite some time.</p>.<p>About 100 years ago, Henry Ford revolutionised the transportation industry by mass-producing the Model T, a car that was affordable to the average citizen. Cars were no longer the province of the very rich, luxury items costing tens of thousands of dollars. About 75 years ago, huge deposits of oil were discovered in the Middle East, which allowed the car owner to roam the countryside, so to speak, yearning to be free. Freed from having to share living quarters, shop in congested city centres, or rely on government-funded buses and trains to go from one place to another.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/data-centres-seen-driving-realty-demand-in-india-1195314.html" target="_blank">Data centres seen driving realty demand in India</a></strong><br /><br />About 50 years ago, Steve Jobs and Paul Wozniak revolutionised the computing industry by creating the personal computer, a device that the middle class could afford. The ‘mainframe’ and ‘mini’ computers costing hundreds of thousands of dollars were no longer the province of government agencies and big corporations. About 25 years ago, the internet became widely available, allowing personal computer users to roam through virtual space, unfettered, free to express themselves to one and all across the globe.</p>.<p>Now that we have seamlessly integrated the artefacts of information technology into automobiles, a blending of two spaces -- the physical and the virtual -- has occurred. The much larger Autobahn society cruising on the information highway has supplanted the much smaller Audubon society.</p>.<p>Democracy in action for one and all, wouldn’t you agree?</p>.<p>Not quite. In fact, quite the opposite has occurred. Ford’s affordable car has led to the suburbanising of cities and the creation of gated communities, away from the hollowed-out city centres. Huge shopping malls have replaced mom-and-pop stores, while parks with trees have given way to treeless technology parks and parking lots. If you get stuck in traffic on your commute to and from work, you can always log on to YouTube or Facebook and wait for the traffic jam to clear. If your company doesn’t provide transportation, you could always move closer to your place of employment, where the company already owns all the land and buildings in its environs. Of course, when your company decides to decamp, you, along with nature’s habitat, will be part of the collateral damage. Just the cost of doing business, mind you. I hope you are amused.</p>.<p>If you are still not convinced, let me cite some concrete (pun intended) examples. Whenever multi-lane highways are built in and around US cities to relieve traffic congestion on existing arteries, it is usually the case that the new highways cut through poorer neighbourhoods, mostly African and Hispanic ones, without consulting the people living in those areas. Carbon-emission-absorbing trees are mercilessly cut down, much to the dismay of vocal but ineffective environmental groups. Specific to India, the highways leading to Kempegowda International Airport and Electronic City in Bengaluru offer a textbook case of such practices. Not just Bengaluru but many other metropolitan areas in India have become internet company towns. Not surprising, since the country has had a lot of experience in being one large company town for well over 150 years. Remember East India Company?</p>.<p>You may be interested in reading Rebecca Solnit’s essay in the London Review of Books (Feb 7, 2013 issue) detailing how Google and Facebook managed to take over San Francisco, skewing the housing market, displacing the locals, and claiming credit for being green companies, just because they are bussing the IT workers to their offices in Silicon Valley, resulting in fewer cars on the road. In similar vein, Amazon would like to remind us that they too are a green company, with their fleet of electric delivery trucks ready to respect your freedom to shop and express yourself.</p>.<p>It used to be the case that the exteriors of both cars and computers were mainly metal -- typically steel, tin, or aluminium. Now, it is plastic, which is mostly fossil-fuel based. The switch was motivated by cost, not concern for the environment. Not relying on mined ores which deforested much of the globe seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? With the advent of battery-powered cars such as the Tesla, by moving away from gas and diesel-powered vehicles, we are back to mining again, only this time it is for lithium, cobalt, and copper.</p>.<p>Isn’t it funny how history repeats itself? Or is it?</p>
<p>Two phrases that one invariably encounters these days are ‘freedom of expression’ and ‘climate change’. To which I might add ‘information technology’. That the three phrases are intimately related is hard to see but the connections are there and have been around for quite some time.</p>.<p>About 100 years ago, Henry Ford revolutionised the transportation industry by mass-producing the Model T, a car that was affordable to the average citizen. Cars were no longer the province of the very rich, luxury items costing tens of thousands of dollars. About 75 years ago, huge deposits of oil were discovered in the Middle East, which allowed the car owner to roam the countryside, so to speak, yearning to be free. Freed from having to share living quarters, shop in congested city centres, or rely on government-funded buses and trains to go from one place to another.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read | <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/business/business-news/data-centres-seen-driving-realty-demand-in-india-1195314.html" target="_blank">Data centres seen driving realty demand in India</a></strong><br /><br />About 50 years ago, Steve Jobs and Paul Wozniak revolutionised the computing industry by creating the personal computer, a device that the middle class could afford. The ‘mainframe’ and ‘mini’ computers costing hundreds of thousands of dollars were no longer the province of government agencies and big corporations. About 25 years ago, the internet became widely available, allowing personal computer users to roam through virtual space, unfettered, free to express themselves to one and all across the globe.</p>.<p>Now that we have seamlessly integrated the artefacts of information technology into automobiles, a blending of two spaces -- the physical and the virtual -- has occurred. The much larger Autobahn society cruising on the information highway has supplanted the much smaller Audubon society.</p>.<p>Democracy in action for one and all, wouldn’t you agree?</p>.<p>Not quite. In fact, quite the opposite has occurred. Ford’s affordable car has led to the suburbanising of cities and the creation of gated communities, away from the hollowed-out city centres. Huge shopping malls have replaced mom-and-pop stores, while parks with trees have given way to treeless technology parks and parking lots. If you get stuck in traffic on your commute to and from work, you can always log on to YouTube or Facebook and wait for the traffic jam to clear. If your company doesn’t provide transportation, you could always move closer to your place of employment, where the company already owns all the land and buildings in its environs. Of course, when your company decides to decamp, you, along with nature’s habitat, will be part of the collateral damage. Just the cost of doing business, mind you. I hope you are amused.</p>.<p>If you are still not convinced, let me cite some concrete (pun intended) examples. Whenever multi-lane highways are built in and around US cities to relieve traffic congestion on existing arteries, it is usually the case that the new highways cut through poorer neighbourhoods, mostly African and Hispanic ones, without consulting the people living in those areas. Carbon-emission-absorbing trees are mercilessly cut down, much to the dismay of vocal but ineffective environmental groups. Specific to India, the highways leading to Kempegowda International Airport and Electronic City in Bengaluru offer a textbook case of such practices. Not just Bengaluru but many other metropolitan areas in India have become internet company towns. Not surprising, since the country has had a lot of experience in being one large company town for well over 150 years. Remember East India Company?</p>.<p>You may be interested in reading Rebecca Solnit’s essay in the London Review of Books (Feb 7, 2013 issue) detailing how Google and Facebook managed to take over San Francisco, skewing the housing market, displacing the locals, and claiming credit for being green companies, just because they are bussing the IT workers to their offices in Silicon Valley, resulting in fewer cars on the road. In similar vein, Amazon would like to remind us that they too are a green company, with their fleet of electric delivery trucks ready to respect your freedom to shop and express yourself.</p>.<p>It used to be the case that the exteriors of both cars and computers were mainly metal -- typically steel, tin, or aluminium. Now, it is plastic, which is mostly fossil-fuel based. The switch was motivated by cost, not concern for the environment. Not relying on mined ores which deforested much of the globe seems like a good idea, doesn’t it? With the advent of battery-powered cars such as the Tesla, by moving away from gas and diesel-powered vehicles, we are back to mining again, only this time it is for lithium, cobalt, and copper.</p>.<p>Isn’t it funny how history repeats itself? Or is it?</p>