ABSTRACT

This chapter examines several specific consequences of Silicon Valley's misguided notion that information is equivalent to wisdom, what we call “faux wisdom.” The literal tug-of-war between information and wisdom at Wisdom 2.0 raises fundamental questions about the role of technology and tech companies in society: Are tech companies uniquely positioned to cultivate wisdom, individually and collectively, Does wisdom consist merely of the accumulation and dissemination of information. Wisdom is a “higher-type of knowledge” that involves an aptitude for understanding and using information “for the benefit of oneself and society.” Tech companies insist on a simple equation between information and wisdom. Instead of considering the wisdom, they turn to technological prophecy in the form of artificial intelligence or Ray Kurzweil's famed human-machine merger called the “Singularity.” Google, in particular, expresses an almost singular emphasis on information as the vehicle for technological and social progress.