patrick.net

Don't blame the Internet for the stupidity of users. The Internet is the greatest invention of mankind. The greatest wonder of the world. It has already enabled incredible things from the Arab Spring to making education -- not degrees, but actual education -- free. All of mankind's knowledge is at your fingertips.

It's not the technology's fault that most human beings are dumb as shit and use the Internet exclusively for porn, shopping, and scamming people. Anyone can also use it to learn astrophysics, history, non-Euclidean geometry, how to speak ancient Mayan, or anything else. Anyone can use it to promote world peace, the exchange of cultures, and collaborating on any project from music to solving world hunger or eliminating tropical diseases.

Of course, a tool is only as productive as what you use it for.

If you're interested in a reenvisionment of the Babel story in a near future world setting, check out Neal Stevenson's very excellent novel "Snow Crash."
I really enjoyed it, and it made me think.