--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As information technology becomes…" description: "\"As information technology becomes millions of times more powerful, any particular use of it becomes correspondingly cheaper. Thus, it has become common..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/jaron-lanier-2241_21st-century_as-information-technology-becomes-millio_2642308.png" --- # As information technology becomes millions of times more… ![“As information technology becomes millions of times more powerful, any particular use of it becomes correspondingly cheaper. Thus, it has become commonplace to expect online services (not just news, but 21st century treats like search or social networking) to be given for free, or rather, in…” quote by Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/jaron-lanier-2241_21st-century_as-information-technology-becomes-millio_2642308.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/jaron-lanier-2241_21st-century_as-information-technology-becomes-millio_2642308.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/39c/jaron-lanier-2241_21st-century_as-information-technology-becomes-millio_2642308.png) > “As information technology becomes millions of times more powerful, any particular use of it becomes correspondingly cheaper. Thus, it has become commonplace to expect online services (not just news, but 21st century treats like search or social networking) to be given for free, or rather, in exchange for acquiescence to being spied on.” [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Technology's cost drop makes free services common, but they often trade privacy for convenience. **In simple terms:** Powerful tech makes services cheap, but privacy is the price. Key Takeaway Beware privacy hidden costs of free services. Themes technology privacy economics digital culture surveillance Mood cautious critical reflective Type advisory philosophical When to use this quote - online news - search engines - social media platforms - mobile apps - cloud services Key Concepts network effects information asymmetry data commodification Questions to Reflect On - How much privacy are you willing to sacrifice? - What alternatives exist to free services? A Different Perspective Free may hide exploitation; users may lose control over personal data. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [21st century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/21st-century/) [Acquiescence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/acquiescence/) [Century](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/century/) [Cheaper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cheaper/) [Commonplace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/commonplace/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Information](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information/) [Information technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/information-technology/) [Internet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/internet/) [Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/millions/) [Networking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/networking/) [News](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/news/) [Online](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/online/) [Particular](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/particular/) [Powerful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/powerful/) [Search Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-social-2280243/) [Social](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social/) [Social network](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-network/) [Social networking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/social-networking/) [Spied](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spied-583098/) [Technology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology/) [Technology Millions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/technology-millions-2280242/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Treats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/treats/) [Use](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/use/) ## Related quotes > [Both search and social have these distribution angles to them. Before social, if you wanted any sort of traffic on the web, it had…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-rasmussen/both-search-and-social-have-these-distribution-angles-to-them-before/) [Lars Rasmussen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-rasmussen/) > [“On the first day of a college you will worry about how will you do inside the college? and at the last day of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/on-the-first-day-of-a-college-you-will-worry-about-how-will-you-do/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [“Search engines finds the information, not necessarily the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/search-engines-finds-the-information-not-necessarily-the-truth/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I stared up at the sky and raised my middle finger, just in case God was watching. I don't like being spied on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/annabel-pitcher/i-stared-up-at-the-sky-and-raised-my-middle-finger-just-in-case-god/) [Annabel Pitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/annabel-pitcher/) > [It's really hard not to be paranoid when you find out that you've been spied on.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rosanna-arquette/it-s-really-hard-not-to-be-paranoid-when-you-find-out-that-you-ve/) [Rosanna Arquette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rosanna-arquette/) > [“Hanssen, an FBI agent who spied for the Russians in the 1980s and ’90s.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-rodham-clinton/hanssen-an-fbi-agent-who-spied-for-the-russians-in-the-1980s-and-90s/) [Hillary Rodham Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-rodham-clinton/) > [You are the woman of my heart. The one I have been awaiting the whole of my life, though I didn't know it until…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gena-showalter/you-are-the-woman-of-my-heart-the-one-i-have-been-awaiting-the-whole/) [Gena Showalter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gena-showalter/) > [Without strong encryption, you will be spied on systematically by lots of people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/whitfield-diffie/without-strong-encryption-you-will-be-spied-on-systematically-by-lots/) [Whitfield Diffie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/whitfield-diffie/) > [Are you asking if I ever spied on you while you were taking a shower?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-pike/are-you-asking-if-i-ever-spied-on-you-while-you-were-taking-a-shower/) [Christopher Pike](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-pike/) > [We've become the most eavesdropped, monitored, spied on, photographed population in human history, dwarfing anything that was done by the Stasi state and East…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chris-hedges/we-ve-become-the-most-eavesdropped-monitored-spied-on-photographed/) [Chris Hedges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chris-hedges/) > [For years they have been using the role of 'sex object' as a cover while they spied out the land.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatole-broyard/for-years-they-have-been-using-the-role-of-sex-object-as-a-cover/) [Anatole Broyard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatole-broyard/) > [“To be GOVERNED is to be watched, inspected, spied upon, directed, law-driven, numbered, regulated, enrolled, indoctrinated, preached at, controlled, checked, estimated, censured, commanded… noted,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/to-be-governed-is-to-be-watched-inspected-spied-upon-directed-law/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [The surveillance state has run amok. Technology that's enabled us to send selfies 24/7 - not that valuable - has also enabled us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexis-ohanian/the-surveillance-state-has-run-amok-technology-that-s-enabled-us-to/) [Alexis Ohanian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexis-ohanian/) > [The world is going to come to a place where we're all being spied on and nothing is private.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/princess-nokia/the-world-is-going-to-come-to-a-place-where-we-re-all-being-spied-on/) [Princess Nokia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/princess-nokia/) > [“But the Turing test cuts both ways. You can't tell if a machine has gotten smarter or if you've just lowered your own standards…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/but-the-turing-test-cuts-both-ways-you-can-t-tell-if-a-machine-has/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## More by Jaron Lanier > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Individual web pages as they first appeared in the early 1990s had the flavour of person-hood. MySpace preserved some of that flavour, though a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/individual-web-pages-as-they-first-appeared-in-the-early-1990s-had/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/style-used-to-be-an-interaction-between-the-human-soul-and-tools-that/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We should talk about the ultimate cause of war. It's a question we should never stop asking, because if we do, there's a chance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-should-talk-about-the-ultimate-cause-of-war-it-s-a-question-we/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [There is nothing more gray, stultifying, or dreary than life lived inside the confines of a theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-is-nothing-more-gray-stultifying-or-dreary-than-life-lived/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“There are at least two ways to believe in the idea of quality. You can believe there's something ineffable going on within the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-are-at-least-two-ways-to-believe-in-the-idea-of-quality-you-can/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [An intelligent person feels guilty for downloading music without paying the musician, but they use this free-open-culture ideology to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/an-intelligent-person-feels-guilty-for-downloading-music-without/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“What these critics forget is that printing presses in themselves provide no guarantee of an enlightened outcome. People, not machines, made the Renaissance. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/what-these-critics-forget-is-that-printing-presses-in-themselves/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [There were studies that asked people in different cultures to draw pictures of their enemies, and the pictures all looked remarkably the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-were-studies-that-asked-people-in-different-cultures-to-draw/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“Zombies are familiar characters in philosophical thought experiments. They are like people in every way except they have no internal experience… If there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/zombies-are-familiar-characters-in-philosophical-thought-experiments/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We're losing track of the vastness of the potential for computer science. We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-re-losing-track-of-the-vastness-of-the-potential-for-computer/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Of all the things you can spend a lot of money on, the only things you expect to fail frequently are software and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/of-all-the-things-you-can-spend-a-lot-of-money-on-the-only-things-you/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [ At the turn of the \[21st\] century it was really Sergey Brin at Google who just had the thought of, well, if we give… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/at-the-turn-of-the-21st-century-it-was-really-sergey-brin-at-google/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [The mass culture of childhood right now is astonishingly technical. Little kids know their Unix path punctuation so they can get around the Web,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/the-mass-culture-of-childhood-right-now-is-astonishingly-technical/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) [Explore all 173 Jaron Lanier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## More 21st century quotes > [The young people today are the 21st century.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-scorsese/the-young-people-today-are-the-21st-century/) [Martin Scorsese](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-scorsese/) > [“You know it’s the 21st Century when someone TEXTS you from the washroom to ask you to bring them a roll of toilet paper.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/comic-strip-mama/you-know-it-s-the-21st-century-when-someone-texts-you-from-the/) [Comic Strip Mama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/comic-strip-mama/) > [“I am made of a thousand ghosts. Only you can shoot me down.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bella-james/i-am-made-of-a-thousand-ghosts-only-you-can-shoot-me-down/) [Bella James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bella-james/) > [Like many others, I have deep misgivings about the state of education in the United States. Too many of our students fail to graduate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/like-many-others-i-have-deep-misgivings-about-the-state-of-education/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Undeniably, character does count for our citizens, out communities, and our Nation, and this week we celebrate the importance of character in our individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-j-clinton/undeniably-character-does-count-for-our-citizens-out-communities-and/) [William J. Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-j-clinton/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Maybe we need a tax credit for the poorest Americans to buy a laptop. Now, maybe that's wrong, maybe that's expensive, maybe we can't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/newt-gingrich/maybe-we-need-a-tax-credit-for-the-poorest-americans-to-buy-a-laptop/) [Newt Gingrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/newt-gingrich/) > [The 20th century has been marked by cynicism, selfishness, greed, and the desire to please, all without changing the status quo. In the 21st…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scar-arias/the-20th-century-has-been-marked-by-cynicism-selfishness-greed-and/) [Óscar Arias](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scar-arias/) > [I firmly believe that the mission of religion in the 21st century must be to contribute concretely to the peaceful coexistence of humankind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daisaku-ikeda/i-firmly-believe-that-the-mission-of-religion-in-the-21st-century/) [Daisaku Ikeda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daisaku-ikeda/) > [Facebook, Twitter...Welcome to The 21st Century...Where Someone can stalk you without leaving the couch!..](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/facebook-twitter-welcome-to-the-21st-century-where-someone-can-stalk/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Human Race is all over universe! And I am the first person to inform you. I am the most influential person of this decade…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ashwani-kumar-ojha/human-race-is-all-over-universe-and-i-am-the-first-person-to-inform/) [Ashwani Kumar Ojha](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ashwani-kumar-ojha/) > [Like the railroads that brought us together in the 19th century, these trails will bring us together in the 20th and 21st centuries. (at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/like-the-railroads-that-brought-us-together-in-the-19th-century-these/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [What I love about making albums in the 21st century is that so few people buy albums! I can make an album without any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moby/what-i-love-about-making-albums-in-the-21st-century-is-that-so-few/) [Moby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moby/) > [As a former Apollo astronaut, I think it's safe to say that SpaceX and the other commercial developers embody the 21st century version of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rusty-schweickart/as-a-former-apollo-astronaut-i-think-it-s-safe-to-say-that-spacex-and/) [Rusty Schweickart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rusty-schweickart/) > [The computer provides the only way to give students a real foundation in 21st-century skills.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-negroponte/the-computer-provides-the-only-way-to-give-students-a-real-foundation/) [Nicholas Negroponte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-negroponte/) [Browse all 771 21st century quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/21st-century/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "As information technology becomes millions of times more powerful, any particular use of it becomes correspondingly cheaper. 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