The early days of the post-academic internet saw a considerable, and to some audiences unexpected, dominance of news media by big offline media brands.
So long as facts remain hugely more expensive to obtain than opinions, these brands will remain dominant. Importantly, this means that they are likely to remains as politically aligned as they have always been. The single biggest factor which determines government communications policy, the political landscape of big media, is consequently likely to remain largely unchallenged by technological factors.
Despite this, technology does promise to have two politically significant impacts on the relation between governments, citizens, and media companies.
Historically, the function of technology in the crime and law-keeping sphere has been directed at making crimes harder to commit, and harder to get away with once committed. This basic driver is unlikely to change, although techniques will change both incrementally, and radically.
One of the most significant but unnoticed changes that technology will bring to government will be the dramatic increase in data collection and use, primarily focussed on improving service delivery.
At present the UK government spends over a billion pounds a day on services of all different kinds, from paying pensions to researching hazardous chemicals. It then collects and analyses huge amounts of data about the world around it, in an attempt to work out what kind of an impact it is having. With few exceptions, this data lives in silos - the fisheries people look at the fisheries data, and nobody else gives it a second glance. This is all about to change dramatically.
Governments always aim to improve the quality of public spaces. The existence of welcoming public spaces aids numerous quality of life goals, such as improving health, providing entertainment and reducing crime. Crucially, though, they also provide safe spaces in which individuals and groups can interact, spawn new relationships, and build trust.
Future government will see technology as a powerful tool in helping citizens to meet and work together in public spaces. However, whilst the primary tool for improving spaces at the moment is the crude device of CCTV, future government will come to value virtual, or augmented public spaces.
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