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Internet both dangerous and democratic: Nobel laureates- 7-Jan-2016
New Delhi: The Noble laureates today opined that the "rule of the mob" finds a quick expression in today's times due to social media, while stating that internet provided a platform that was "both dangerous and democratic".
"Mobs existed before internet but now mob rule can express much more quickly because of social media. To me that is a danger. Crowds though have their own momentum," Nobel laureate V Ramakrishnan, who received a Nobel for Chemistry in 2009 said at an event here.
The India-born biologist was in conversation with fellow Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, David Trimble and Arthur MacDonald who debated whether the internet was both democratic and dangerous at 'Nobel Solutions', an event organised by NDTV and Tata Consultancy Services.
Talking about the role of state curbs on internet, Ramakrishnan said, "The Internet helps all kinds of crackpots like trolls, terrorists coming together, propagating dangerous and anti-social behaviour and then governments have had to clamp down on the flow of Internet and censorship and privacy."
Amartya Sen pointed out that every government also wants to win the next election and so there was a certain amount of cynicism that comes in as to what kind of conversation or communication it wants to encourage.
"This conversation to some extent to me is the distinction between the state and the government. It's not so much of the government's responsibility as it is a state responsibility which includes other institutions like judiciary, law, you and me to participate in public debate and discussions," he said.
He went on to add that when we are talking about freedom of speech on the internet, there is going to be a tension on part of the government who would want to continue in office and at the same time do not want to appear as unfair.
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