The Clash of Civilizations

Civilians attempt to subsume the digital world; tech people insist on its autonomy

Paris. It’s a weird sound when politicians and other civilians say the word “digital.” First they say it often: “It should be a digital market in a digital world. We are about the digital agenda—and not just in the digital sector.” There’s a certain drag on the first syllable, as in “dijjj.” There’s pleasure in being able to say it, a kind of unexpected delight. They say it like people who didn’t go to Harvard, say Harvard—with too much respect and lingering far too long.

Technology people do not say it so often, if ever.

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