Integrated Culture – What the Merging Dynamics of Human and Internet Mean for our Global Future

Michael J. Savoie

Researchers have often treated modularity and integration as mutually-exclusive. A module was defined as a stand-alone system, whereas integration required a single ecosystem. Today, however, we recognize that ecosystems often contain independent modules that are interrelated to create the system. Much like land, sea and air combine to create a livable planet, we are seeing a similar symbiosis occur between man and machine, with the internet as the connector of the independent human modules. Technology has become such an integral part of our daily lives that our culture – who we are as individuals and a society - is being affected. As we continue to create devices that blur the line between what is “us” and what is “the internet,” the idea of symbiosis – the merging of human and internet - becomes more and more real. What we are witnessing today is the melding of human creativity with the common platform of the internet protocol (IP) creating a unique global culture. This new ecosystem of man and machine is what is called Integrated Culture, and is the focus on this paper.

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