Routledge

Digital
Wisdom

Searching for Agency
in the Age of AI

Technology is not neutral. AI is not inevitable. And you are not powerless.

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PublisherRoutledge
Published2026
Pages224
ISBN9781032971643
AI
Digital Wisdom — Richard Lachman

Richard Lachman · Routledge 2026

The Problem

We're treating society like something we can solve.

We've arrived at a digital world that none of us would have chosen. If we don't set out to design systems that value transparency and ethics, we get systems that are obfuscated and unethical. The market dictates it.

The Argument

Power over technology is possible, but only if we claim it.

AI doesn't make us powerless. It just makes the stakes higher. Digital Wisdom gives citizens, educators, parents, and technologists a shared vocabulary and a principled framework for pushing back on tech that fails us.

The Audience

For everyone affected by AI — which is everyone.

Written for the worried user as much as the practitioner, Digital Wisdom skips the jargon and takes readers on a tour of the real decisions being made in our name — while empowering us to start making better ones.

About the Book

A Field Guide
to Our Digital
Lives

From pregnancy apps that sell your data to employers, to facial recognition systems that put innocent people in jail, to AI translation software that got a man arrested for saying "good morning" — the hidden rules of our digital world are affecting us in ways we've never agreed to.

Digital Wisdom maps the landscape from surveillance apps and data brokers to algorithmic bias, disinformation, and the concentration of AI power. It examines who is shaping this technology, who it serves, and who gets left behind.

We are just beginning to reckon with the effects of social media on society. At the same time, we are leaping ahead with AI — far in advance of any attempts to learn from the past. The question is: Will we keep on making the same mistakes, or can we be wise enough to act?

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Contents

What's
Inside

Part I — Our Digital Life

1The Lessons of RealtechnikAbout ↓
Ch. 1 — The Lessons of RealtechnikDigital Wisdom applies humility, contextual awareness, and openness to our relationship with tech. It envisions tools that genuinely serves users — social platforms promoting well-being, apps tracking interests for personal growth rather than advertising, AI agents protecting privacy while facilitating necessary interactions, and transparent, user-controlled personal data systems. Why don't we have them? What will it take to get them?
2Next Top Model: How Software Models the World and YouAbout ↓
Ch. 2 — Next Top Model: How Software Models the World and YouAll models are wrong. Some models are useful. Software models simplify the world, but inherently exclude aspects of reality. When these models encode incorrect assumptions, the consequences ripple through critical systems affecting health, safety, and opportunity — often harming already marginalized groups. Every model reflects choices about what matters and what doesn't. We need transparency about model creation, meaningful oversight when models fail, and acceptance that deliberate friction is necessary for responsible implementation.
3The Evolution of PrivacyAbout ↓
Ch. 3 — The Evolution of PrivacyPrivacy requires a nuanced understanding at both individual and societal levels. Everyone deserves some "right to obscurity" — living without constant scrutiny — which demands deliberate rule-setting. Rather than digitizing everything indiscriminately, we need thoughtful systems with built-in safeguards that consider potential risks and misuse, preserving some of the natural obscurity of pre-digital information storage.
4Bad ReputationAbout ↓
Ch. 4 — Bad ReputationPersonal data should be treated as an asset we can easily manage without technical expertise. We need simple tools to control what we share and with whom. Just as laws protect our money from theft and unfair contracts, we need robust legal protections for our data. Along with government regulation, social education is needed to help people value their data and demand fairer digital transactions.
5DatabasicsAbout ↓
Ch. 5 — DatabasicsDespite claims of living in an age of choice, our data options are largely illusory. An invisible market trades our digital identities, influencing insurance rates, employment opportunities, healthcare access, and freedom of movement. We have to think of privacy as a collective right rather than an individual responsibility. Like environmental protections, data sovereignty requires systemic safeguards, because "informed consent" in today's data economy remains a convenient but dangerous myth.
6Breaking NewsAbout ↓
Ch. 6 — Breaking NewsOur information ecosystem has evolved into a fragmented landscape that profits from outrage and tribalism. Falsehoods outperform truth by generating more engagement with less effort. AI systems now deliver misleading content with such convincing fluency that distinguishing reliable sources can feel almost impossible. Emerging alternatives like the Fediverse offer decentralized platforms, but addressing these challenges demands coordinated action from individuals, governments, and platforms alike.
7Under the InfluenceAbout ↓
Ch. 7 — Under the InfluencePersuasion is the deliberate core of technology design, not merely a by-product. As generative AI advances, this capability becomes increasingly sophisticated — uniquely tailoring messages to individual vulnerabilities, learning from interactions, and refining approaches in real-time. The scale of AI-driven persuasion creates unprecedented power asymmetry, quietly eroding human autonomy through millions of isolated, personalized, and unauditable interactions.
8Trusting the AlgorithmAbout ↓
Ch. 8 — Trusting the AlgorithmModern technology relies heavily on "black box" systems — algorithms we use without understanding their inner proceses. This works for well-defined problems, but AI language models present a fundamentally different challenge that is insurmountably linked to their very design. The stakes become particularly high when these systems influence consequential decisions like legal sentencing, employment, housing, or healthcare — areas where outcomes profoundly impact human lives.

Part II — Our Digital Wisdom

9Digital Wisdom in SocietyAbout ↓
Ch. 9 — Digital Wisdom in SocietyDigital Wisdom represents a balanced approach to technology engagement, emphasizing humility, accountability, and thoughtful consideration of personal and societal impacts. Rather than viewing technological progress as inevitable, it calls for treating digital advancement as a deliberate experiment requiring analysis, revision, and iteration — embracing what futurist Kevin Kelly calls "protopia": a state slightly better than yesterday.
10Changing EducationAbout ↓
Ch. 10 — Changing EducationC.P. Snow's 1959 lecture identified a growing divide between scientific and literary cultures. Today this manifests in education debates between STEM advocates and those concerned about technology's societal impacts. The challenge: how to instil social responsibility in STEM students while helping humanities students engage meaningfully with technology — without either side compromising what makes them great.
11The Role of Governments and InstitutionsAbout ↓
Ch. 11 — The Role of Governments and InstitutionsGovernments worldwide are asserting control over the digital realm, addressing antitrust concerns, journalism compensation, and child safety. Toronto's experience with Google's Sidewalk Labs "Smart City" illustrates how enthusiasm for tech investment can falter when community concerns about data rights emerge. The challenge lies in establishing protective norms without stifling innovation.
12IndustryAbout ↓
Ch. 12 — IndustryThe tech industry has shifted from innovation to monetization — an "Army Ant Death Spiral" where giants copy each other rather than explore new territory. Doctorow's concept of "enshitification" captures how user-focused platforms gradually degrade to serve business interests. Three barriers prevent change: perceived meritocracy, market fundamentalism, and technological solutionism.
13Closing ThoughtsAbout ↓
Ch. 13 — Closing ThoughtsWhile the problems of our digital life can seem overwhelming, the underlying concerns are things we can engage with, as long as we do it together. Digital Wisdom requires action from multiple stakeholders: companies must prioritize stewardship; users should support platforms aligned with their values; voters can drive regulatory change; educators must teach critical thinking; designers should build tools promoting intentionality. Digital Wisdom isn't a checklist of actions you can take — it's a shift in mindset.

From the Book

"

"With your location history, we can make some guesses about whether you're religious and which church, mosque, or synagogue you go to...We could make assumptions about your financial status … your sexuality … your love-life … your politics. Every activity listed here is legal and reasonable, but each is also, above all, personal."

Chapter 1

The Lessons of Realtechnik

"

The question shouldn't be "I've done nothing wrong." It should be: if someone was already predisposed to be suspicious of me, what could they find to reinforce that belief...

Chapter 3

The Evolution of Privacy

"

Like a frog in a slowly heating pot, we've slowly changed our expectations of privacy, social connection, and our very place in society. This is our moment to get out. It's getting hot in here. And the opportunity won't last forever.

Chapter 9

Digital Wisdom in Society

"

We still seem to harbour the impression that digital media is a mix of entertainment, productivity tools, and harmless distractions rather than critical infrastructure for modern society.

Chapter 9

Digital Wisdom in Society

"

"I want to be clear about something: I'm still, deep down inside, that idealistic graduate student. I still believe that new technologies can give us huge benefits. But if we want the good from our digital future, we need to actively work on mitigating the bad."

Chapter 1

The Lessons of Realtechnik

"

Digital Wisdom is not a checklist. It is a mindset — a way of engaging with technology that emphasizes thoughtful interaction over passive consumption. Building on these ten principles can help us develop a more deliberate practice.

Chapter 13

Closing Thoughts

Don't believe the Hype

Realtechnik

Technology in the real world is always different from technology as it was designed — shaped by the people who build it, the companies that own it, the regulators who arrive too late, and the users who adapt to it in ways no one anticipated.

— Chapter 1, The Lessons of Realtechnik

We live and work with technology as it actually behaves — not as its designers intended, its marketing promises, or its most optimistic users hope. School software bought to protect students monitors everything they type. A $160 credit-card purchase buys location data showing women who have visited a Planned Parenthood. Social media platforms know their products worsen teen mental health — and ship the update anyway. These are not oversights. They are not edge cases. They are the business model.

Lachman's Law

Be wary of critiquing tech that doesn't work yet, when you mean to criticise whether it should work at all.

The gap between technology-as-designed and technology-as-deployed is the central challenge of the digital age — and closing it requires more than better engineers. It requires an informed, engaged public that knows what to demand.

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The Digital Wisdom Framework

Ten Principles
for the Digital Age

Digital Wisdom is not an enlightened checklist — it is an approach. A mindset that accepts imperfection, demands accountability, and asks us to be intentional about how, when, and why we use technology in our personal, professional, and social lives.

Richard Lachman

Photo: Erin Brubacher

About the Author

Richard
Lachman

Professor · Digital Producer · Speaker

Richard Lachman is a Professor in the RTA School of Media at Toronto Metropolitan University, where he also serves as Director of the Experiential Media Institute and Academic Director of the Zone Learning network of incubators.

An award-winning digital producer and frequent media commentator on technology, he has led projects with UNICEF, TIFF, The Banff Centre, Penguin UK, The Discovery Channel, and the CRTC. His work in transmedia has been honoured with a Gemini Award, a CNMA, and a Webby Honouree. His writing and commentary have appeared for the Walrus, Policy Options, the CBC and the World Economic Forum.

He holds a doctorate in Computer Science from UNE Australia, a Masters from the MIT Media Lab, and a Bachelors in Computer Science also from MIT. His work has been featured in the New York Times, USA Today and Time Magazine, as well as an exhibition at the American Museum of the Moving Image in New York and the Museum of War in Ottawa. He continues to be unsuccessful in explaining what he does to his kids.

Computer Science MIT Media Lab Gemini Award Webby Honouree CNMA Toronto Metropolitan University World Economic Forum
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Digital Wisdom cover
Digital Wisdom: Searching for Agency in the Age of AI Richard Lachman
Routledge, 2026 · 224 pages
ISBN 9781032971643