44 | NewScientist | 3 November 2018Nervous States: How feeling took
over the world by William Davies,
Jonathan Cape
The Death of the Gods: The new
global power grab by Carl Miller,
William HeinemannIN 2013, few outside Russia had
heard of Valery Gerasimov –
until he wrote a certain article
in a military periodical.
Gerasimov, then recently
appointed chief of the general
staff of the Russian armed forces,
used the piece to reflect on the
so-called Arab Spring and the
novel role of social media and
smartphones in mobilising
crowds. He suspected that a new
form of warfare was emerging,
in which states could achieve
more without resorting to armed
conflict. If they could incite civil
unrest against a rival state, to thepoint of toppling it, then their
own forces might simply roll over
the borders – perhaps even in the
guise of peacekeepers.
Five years on, the “Gerasimov
doctrine” is well known as a
controversial rethinking of
the future of warfare. It also
exemplifies the emergence of
a new kind of power, one that
knows no frontiers and is basedon the ability to penetrate every
device connected to the internet.
Two alarming but excellent
books, The Death of the Gods by
Carl Miller and Nervous States by
William Davies, place the doctrine
at the centre of the many tools oftechnochaos. These matter as our
familiar institutional landmarks
(Miller’s “old gods”) vanish daily,
to be replaced by a disturbing and
strange combination of internet
tech with military might, fake
news and populist targeting. Not
to mention the rise of cybercrime,
tech corporations the size of
states, cryptocurrencies and scary
algorithms that track and shape
individual lives.
It is likely that all major powers
now have a military capable of
digital intervention. Miller
reports on his visit to the British
army’s 77th Brigade, whose
barracks display the motto
“behavioural change is our USP”.
The brigade already numbers
several hundred cyberwarriors.Later, in eastern Europe, Miller
meets the generators of what
many in the West would regard as
fake news, incentivised by a share
of ad revenue from the major
Silicon Valley outfits. And he warns
of the opaque governance of those
companies, proudly claiming to
be “disrupters” heralding a new
age. Facebook employees are still
told to “move fast and break
things”, while at Google, workers
tell him the company’s central
purpose is to “monetise data”.
The new forms of power
made possible by networked
technology, says Miller, “have
something in common which
older... more recognisable forms
of power typically do not. They are
far less constrained by rules.”
Luckily, there may still be
opportunities to resist this. But
discovering them means taking
into account not just the spread
of disinformation, but also why
we are vulnerable to it. Davies
gives a thoughtful analysis of
the influence of fake news and
populist rhetoric against experts,
statistics and the civil order of
liberal democracies.
It will not be enough, he argues,
to combat them by increasing
calls for rational thought and
Enlightenment principles.
We must also recognise the
emotional triggers that make the
irrational effective, especially
among people who have not fared
well in recent decades. Even in
the most democratic countries,
inequalities in income and wealth
have grown, and the burdens of
austerity have fallen largely on
the poor. Former manufacturing
regions no longer offer skilled
work, and both physical and
mental health are suffering.
For those at the sharp end, talk of
national economic growth and
social progress means little and
may be seen as outright lies.
Citing a review of psychological
studies, Davies finds that what
makes people most vulnerable to
disinformation are factors linked
with self-esteem and control.
When people feel their status isCULTURE
The rise of technopower
How do we tackle forces that transcend frontiers? Ben Collyer explores
The latest tech helped galvanise
crowds during the Arab Spring“ These firms proudly claim
to be ‘disrupters’. Facebook
staff are still told to ‘move
fast and break things’ ”MYRIAM ABDELAZIZ/REDUX/EYEVINE