There's a show on during the week about the rise of the machines. Adam Curtis splices together footage and commentary to build a picture of global cybernetics.
I've only seen the trailer, but I know the pre-internet 60's Brautigan poem.
I've always liked the idea of quiet technology - "It just works" - rather than "edit the Registry, touch your nose and re-boot three times/anyone know how to get a picture?" type technology.
But there's a downside to the stillness too. More integration means the machines start to put things together. Miles and miles of files, Links, Connections, Co-incidences. This could be good, but the machine isn't judgemental.
That's where the power and the money switch in.
