Volcanoes are erupting in The Philippines, but on-fire Australia received some welcome rain. The Iran war cries have been called off and The Donald’s military powers are about to be hamstrung by the Senate. Meanwhile, his impeachment trial is starting, and we’re all on Twitter for a front-row seat.
Tag: Technology
09/26/2020
Our Big F*cking Dilemma
Tristan Harris, star of The Social Dilemma (#1 on Netflix), in a conversation that goes much deeper into social media’s evils and what each of us can do about it.
10/05/2020
It’s Getting Better and Worse at the Same Time
Great scientific and technological progress is often accompanied by social upheaval.
10/05/2020
We are approaching the fastest, deepest, most consequential technological disruption in history
In the next 10 years, key technologies will converge to completely disrupt the five foundational sectors—information, energy, food, transportation, and materials—that underpin our global economy. We need to make sure the disruption benefits everyone.
09/29/2020
How democracies can claim back power in the digital world
Technology companies have taken many aspects of tech governance from democratically elected leaders. It will take an international effort to fight back.
Should Twitter censor lies tweeted by the US president? Should YouTube take down covid-19 misinformation? Should Facebook do more against hate speech? Such questions, which crop up daily in media coverage, can make it seem as if the main technologically driven risk to democracies is the curation of content by social-media companies. Yet these controversies are merely symptoms of a larger threat: the depth of privatized power over the digital world.
Every democratic country in the world faces the same challenge, but none can defuse it alone. We need a global democratic alliance to set norms, rules, and guidelines for technology companies and to agree on protocols for cross-border digital activities including election interference, cyberwar, and online trade. Citizens are better represented when a coalition of their governments—rather than a handful of corporate executives—define the terms of governance, and when checks, balances, and oversight mechanisms are in place. . . .
09/29/2020