Why Do This?
"The 2nd Internet Age cannot repeat the same mistakes as the first!"
Why would I question whether technology is bad for society? Well, because all the recent data trends, especially social media technology tell us so. I'm not talking about advances in medical technology and plane safety. But I question how the promise of social media has devolved from such promise to one of narrow views, tribal politics, and banality: 6 words "In the best interest of shareholders."
Both AI and Social Media need regulation: Corporations, big tech, and the politicians in big tech's pocket want to convince us that "resistance is futile," and, and even worse, a fool's errand. Even disregarding the environmental cost, the negative social impact of unregulated big tech outweighs any positive impact. AI is going to turbocharge the radicalization of the internet. The problem with the radicalization of AI is that it pushes people to look beyond the material conditions of the world as it exists.
In reality, AI models are speeding up scientific discovery and software engineering while also fabricating information and pushing people into mental breakdowns. Ignoring the chatbot era or insisting that the technology is useless distracts from more nuanced discussions about its effects on employment, the environment, education, personal relationships, and more. Perhaps worse, accepting that superintelligence is around the corner permits trivializing just about any concern with the technology in its present form.
The Reality
The 1st Internet Age is over and the results are in. Large corporations and big tech won while society lost.
“There is no time in our history in which the humanities, philosophy, ethics and art are more urgently necessary than in this time of technology’s triumph... Given society’s craven worship of technology, are we going to trust the engineers and the capitalists to tell us what is right and wrong?”
Leon Wieseltier
Editor of Liberties
Meet the Voice
Technologist and observer of the world who questions whether the technology of the 21st century has been good for society, and whether the maturation of AI is about to make it substantially worse.
Is technology inevitable? I don't know. But having worked in technology for 30 years I can tell you with absolute certainty that technology companies are not interested in what is in the best interest of society. Tech companies are staffed with incredibly talented people whose goal is to make money.
Team & Contributors
Pete Jacobs
Contributor