Big Tech S3E20: Taylor Owen On Six Insights from Season Three
August 19, 2021
Listen to this week’s new episode of Big Tech, where Taylor reflects on six themes that emerged this season in conversations about big tech’s transformation of our economy, society and lives.
This season of Big Tech has featured conversations with experts across many fields —law makers, academics, journalists, authors, activists and a bishop — who are working to address technologies’ impact on our lives. In this episode of Big Tech, Taylor Owen looks back on those conversations and highlights six themes that have emerged across the season.
Taylor begins with the topic of how the debate about tech and society is maturing, reflecting that we have moved past the superficial “tech issues” and entered into some very challenging, complicated questions around speech, encryption and anonymity.
One reason why these issues are becoming more complex is that technology’s global reach often brings it into conflict with national laws. Which is the second theme that emerged in conversations: the dynamics between, on the one hand, the layers of global interconnectedness and, on the other, a fractured system of regulations between the United States, Europe and China.
Many guests of the show highlighted a third theme, the materiality of technology and its impact on our planet. Kate Crawford, for example, discussed how rare earth minerals and server farms are having a lasting impact on climate.
In our rush to connect the world, we have created many vulnerabilities, both digital and physical. The fourth major theme this season was around surveillance — either by ad tech companies, policing or repressive regimes — and cyberattacks on our critical infrastructures.
The fifth theme is recognizing capitalism’s and the tech giants’ business model as at the root of many of the tech-related harms and risks users face today. Those financial incentive structures have created environments that prioritize users’ engagement with content above all, even if that content is false or misleading, harmful or inciting violence.
Finally, our experts presented solutions and optimism in their conversations. While grappling with these problems can be a daunting task, the sixth theme this season is that there are paths forward, and many people committed to finding ways to make technology work for the betterment of society.
