Yanis Varoufakis and Google DeepMind researcher Tim Nguyen debate the rise of Big Tech, the end of privacy, and the corruption of society.
Is Big Tech out of control?
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From Karl Marx to Elon Musk, many have claimed that in the right hands, technology is a liberating force for good. But there is increasing challenge to this notion, with figures from Obama to Tim Berners-Lee warning that Big Tech poses serious threats to autonomy and freedom. As a result, many now argue we need to escape from Big Tech and its addictive character. But it’s unknown if this is achievable. Critics argue Big Tech, through algorithms and data, manipulates our actions and choices in every aspect of our lives, so that human autonomy has already been radically undermined. Opting out is almost impossible. And Cambridge studies show anti-tech platforms, claiming to combat Big Tech addiction, often only replicate it in another form.
Should we conclude that technology has undermined our freedom and we are no longer in control of our decisions and behaviour? Do we need to evolve digital rights to resist manipulation and provide self-governance, and will this work? Or might breaking up or banning Big Tech be part of the solution, allowing us to claim back autonomy?
#bigtech #capitalism #economics #politics #ai #artificialintelligence
Yanis Varoufakis is a world-renowned economist, academic, and politician. His latest book is “Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism”. Timothy Nguyen is a leading AI researcher at Google DeepMind and the host of the podcast, “The Cartesian Café”. Janne Teller is a critically-acclaimed writer of novels, essays, and short stories. Teller’s work includes existential themes on a grand scale, which often spark controversial debate. Hosted by Shini Somara.
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00:00 Mass surveillance
00:33 Technofeudalism and mutant forms of capital
03:24 Big Tech, freedom, and trade-offs
05:53 “Google is surveying us just as successfully as the Chinese Communist Party”
07:13 Algorithms that prey us the desperate
08:48 Big Tech has corrupted politics and undermined democracy
10:20 The case for Google
12:59 A.I. programs work against the interests of normal people
15:46 Human rights, immense powers, and the need to socialise Big Tech
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