The Tech Backlash
By People Who Helped Create Facebook & Google
Even before Facebook’s latest data breach fiasco, there’s been a growing backlash against it and other large tech platforms, by some of the very people who helped create them.
The Center for Humane Technology is an organisation with the mission of ‘Reversing the digital attention crisis and realigning technology with humanity’s best interests’. It was created, and is lead, by former tech execs, advisors and investors, from the likes of Google and Facebook.
Chamath Palihapitiya, former VP of Growth at Facebook, has gone so far as to say Facebook has created “tools that are ripping apart the social fabric of how society works” and “This is a global problem. It is eroding the core foundations of how people behave by and between each other.”
‘Move fast and break things’ is Mark Zuckerberg’s famous catchcry. But I’m guessing when he first uttered those words, he didn’t envision that he and Facebook would break society as we know it, through their growth-at-all costs mentality, and a lax approach to users’ personal data. But that’s the reality many people believe we’re in now.
Tristan Harris, formerly at Google, is another vocal critic of big tech companies, and is leading the charge at the Center for Humane Technology. I highly recommend watching his TED talk on the subject:
I love that this movement has begun. It’s really important for humanity, and it’s something I personally feel very strongly about. I’ve been exploring the same overall theme, and writing about, for the past few years. I’m happy to see such smart and experienced people behind such an important mission.
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