They meant well (or, why it matters who gets to be seen as a “tech critic”)
“We need technology to live, as we need food to live. But, of course, if we eat too much food, or eat food that has no nutritional value, or eat … Continue reading
Progress for the status quo – on the Chamber of Progress
“There is no escaping from ourselves. The human dilemma is as it has always been, and we solve nothing fundamental by cloaking ourselves in technological glory.” – Neil Postman A … Continue reading
Authoritarian and Democratic Technics, revisited
“The viability of technology, like democracy, depends in the end on the practice of justice and on the enforcement of limits to power.” – Ursula Franklin I. Is technology a … Continue reading
Facing Facebook
“Manufacturers and promoters always stress the liberating attributes of new technology, regardless of the specific technology in question.” – Ursula Franklin While sailing through the cold waters of the … Continue reading
Facebook ≠ Democracy
‘Who rules here?’ I asked. They said: ‘The People naturally.’ I said: ‘Naturally the people but who really rules?’ – Erich Fried, “In the Capital.” Mark Zuckerberg would like … Continue reading
A Disastrous Year – Reflections on 2018
“There is nothing more frightful than to be right. And if some, paralyzed by the gloomy likelihood of the catastrophe, have already lost courage, they still have a chance to … Continue reading
The technology giants didn’t deserve public trust in the first place
Amazon may have been expecting lots of public attention when it announced where it would establish its new headquarters – but like many technology companies recently, it probably didn’t anticipate … Continue reading
Techlash! What Techlash?
In the early 1990s an assortment of activists and academics banded together in an attempt to challenge the direction in which high-technology, and infatuation with it, was taking society. And … Continue reading
The Nerd and the Inured
There’s no point being vague about it: Mark Zuckerberg won. Considering what could have possibly awaited the Facebook CEO when he testified before Congress he got off easy. Despite the … Continue reading
Facebook – to delete, or not to delete?
‘Who rules here?’ I asked. They said: ‘The People naturally.’ I said: ‘Naturally the people but who really rules?’ – Erich Fried, “In the Capital.” 1. While many things … Continue reading
Be Wary of Silicon Valley’s Guilty Conscience: on The Center for Humane Technology
2017 was a somewhat difficult year for the tech titans, and it looks as though those problems persist in 2018. Of course, the key term in the previous sentence is … Continue reading
Betrayed by the giants
A common feature in thrillers is betrayal: that moment when suddenly one individual reveals that (surprise!) they are not actually the protagonist’s friend. Calamity ensues as the hero must face … Continue reading
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice 2.0
Lest there be any doubt, the summer of 2017 was characterized by a string of disasters, tragedies, calamities, and almost apocalyptic events. Against such a grim backdrop of lost lives … Continue reading
Who moderates the moderators? On the Facebook Files
Speculative fiction is littered with fantastical tales warning of the dangers that arise when things get, to put it amusingly, too big. A researcher loses control of their experiment! A … Continue reading
The world according to Facebook
The majestic plural, the royal “we,” is deployed by individuals in high positions seeking to cast their own opinions as the views of a much larger group for whom they … Continue reading
You Can’t Spell “Trending Topics” Without Control
Attempting to understand trends can easily give one an unpleasant headache. From fashion to music and from food to news articles – the reasons why a particular thing is trendy … Continue reading
Facebook Reactions Are No Laughing Matter
Prepare yourself for a not particularly shocking observation: when it comes to interpersonal communication, there are certain types of information that are not conveyed particularly well by information technology. Indeed, … Continue reading
When it Comes to Social Media – Is There No Alternative?
In the first weeks of a new year, many people look back on the previous year and dwell upon what they wish they had done differently. And thus inspired, they … Continue reading
A Charitable Definition of Charity
When the state of the world seems terrible, it becomes all too easy to pine for good news. And if one is to glance at the headlines in recent weeks … Continue reading
A Reality (g)Rift
Reality is a mess. To make this claim is to do little more than confirm the subtext of most newspaper headlines whether they speak of ongoing injustices, student debt, economic … Continue reading
The Laboratory or The Library?
Using social media has always involved a vague recognition that the platform (and the company behind it) will be using the user right back. Usually this understanding has involved a … Continue reading
Are We Technologically Literate?
Some of the appeal of new technologies is the ease with which they can be used. Though we may recognize, on a subconscious level, that these devices represent impressive feats … Continue reading
Facebook Gets Emotional
Have you ever found that you felt rather depressed after using social media? What about quite happy? It is probably no great stretch to imagine that the answer to at … Continue reading
A Virtual Reality or A Virtuous Reality? – Facebook buys Oculus
The future of technology is right in front of your face! No, really, that’s where it’s going to be: in front of your face. Or, to be slightly more accurate, … Continue reading
Oh, What the Zuck!?
It appears that Facebook has a fierce new competitor! While Facebook has become skilled in squishing startups, they are as yet unsure as to how to deal with this menacing … Continue reading
It’s a Bird! It’s a Plane! No…It’s a Facebook Drone.
The history of philanthropy is replete with tales of the very rich spending some of their money to secure a positive legacy, which is a less polite way of saying … Continue reading
Consolidating the “Open” World – Facebook buys WhatsApp
Though Valentine’s Day sales might lead one to believe otherwise, it’s rather foolish to put a price on love. That is, unless you are a massive corporation, in which case … Continue reading
Control and Commodification – Facebook Turns 10
The realm of consumer technologies is so fixated upon the “new” that it can be easy to forget just how long some of these platforms have been around. Thus it … Continue reading
Grifting, Garbage and Graph Search
Money is much beloved by tech companies and major websites, yet it is hardly the most important thing for them. What glitters most brightly is not gold, but information. Granted, … Continue reading
Advertising Our Ethics – Facebook does the right thing for the wrong reason
There is something about the anonymity – or near anonymity – of the Internet that can bring out the opposite of the best in people. When a bunch of people … Continue reading
