Terms of disservice How Silicon Valley is destructive by design

Dipayan Ghosh

Book - 2020

"High technology presents a paradox. In just a few decades, it has transformed the world, making almost limitless quantities of information instantly available to billions of people and reshaping businesses, institutions, and even entire economies. But it also has come to rule our lives, addicting many of us to the march of megapixels across electronic screens both large and small. Despite its undeniable value, technology is exacerbating deep social and political divisions in many societies. Elections influenced by fake news and unscrupulous hidden actors, the cyber-hacking of trusted national institutions, the vacuuming of private information by Silicon Valley behemoths, ongoing threats to vital infrastructure from terrorist groups an...d even foreign governments-all of these concerns are now part of the daily news cycle and are certain to become increasingly serious into the future. In this new world of endless technology, how can individuals, institutions, and governments harness its positive contributions while protecting each of us, no matter who or where we are? In this book, a former Facebook public policy adviser who went on to assist President Obama in the White House offers practical ideas for using technology to create an open and accessible world that protects all consumers and civilians. As a computer scientist turned policymaker, Ghosh answers the biggest questions about technology facing the world today and guides industry leaders, policymakers, and the general public in thinking about how we can ensure that the internet works for everyone, not just Silicon Valley"-- more