I'd Like to See a Resurgence of the Tech Ecosystem

5min Snip

00:00

Play full episode

Summary

Transcript

Episode notes

I think it's a number of things. Anti surveillance laws, maybe federal government or states passing ronger anti surveillance laws,. The news metia has gotten out of control with its direct marketing to people. And we sort of wonder, well, why did we think that was such a great thing? Anyway? People can look by themselves. They don't need stuff following you round. It didn't really seem to be that great, even as an advertising model. I mean, i it was some one to grub in the tech industry. A lot o people and tech are like, one of my building here. This isn't really what i signed up for. 's never completely

An information system that relies on advertising was not born with the Internet. But social media platforms have taken it to an entirely new level, becoming a major force in how we make sense of ourselves and the world around us. Columbia law professor Tim Wu, author of The Attention Merchants and The Curse of Bigness, takes us through the birth of the eyeball-centric news model and ensuing boom of yellow journalism, to the backlash that rallied journalists and citizens around creating industry ethics and standards. Throughout the 20th century, radio, television, and even posters elicited excitement, hope, fear, skepticism and greed, and people worked together to create a patchwork of regulation and behavior that attempted to point those tools in the direction of good. The Internet has brought us to just such a crossroads again, but this time with global consequences that are truly life-and-death.