Slate Business Slate Money | Money Talks: Don't Be Evil-ish
Dec 9, 2025
Tim Wu, a Columbia Law professor and former tech policy advisor, dives into the controversies surrounding Big Tech and its profit-centric model. He discusses his book, The Age of Extraction, highlighting how corporate behavior has shifted from ethical practices to exploitative strategies. Wu also critiques the erosion of antitrust enforcement and warns against monopolization leading to authoritarianism. He advocates for power redistribution and explores the potential impact of AI on the tech landscape, offering a mix of skepticism and hope for a more equitable future.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Optimism Turned Into Platform Extraction
- Tim Wu explains early internet optimism expected to democratize opportunity but instead produced a few dominant winners.
- The book traces how platform misunderstandings and structural choices led to extraction rather than broad prosperity.
What Makes A Business A Platform
- Wu defines platforms as businesses that host interactions and bring together buyers and sellers instead of producing goods directly.
- He traces modern tech platforms to IBM's System 360 and Microsoft as the first master of extractive platform tactics.
Extraction Is A Choice, Not Fate
- Extraction isn't inevitable; structure and choices matter, and alternative paths like Wikipedia show different models are possible.
- Modern financial incentives push firms toward extraction unless institutions and norms differ.
