Podcast #372: World Without Mind — The Existential Threat of Big Tech

During the past decade three companies have revolutionized the way we shop, socialize, and find information. I’m talking, of course, about Amazon, Facebook, and Google. While these companies have made our lives easier in many ways, my guest today argues that they’re also eroding autonomy and individuality. His name is Franklin Foer and he’s the author of the book, World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech. Today on the show, Franklin talks about how the utopian ideals of Silicon Valley have led to an internet that is becoming more and more homogenized and centralized. We then dig into how the vast amounts of personal information these companies have about us can be used to manipulate us. Franklin then argues that while these companies make us feel more autonomous, they’re actually diminishing our choices and reducing our individuality. We end our conversation discussing ideas on what you can do to maintain your sense of autonomy in today’s atmosphere.

Show Highlights

  • How and why Franklin quit his job as editor of The New Republic
  • Journalism in the world of social media
  • The philosophical foundations of Silicon Valley behemoths
  • The odd balance between individual libertarianism and utopian collectivism in the tech world
  • The differences between the giant companies of old (railroads, oil, etc.) versus today’s
  • An overview of modern anti-trust laws
  • How tech companies try to own our attention
  • The huge chunks of our economy dependent on large tech companies
  • How social media is destroying individuality
  • How the quality of content has suffered in the world of social media
  • What to do about the existential threat of large technology companies
  • Why your private data needs to be protected
  • My own forms of tech resistance
  • Why Mark Zuckerberg wants to get rid of privacy
  • The phenomena of self-censoring
  • Why you should use DuckDuckGo instead of Google

Resources/People/Articles Mentioned in Podcast

Connect With Franklin

Franklin on Twitter

Franklin’s articles on The Atlantic

Listen to the Podcast! (And don’t forget to leave us a review!)

available-on-itunes

available-on-stitcher

soundcloud-logo

pocketcasts

google-play-podcast

Listen to the episode on a separate page.

Download this episode.

Subscribe to the podcast in the media player of your choice.

Podcast Sponsors

The Strenuous Life. The Strenuous Life is a platform for those who wish to revolt against our age of ease, comfort, and existential weightlessness. It is a base of operations for those who are dissatisfied with the status quo and want to connect with the real world through the acquisition of skills that increase their sense of autonomy and mastery. Sign up for email updates, and be the first to know when the next enrollment opens up in March.

Keeps is clinically proven to help you keep the hair you have. To receive your first month of treatment for free, go to Keeps.com/manliness

The Great Courses Plus. At the start of the year, we all think about ways to better ourselves and learn new things. I’m doing that by watching and listening to ​The Great Courses Plus. Get a free trial, or sign up for the Annual Plan and get $20 off! Visit thegreatcoursesplus.com/manliness.

Click here to see a full list of our podcast sponsors.

Recorded with ClearCast.io.

Read the Transcript

Coming soon!

The post Podcast #372: World Without Mind — The Existential Threat of Big Tech appeared first on The Art of Manliness.

(via The Art of Manliness)

Add Comment