Their views embraced several overarching themes that can be summed up in one: The advantaged enjoy more advantages; the disadvantaged fall further behind. Most respondents to this canvassing who discussed the problems tied to the business models of Big Tech said it is highly unlikely that there will be a successful movement soon to change market capitalism and the competitive imperative to make profit-making the primary priority.
They noted that solutions to this problem have a double-edged quality because opportunity and challenge are equally present. Some argued that the spread of lies via social media and other digital platforms will damage social, political and economic systems. They acknowledged that some of the likely remedies may interfere with civil liberties.
They maintain that the seemingly unstoppable flow of lies, disinformation and misinformation online is divisive, dangerous and destructive. Many warned that health-monitoring, work-surveillance and security solutions that may be applied will expand mass oversight, threaten human rights and lead more regions of the world to become more authoritarian.
Some pointed out a variety of downsides to telework, and said they worry over the accelerating automation of more business systems and processes causing the number of available jobs for humans to shrink. Finally, they wonder who will take action to bring about the positive change necessary to tackle all of these obvious issues. This section opens with a number of broad statements from respondents about these concerns, followed by sets of assertions sorted under themed headings.
The confluence of degrading economic conditions, civil unrest, uncertain long-term pandemic outcomes strike me as more likely to lead to technology-related harms and abuses than not, particularly as products rush to market with even less rigor applied to threat modeling, risk assessment, etc. This will enable work, alternatives to school and improved health care, but will come at a high cost β increased surveillance, loss of privacy, greater risks β to both individuals and political systems.
