But we have changed, and so has the technology industry.
The American technology industry has slowly transformed from David to Goliath. Along with that, the frenetic confidence of the early 2010s has solidified. Our cheerful faith in technology is now tempered by distrust and resentment.
The changes come this week after a landmark European law seeks to take power away from Big Tech, new allegations that Meta has repeatedly failed to help people whose social media accounts have been taken over by fraudsters, and artificial intelligence. The dispute between wealthy high-tech executives over the issue attracted attention. Self-interest over our needs.
Many of us are grateful for technology and expect it to help us solve vexing problems. I also worry that many technologies and technology companies are making us and the world worse. We have become more anxious than excited about inventions like AI.
Our feelings about technology may not be true. But they influence how we view technology and the world around us. And I can't go back to the fresh optimism I felt all those years ago.
The anxiety behind the Big Tech crackdown
The European Union this week enacted the most significant legislation yet to try to topple the US tech powerhouse.
It's easy to get stuck in boring legal mechanics. Importantly, European lawmakers and regulators, like those in the United States and many other countries, are asking the same infuriating questions about technology that I have about you and myself. is.
- If technology is so great, why is so much of the internet so full of scams?
- As a reader emailed me this week, why does a search on Amazon for a particular brand of sandals turn up hundreds of millions of unrelated shoes? I am the owner of the Post.)
- If you have an Android smartphone, why are you receiving text messages with deflated videos and weird-looking emojis from friends with iPhones?
- Why does it feel impossible to keep drug dealers and child criminals out of your teens' social media feeds?
- Is there a way to avoid unscrupulous companies collecting your personal information when you file a tax return, go to the doctor, or go to bed at night?
You might say these are minor annoyances, or some of the inevitable downsides of technology that makes it easier to do things that were previously difficult, such as spreading deception or committing crimes.
But many government regulators and elected officials see examples like this as the consequences of unrestrained or intentional abuse of technology's power.
When a company gets big enough, it can afford to care much more about its profits than yours.
Eliminating fraud and lies is already difficult, but companies including Google and Meta are too large for user complaints to have any real impact on them.
Apple has so many loyal fans and unwavering confidence in its good intentions that it violates the privacy and utility of users' texts and claims it is for their benefit.
Amazon gets paid to show unrelated sandals in search results. The company also says it's in your own best interest.
Current or proposed technology legislation and government litigation, including new efforts to ban the TikTok app in the United States, may not be the appropriate approach to addressing technology outrage. It's easy for governments and us to be outraged by the success and wealth of technology companies and executives.
But repeated attempts to impose legal restrictions on technology share a nagging feeling that you're probably feeling. It seems that technology is not always working out as well as we expected.
We feel that technology is both great and terrible at the same time. It's natural to ask, is there anything I should do? Or is this just the way it should be?
