Howdy folks!
I recently published an article criticizing big tech. But here I am, using a computer built by Dell running an operating system made by Microsoft to talk trash.
I buy my kid's medicine on Amazon Prime. I watch Netflix. If Google decided to shun me, I'd be out of a job immediately. I rely on Google services for almost everything related to my day-to-day work.
Yet I still have the audacity to badmouth these corporations. What a hypocrite I am, sitting here biting the hands that feed me. Right?
But honestly, what choice do I have?
Business runs on Google. And Microsoft. And Amazon. We can boycott Ring doorbells, choose to use a non-Google search engine, and throw away our computers. But we can't stop using big tech services.
If I buy a hamburger, book a hotel, or wait for a traffic light to signal it's safe for me to cross the street: I'm helping big tech train its AI.
It's not just people who sign up for things or download stuff who need to worry anymore.
I can't choose not to participate in Tesla's beta tests or Ring's neighborhood surveillance. My options are to avoid society altogether or to help train harmful AI. That's it.
I can opt out, but I can never leave.
For most of us, that's fine. We're willing to make the exchange. After all, what's the worst that could happen? An Amazon employee uses our robot's camera to take nudes? A cop accesses our Ring doorbell data without a warrant?
But what happens if the Department of Homeland Security decides that your lifestyle is no longer acceptable? What if the US government decides that all Muslims, trans people, atheists, or Chinese-Americans need to be registered?
We tend to believe that, were a big tech outlet to do something truly evil, the US government could shut them down. But, isn't it the other way around?
The US could exist without the Republicans or the Democrats. But the government would almost certainly shut down if Amazon or Microsoft decided to play hardball and pull the plug.
Who's really in charge?
