The Dark Side of Silicon Valley | Jamie Bartlett
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“Our elections are changing, and they’re no longer the model of how democracy should work, an election should work... our rules don’t fit this anymore.”
SHOW DESCRIPTION
Location: London
Date: Monday, November 11th 2019
Role: Host
The Cambridge Analytica scandal regarding the misuse of millions of people’s Facebook data to influence elections shocked the world. The story prompted international outrage, and Mark Zuckerberg was hauled in front of Congress to face serious questions about what the company was aware of.
While Cambridge Analytica’s use of data to manipulate voting in elections was considered by most as immoral, it wasn’t strictly illegal, and they are certainly not the only company to misuse our data.
As a society, we give away vast amounts of personal information and continue to allow corporations to collect valuable and influential data. Every day we sign up and give away information to access content online. We send it to companies via our smartwatches or fitness trackers, through social media, our phone GPS, our credit card purchases, and so much more.
So where does this data go, and how is it being used? Were the Trump and Brexit campaigns the beginning of a shift in voter manipulation or has it always been this way and technology has just weaponised propaganda?
In this interview, I talk to Jamie Bartlett, the presenter of The Secrets of Silicon Valley documentary. We discuss the collection and misuse of our data, ways to limit the data we provide, and if this could cause a divide in society.
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TIMESTAMPS
00:00:00 - Show Intro
00:01:55 - Welcoming Jamie to the show
00:03:55 - Jamie’s work on Secrets of Silicon Valley
00:11:16 - Cambridge Analytica, Brittany Kaiser & The Great Hack
00:22:22 - Data misuse & targeted advertising
00:28:49 - Obfuscation
00:33:53 - Propaganda and misinformation making people apathetic
00:40:54 - Peoples decreasing attention span
00:45:54 - The dark side of Silicon Valley
00:51:42 - Jamie’s conclusion after making The Secrets of Silicon Valley
00:55:43 - Self-driving vehicles
01:05:14 - Jamie’s future plans
SHOW NOTES
Connect with Jamie:
More of Jamie’s work:
The Guardian: Should anonymous social media accounts be banned?
The Guardian: We all fell for Facebook’s utopianism, but the mask is at last being torn away
The Guardian: You can’t believe a word any of these people is saying – that’s the ‘deep fake’ era for you
Mentioned in the show:
The Guardian: Cambridge Analytica’s involvement in Brexit
The Guardian: Cambridge Analytica’s Trump campaign
BBC: Facebook fined £500,000 for Cambridge Analytica scandal
IMDb: The Great Hack
The Atlantic: Why Silicon Valley Loved Uber More Than Everyone Else
Quartz: America’s transportation do-over could be a utopia or dystopia.
The Guardian: Keir Starmer: Tories' doctored TV footage is 'act of desperation'
Wikipedia: Global Village
Forbes: Facebook Engagement Sharply Drops 50% Over Last 18 Months
New York Times: Should the Government Give Everyone $1,000 a Month?
The New Yorker: Who Really Stands to Win from Universal Basic Income?
Wikipedia: Fuel protests in the UK
People mentioned in the show:
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