I think Doctorow is largely right about how this uncritical acceptance of tech "magic powers" actually strengthens them, the 'rather evil than incompetent' argument works. As he alludes to in the piece Karp and Thiel used to actively push for PR that presents Palantir as this sort of omniponent surveillance super-tool because it actually makes it seem more intimidating.
Criticism of 'precrime' tech or robo judges should be directed towards how goddamn stupid it is to direct machine learning algorithms that were made for perception at tasks that involve complex cognitive and ethical human judgements.
Cambridge Analytica was a good example of this as well. The press fell over themselves to characterise their technology as some sort of election tipping, mind controlling super tool. They probably loved it. In reality there's not even any scientific backing for their targeting and it most likely did barely anything, they just wanted to look like James Bond's Spectre.
edit: another thing the post made me think of is how much the tech sector loves Yuval Noah Harari. He once said he's surprised by it but I'm absolutely not, because he basically constantly tells them how omnipotent and all-powerful they are.
There's actually a fantastic scene in The Young Pope about this (a satirical show about the internal workings of the Catholic Church)
> Do you know how many books have been written about me?
> Seventeen.
> Eighteen. The last one's going to press next week, and it's got the best title of all.
> Which is?
>The Man Behind the Scenes. I suggested it myself.
> Who wrote it?
> Manna, that leftist reporter.
> That means it'going to be critical of you, Your Eminence.
> Of course, those are the best. They turn you into a legend.
Criticism of 'precrime' tech or robo judges should be directed towards how goddamn stupid it is to direct machine learning algorithms that were made for perception at tasks that involve complex cognitive and ethical human judgements.
Cambridge Analytica was a good example of this as well. The press fell over themselves to characterise their technology as some sort of election tipping, mind controlling super tool. They probably loved it. In reality there's not even any scientific backing for their targeting and it most likely did barely anything, they just wanted to look like James Bond's Spectre.
edit: another thing the post made me think of is how much the tech sector loves Yuval Noah Harari. He once said he's surprised by it but I'm absolutely not, because he basically constantly tells them how omnipotent and all-powerful they are.
There's actually a fantastic scene in The Young Pope about this (a satirical show about the internal workings of the Catholic Church)
> Do you know how many books have been written about me?
> Eighteen. The last one's going to press next week, and it's got the best title of all. >The Man Behind the Scenes. I suggested it myself. > Manna, that leftist reporter. > Of course, those are the best. They turn you into a legend.