On January 28, I attended the online forum Medium in Conversation: How to Destroy Surveillance Capitalism. In this blog, I summarize the main points from the discussion along with some reflections on how we can respond.
Maybe at first glance, we can’t really see what surveillance capitalism has to do with AI. But the two topics walk side by side. Surveillance capitalism is sustained by digital monopolies that rely on massive amounts of personal data (hence the surveillance part). This deluge of data is fed into powerful AI algorithms which drive content curation. One depends on the other to thrive.
The Current State of Affairs
It’s a new era for Big Tech. Weeks after the de-platforming of Donald Trump—and with a new administration in the White House—the time is ripe to reexamine the power wielded by the giants of surveillance capitalism. How did corporations like Facebook, Google, and Amazon amass such power? How do we build a more open Web?
According to Cory Doctorow, If we´re going to break big techs’ dominance in our digital lives, we will have to fight monopolies. That may sound pretty mundane and old-fashioned, something out of the new deal era. Yet, breaking up monopolies is something we have forgotten how to do. The trust-busting era cannot begin until we find the political will. Only when politicians prove that they have the average citizen’s backs against the richest most powerful men in the world.
For politicians to take notice, citizens must first speak up.
What is the problem with Monopolies?
In case we need a refresher, monopoly is a bad deal for consumers. It means that the market has only one seller with the ability to set prices, and tell people what a service costs. People line up to buy their product even if it costs too much simply because they have no choice.
Facebook is a monopoly if you think of the prices it set for its ad platform. The ad buyer has very little choice allowing Zuckerberg’s empire to dictate the terms. In addition to that, the platform behemoth retains its monopoly by impeding other apps to grow.
Anticompetitive conduct in big tech has been rampant. Mark Zuckerberg bought competing apps (snapchat, instagram for example) leaving little room for competitors. Apple pursued it in the hardware side by shutting down “right to repair bills” so that people are forced to buy new phones. In effect, they dictated when your phone can be repaired or when it has to be thrown away.
These actions led to an unprecedented concentration of power where a small group of people can make decisions of global consequence.
People of the World, Unite
Is it a realistic operation to create an open web or are we too far gone? Although these forces seem impenetrable and timeless, they actually are relatively new, and have weaknesses. If it was about just changing our relationship with technology, it would be a hard lift.
Yet, according to Cory Doctorow, there is a wave sweeping the world with anger about monopolies in every domain. This discontent seek to return power to communities so they can decide their future.
It has been done before. In the beginning of the 20th century, popular discontent drove politicians to rein in powerful monopolies such as Andrew Carneggie’s control of the steel industry and Rockefeller’s Oil’s monopoly. Their efforts culminated with the passage of sweeping anti-trust legislation.
Are we reaching a tipping point with big tech in the beginning of the 21st century?
Conclusion
Surveillance Capitalism affects the entire world and can be scary sometimes. There is a need to seek freedom from the domain of digital monopolies. Once again, it is necessary to find the political will to fight for change. While legislation will not solve this problem completely, it is an important first step.
Certainly this is not just a North American problem. Some countries are already pressing these big companies to answer for their actions paving the way for a future where power is more evenly distributed.
In the next blog, I’ll provide an overview of anti-trust efforts around the world.