The subtitle of this podcast should be: How to Stop Worrying and Love the Surveillance State.
As we mentioned in last week's show, Adam purchased an Alexa Echo, which has been making the news lately for randomly laughing at its users. Amazon claims they've addressed the problem and fixed it. But this story raises some troubling questions about the potentially sinister nature of these new technologies. How much control do we want to cede to these behemoth tech companies for convenience?
Are we headed for a HAL 9000 future?
And speaking of behemoth tech companies, by now most people realize the power Google, Facebook, and Twitter have over our online lives. These juggernauts have so far monopolized much of the online space - which, of course, was by design.
Now that they've essentially cornered the market, they feel emboldened to censor - or outright eliminate - voices THEY DON'T LIKE. All in the name of combating so-called Hate Speech and Fake News. Factor in all the negative psychological affects these new technologies inflict, the admitted implementation of "keyboard warriors" to sow discord, spread disinformation and propaganda, bots to amplify those messages, algorithms to suppress information... and you have the perfect recipe for the Weaponization of Social Media.
Oh, and apparently, they found Amelia Earhart's bones.