Although Web Summit 202o was virtual, the event was amazing and touched on critical issues including sustainability, politics, and the future of media in an era of fake news.
Who do you trust ?
I find it increasingly difficult to talk to people about important things as it seems everyone has their own set of facts which makes it hard to have serious conversations. This seems to happen more and more frequently when discussing such complex subjects as SARS-CoV-2, climate change, or the nature of the relationship between Big Tech, AI, and privacy and freedom of choice.
What price progress?
Professor Shoshana Zuboff identifies Google, Facebook, and many other companies in what many call the “technology” space as a new kind of capitalist entity that she calls Surveillance Capitalism. Everyone should read this book.
The root causes of political polarization
Political polarization is affecting many countries around the world and is caused by growing inequality caused by automation and globalization, low voter turnout and re-enforcing media bubbles fed by the creators of fake news such as President Donald Trump.
Rigidity of thought and fake news
While speaking to Alumni about geo-politics in Zurich I found it difficult to speak intelligently with people who reject the IPCC’s findings concerning climate change and believe that outlets like the FT and the New York Times were essentially fake news.
