'System Error’ Describes What’s Wrong with Big Tech

KQED's Forum

KQED

Politics, News, News Commentary

4.6 • 656 Ratings

🗓️ 6 October 2021

⏱️ 56 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During the past decade, widespread optimism for what technology could accomplish turned into a backlash against Silicon Valley and what it has spawned. Social media networks such as Facebook and Twitter hold enormous power over our economies and lives, but nobody is quite sure how to rein in the companies. In their new book, “System Error: Where Big Tech Went Wrong and How We Can Reboot,” three Stanford University professors from different fields spell out exactly what has gone wrong and offer ideas to hold the powerful accountable in meaningful ways. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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0:00.0	Support for KQED podcasts comes from San Francisco International Airport.
0:05.3	You can fly back in time and visit SFO's Aviation Museum and Library to learn about the history of commercial aviation.
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0:17.0	Support for forum comes from Broadway SF, presenting Parade, the musical revival based on a true story.
0:24.8	From three-time Tony-winning composer Jason Robert Brown comes the story of Leo and Lucille Frank,
0:31.2	a newlywed Jewish couple struggling to make a life in Georgia. When Leo is accused of an
0:36.9	unspeakable crime, it propels them into an
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0:58.0	From KQED.
0:59.6	From KQED in San Francisco, I'm Alexis Madrigal.
1:15.5	Over the last 20 years, Big Tech remade just about every realm of human life.
1:20.2	People find dates, food, and even terrible medical advice on apps.
1:24.8	Supply chain problems notwithstanding, just about every item on earth can be delivered
1:28.3	to your door after a few clicks, and businesses large and small can reach people far outside their
1:33.6	metro area, let alone zip code. Politics, of course, is filtered and amplified through the strange
1:39.3	mechanisms of Facebook and Twitter. With so much change, can democracy even keep up?
1:45.2	That's the big question that three Stanford professors tackle in their new book,
1:49.0	system error, where big tech went wrong and how we can reboot.
1:52.6	They're coming up next on Forum after this news.
2:07.9	Welcome to Forum. I'm Alexis Madrigal. You know, the last 18 months have shown the tough situation we find ourselves in with our technology companies. The pandemic demonstrated how
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