Who, if anyone, controls Big Tech?
In this episode, Chris Stokel-Walker talks to David Auerbach, a former Microsoft and Google software engineer credited for bringing the first emoji to the world.
His new book, Meganets, warns us about the loose grip Big Tech companies have on the powerful technologies and algorithms they have created, and explores how these systems have driven us further and further into the opinions we already held and into our own little ‘narrative bunkers’.
Here he diagnoses the effects of this on society, and tries to offer solutions – which are not easy to find.
Producers: Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly
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What is Techtonic?
Techtonic is a new podcast from human rights organisation Article 19, hosted by tech reporter Chris Stokel-Walker and produced by Christopher Hooton and Nicola Kelly.
The new series looks at freedom of expression online with a focus on the human impact of Big Tech and social media. We speak to experts around the world, including the former Head of Elections at Twitter, digital rights activists and journalists and we hear from those at the sharp end of AI, deepfake technologies, internet shutdowns and more.