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Who would have predicted 20 years ago that we should be more wary of Little Sister (big tech) instead of Big Brother? I like to call them Little Sister because

Who would have predicted 20 years ago that we should be more wary of Little Sister (big tech) instead of Big Brother? I like to call them Little Sister because of how they name their seemingly innocuous digital assistants.

kweinber 6y ago
Is anyone seriously more worried about the independent players of big tech than an oligarch who has roused the firepower and hatred of domestic terrorists across the country? The rhetoric is really overblown.... these companies waited years and until the heads of state were fully under attack before they did much of anything. This isn’t even about free speech. People can still say what they want.... they just don’t have an absolute right to broadcast it on every major platform.
- chaostheory 6y ago
  It may be great right now, but what happens when Little Sister's ideals and motivations are no longer aligned with ours?
- rdiddly 6y ago
  raises hand
- baumy 6y ago
  It is perfectly possible to be worried about both, which is where I'm currently at. The amount of influence a handful of individual companies (run by unaccountable BDFLs) have over our entire social discourse should make everyone uneasy. If I had to pick though, yes I would say I'm more worried about people who think the state of affairs this article is discussing is completely fine, as opposed to idiots acting out after being cooped up at home for a year. The latter is a concerning problem but one much more easily dealt with, if for no other reason than that a large majority of people agree that it is actually a problem.
  - amanaplanacanal 6y ago
    Why are you more worried about the influence of Twitter or Facebook than you are of Disney or Fox News? Or any of the other big media corporations?
Grustaf 6y ago
Huxley, for one.
throw0101a 6y ago
> Who would have predicted 20 years ago that we should be more wary of Little Sister (big tech) instead of Big Brother? William Gibson? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprawl_trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprawl_trilogy Cory Doctorow? Ridley Scott with Blade Runner and the Alien series? Paul Verhoeven with RoboCop. Frank Herbert with CHOAM.

kweinber 6y ago

Is anyone seriously more worried about the independent players of big tech than an oligarch who has roused the firepower and hatred of domestic terrorists across the country? The rhetoric is really overblown.... these companies waited years and until the heads of state were fully under attack before they did much of anything. This isn’t even about free speech. People can still say what they want.... they just don’t have an absolute right to broadcast it on every major platform.

chaostheory 6y ago
It may be great right now, but what happens when Little Sister's ideals and motivations are no longer aligned with ours?
rdiddly 6y ago
raises hand
baumy 6y ago
It is perfectly possible to be worried about both, which is where I'm currently at. The amount of influence a handful of individual companies (run by unaccountable BDFLs) have over our entire social discourse should make everyone uneasy. If I had to pick though, yes I would say I'm more worried about people who think the state of affairs this article is discussing is completely fine, as opposed to idiots acting out after being cooped up at home for a year. The latter is a concerning problem but one much more easily dealt with, if for no other reason than that a large majority of people agree that it is actually a problem.
- amanaplanacanal 6y ago
  Why are you more worried about the influence of Twitter or Facebook than you are of Disney or Fox News? Or any of the other big media corporations?

Grustaf 6y ago

Huxley, for one.

throw0101a 6y ago

> Who would have predicted 20 years ago that we should be more wary of Little Sister (big tech) instead of Big Brother? William Gibson? * https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprawl_trilogy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sprawl_trilogy Cory Doctorow? Ridley Scott with Blade Runner and the Alien series? Paul Verhoeven with RoboCop. Frank Herbert with CHOAM.