Om Malik – Silicon Valley Has an Empathy Vacuum (Nov 2016)
5 hours ago
- #Silicon Valley
- #Automation Impact
- #Empathy in Tech
- Silicon Valley atmosphere subdued post-election with tech leaders shocked by Trump's win.
- Narratives blame tech for Clinton's loss via fake news spread on platforms like Facebook and Twitter.
- Silicon Valley's critical failure is a lack of empathy for those disrupted by technological advancements.
- Tech industry urged to ask why many voted for Trump, linking to globalization and working-class discontent.
- Tech oligarchies (Facebook, Google, Amazon, Uber) must acknowledge their algorithms' societal impacts, including job displacement.
- Automation, like self-driving trucks from Otto, threatens millions of jobs and has ripple effects on related industries.
- Productivity and innovation are high, yet median incomes fall and jobs decrease—a 'great paradox' of the era.
- Real-world filter bubbles in Silicon Valley lead to algorithmic decisions that ignore human consequences, exemplified by Facebook's fake news and insensitivity.
- Facebook's history of blunders (e.g., showing dead child's photo) highlights a lack of empathy due to designers' isolation from real-world trauma.
- The tech industry must practice empathy by understanding those threatened by technology, moving beyond growth-focused mindsets to avoid becoming villains like Wall Street.