Big tech may look troubled, but it’s just getting started — from nytimes.com by David Streitfeld
Excerpt:
SAN JOSE, Calif. — Silicon Valley ended 2018 somewhere it had never been: embattled.
Lawmakers across the political spectrum say Big Tech, for so long the exalted embodiment of American genius, has too much power. Once seen as a force for making our lives better and our brains smarter, tech is now accused of inflaming, radicalizing, dumbing down and squeezing the masses. Tech company stocks have been pummeled from their highs. Regulation looms. Even tech executives are calling for it.
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The expansion underlines the dizzying truth of Big Tech: It is barely getting started.
“For all intents and purposes, we’re only 35 years into a 75- or 80-year process of moving from analog to digital,” said Tim Bajarin, a longtime tech consultant to companies including Apple, IBM and Microsoft. “The image of Silicon Valley as Nirvana has certainly taken a hit, but the reality is that we the consumers are constantly voting for them.”
Big Tech needs to be regulated, many are beginning to argue, and yet there are worries about giving that power to the government.
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Which leaves regulation up to the companies themselves, always a dubious proposition.