10 stories this week (w/e 11 Jan)
2-min read
Hello from 20 Minutes into the Future. Welcome to our weekend complement to the normal weekly commentary. Below you’ll find 10 links to stories that also take a critical look at how technology is shaping our lives today.
Brittany Kaiser has leaked even more info about Cambridge Analytica.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020/jan/04/cambridge-analytica-data-leak-global-election-manipulationExcellent piece about the extent of Amazon’s reach into our daily lives.
https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/30/business/amazon-baltimore.htmlPropaganda is a flat circle. A new breed of PR firms are learning lessons from Russian trolls, fake news, etc. And selling their services to the highest bidder.
https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/craigsilverman/disinformation-for-hire-black-pr-firmsGood read on the role homophily and social perception bias plays in the train wreck that is social media.
https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/01/its-the-network-stupid-study-offers-fresh-insight-into-why-were-so-divided/The future is now.
https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2020/01/future-politics-bots-drowning-out-humans/604489/Not a subscriber yet? 20 Minutes into the Future is 100% ad free and always will be. Sign up for weekly commentary & related links to help you dig deeper into big tech behaving badly.
Another compilation of books you should read. Fair bit of overlap with my own recent recommendations. Specials highlights from it: How to do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy by Jenny Odell and Goliath: The 100-Year War Between Monopoly Power and Democracy by Matt Stoller.
https://www.fastcompany.com/90440831/7-books-on-technology-you-should-read-in-2020A great long-read on the high-and-low-tech used in the Hong Kong protests.
https://www.wired.com/story/how-hong-kongs-protests-turned-into-a-mad-max-tableauOn the surface it’s a good thing for congestion-causing Uber to weave in public transit options. But as we’ve discussed before it’s part of a longer-term strategy to take over public transit.
https://www.theverge.com/2020/1/6/21048145/uber-las-vegas-rtc-bus-tickets-app-purchase-transitIt’s assholes all the way down in Facebook’s leadership team.
https://theoutline.com/post/8511/facebook-bosworth-memo-leakI’ve recently started freelancing at an AR startup. This podcast on ethics in XR is timely then. https://voicesofvr.com/844-xr-ethics-an-xr-ethics-manifesto/
Thanks for reading 20 Minutes into the Future. Have a friend or colleague who'd like the newsletter? Invite them to sign up.
Good night and good future,
Daniel
20 Minutes into the Future is a critical look at how technology is shaping our lives today. And what actions we can take for a better tomorrow. If you're not already a subscriber and found this newsletter worth your while then please sign up.
My name is Daniel Harvey and I write 20 Minutes into the Future. I’m a product designer and have written for Fast Company, Huffington Post, The Drum, & more. If you're pissed about the current state of tech and want to see us do better then you’ve found a kindred spirit.
You can email me at daniel.harvey@gmail.com or follow me on Twitter @dancharvey.