How did the internet giants come to dominate our world? Big Tech firms are now some of the richest and most powerful entities on the planet – and we’re starting to see the effects of this extreme concentration of power, in the shocking ways these platforms have been used to manipulate our elections, violate our privacy, and threaten the social fabric of our societies.

But it hasn’t always been like this: not so long ago, much of Silicon Valley operated on an optimistic, altruistic ethos, aiming to make information free and the world better connected. What happened?

In the latest RSA Short, economic analyst Rana Foroohar explores how Big Tech lost its soul and how we might protect ourselves from the darker sides of digital technology.

Explore RSA research projects exploring the future of work in an age of new technologies:
https://www.thersa.org/future-of-work​

Extracted from a free talk given at the RSA in London, 2019: http://bit.ly/3t6Nwcw​

Credits:
Speaker: Rana Foroohar https://www.thersa.org/events/speaker…​
Direction, Animation & Design: Thomas Kilburn http://www.tgk.co/animation​
Producer: Phoebe Williams
Video Producer: Ross Henbest
Joint Head of Public Events Programme: Mairi Ryan
Sound: Kinima Sound https://www.kinimasound.com/​