I think 2017 is the year we have a turning point in the media's opinion of Silicon valley. I don't remember seeing this much SV bashing in the last 10 years. I think it has less to do with what SV is doing precisely: it's more about the threat of automation and the consolidation of power in the hands of a few companies.
Pieces like this, so enfused with bitterness show a fundamental lack of understanding of how capitalism works, or at least a willful ignorance: "Growth becomes the overriding motivation". Of course is the overriding motiviation - this is how capitalism works.
It reflects poorly on the New York times. I expected better more balanced journalism from them.
However, I do agree with their argument about breaking up giants. There is some merit to this argument and much could be gained from greater competition.
SV is now officially the current elite to hate. Recent news stories were all but reasonable, and it's going to get worse. People need a scapegoat so that their anger can be diverted to it, controlled and exploited for money. This scapegoat is now the tech industry.
> I think 2017 is the year we have a turning point in the media's opinion of Silicon valley. I don't remember seeing this much SV bashing in the last 10 years.
Is there any evidence of an organized campaign? Is the LA Times leading the way, for instance?
During SOPA, it seemed clear that at least some Hollywood leadership actually believed a narrative of "unethical black-hat Tech corrupting Congresspeople to oppose our pure white-hat legislation". Perhaps driven by a group-think "everyone I know agrees this is excellent and necessary, so opposition from tech and congress can only be rooted in greed and corruption respectively". A real CEO-ish quote from the period was something like "congressmen not staying bought". Perhaps meaning something vaguely like "we donate a lot to get good people elected, and then they turned around and took Tech bribes to stab us in the back, oppose our good legislation".
If this is indeed a media industry point of view, it would seem unsurprising if they then used media to raise awareness that Tech is a problem requiring attention.
Pieces like this, so enfused with bitterness show a fundamental lack of understanding of how capitalism works, or at least a willful ignorance: "Growth becomes the overriding motivation". Of course is the overriding motiviation - this is how capitalism works.
It reflects poorly on the New York times. I expected better more balanced journalism from them.
However, I do agree with their argument about breaking up giants. There is some merit to this argument and much could be gained from greater competition.