Episode 2310: Why Progressives must become "Yes People" on Technology
In this week’s That Was The Week round up of tech news, Andrew and Keith Teare discuss the need for progressives to become what Keith calls “yes people” on technology. At the moment, he argues, their reactionary “no” on tech is handing MAGA conservatives and their Silicon Valley backers a free pass to win the debate about the future. While Keith and Andrew aren’t always on the same page about the need to regulate Big Tech, they are in complete agreement that progressives - both inside and outside Silicon Valley - need to liberate themselves of their nostalgia for the industrial 20th century and embrace the digital future.
Keith Teare is the founder and CEO of SignalRank Corporation. Previously, he was executive chairman at Accelerated Digital Ventures Ltd., a U.K.-based global investment company focused on startups at all stages. Teare studied at the University of Kent and is the author of “The Easy Net Book” and “Under Siege.” He writes regularly for TechCrunch and publishes the “That Was The Week” newsletter.
Named as one of the "100 most connected men" by GQ magazine, Andrew Keen is amongst the world's best known broadcasters and commentators. In addition to presenting KEEN ON, he is the host of the long-running How To Fix Democracy show. He is also the author of four prescient books about digital technology: CULT OF THE AMATEUR, DIGITAL VERTIGO, THE INTERNET IS NOT THE ANSWER and HOW TO FIX THE FUTURE. Andrew lives in San Francisco, is married to Cassandra Knight, Google's VP of Litigation & Discovery, and has two grown children.
Keen On is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit keenon.substack.com/subscribe
Burning Down The House: Do The Talking Heads Still Matter?
Why Being a 'Good Woman' Is Making Women (and Men) Miserable
The Haves and The Have-Yachts: Evan Osnos Explores the Minds of the Ultrarich
The Vampire Economy: How Private Equity is Sucking the Blood out of the American Dream
The Company That Ate the Web: Google's Quarter Century Journey from Bridge Builder to Web Destroyer
Long Live the NO KING: An Anti-Fascist Handbook on How to Resist Trump
An Existential Threat to American Freedom: Spike Cohen on Donald Trump's Betrayal of Libertarianism
American Fascism: If You Close Your Eyes It Won't Go Away
Postmodern Patrimonialism: Trump's Everything-Everywhere-All-At-Once Strategy as a Venture Capital Model of Politics
Beyond Left and Right: The Libertarian Vision of Freedom in America
The Empire Strikes Back: Karen Hao on OpenAI as a Classic Colonial Power
We Get the Non-Fiction We Deserve: From AI Empires to Wokeness Critiques to a Year Without Sex
Everything Is Possible, Nothing Is Inevitable: Why AI Might Be the Ultimate Scarcity Trap