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
Why cheap food isn't really cheap: Will Harris on the repellant nature of industrial farming and why the future of food should be local
What makes writing, speaking and computer programming similarly human activities: Michael Littman on why all humans, in our AI age, should learn a little programming
How to Take Liberties with History: Abby Smith Rumsey on what we should remember and what we should forget about the past
How to be Abe Lincoln: Jonathan Shapiro offers seven steps to finding a moral compass and living a worthy life
Why OpenAI could be worth $5 trillion by 2028: Keith Teare explains how OpenAI might already be the most valuable company on the planet
The Man Who Could See Around Corners: Peter Slen on Frederick Douglass and his 1845 autobiography about his life os an American slave
America in the Dillon era: Richard Aldous on Douglas Dillon and mainstream Republicanism in the Eisenhower, Kennedy and Johnson administrations
An American Gun for the age of Sandy Hook and Uvalde: Cameron McWhirter and Zusha Elinson on the history of the AR-15, an assault weapon that captures contemporary America's love affair with technology, freedom and guns
How to transform yourself from a good girl into a bad b***h: Lisa Carmen Wang's bad b***h business bible for taking charge of your body, boundaries and bank account
Why Food Stamps Work: Christopher Bosso's political history - and defense - of SNAP
Saving Bill Clinton's life and other tales from the operating theater: Craig R. Smith on his life as one of America's most celebrated heart surgeons
A New Deal to Save the Earth: John J. Berger outlines the three dimensions to solving the world's climate crisis
The Emotional Life of Populism in Israel: Eva Illouz on Netanyahu, Hamas and what the left has lost by not embracing the fear, disgust, resentment and love that determine democratic politics