Big Tech as the Villain

An article in today’s Wall Street Journal by Ellen Gamerman profiled several books, including The Warehouse by Rob Hart, The Circle by Dave Eggers, and the Big Disruption by Jessica Powell, that feature Silicon Valley and “Big Tech” as the villain. This literary trend makes sense given the headlines of the last several years. Technology companies, particularly the big, dominant, tech companies known menacingly as FAANG (Facebook, Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google), have come under scrutiny for their roles in everything from compromising user privacy to spreading misinformation that manipulated our elections.

The article also mentions two upcoming novels, QualityLand by Marc-Uwe Kling and Zed by Joanna Kavenna, that continue the storyline, often with a satirical perspective, that technology is doing as much harm as good. Since the dot-com boom of the late 90s, the perception of tech companies was much different — these companies were changing the world, making our lives better. Their founders were celebrated as heroes as their companies IPO’ed, turning them into billionaires. The more recent perception, however, is different, darker — reflecting the outsized influence these companies have over our lives, as well as the disturbing potential of abuse.

As new revelations, lawsuits, investigations and even Congressional hearings continue into Big Tech, the their role as villain is bound to continue.