Debunking Tech Propaganda
18Tech Propaganda
An Introduction to Critical Thinking in Technology
Noah Gift
FOMO
Fear of missing out
Examples:
Rush to implement GenAI without clear ROI (competitors doing it)
Skill development: worried current skills are obsolete
VC worried they miss out on next big thing
Naive Utopianism
All technology is default good
Examples:
Smartphone scrolling – more isn’t “better”
“Connecting people” via social media leads to world peace
UBI (Universal Basic Income) vs Crypto
AI education for all - replace teachers with chatbots
Disruption -
Technological solutionism
Ignore negative externalities
Selling Two Day Old Fish
We have [x] courses and books that make a lot of money, let’s ignore improvements like [y].
Examples:
Exaggerating job market demand
Appealing to authority (big tech companies)
Dismissing newer languages as unnecessary or overly complex
[y] is too hard to learn
[x] isn’t actually old and slow, you can “jump these hoops”
Misunderstanding the concept of an S-Curve
Superficial Media
The appearance of useful information implemented as “magical thinking”.
Examples:
Media that monetization via supplements
Conspiracy theory forums
Podcast hosts with little experience in topics discussed
Sensational predictions about future tech with little to no evidence
Oversimplification of complex topics
Push to disrupt
Overconfidence in technology to solve complex problems
Examples:
Figure out the business model later
Push products to market before they work
Ignore negative externalities
Dismiss critics as “not understanding vision”
Billionairism
Messianic billionaire tech founder worship
Examples:
Billionaires build
Extreme wealth equals expertise in everything
Idolization of tech billionaires as infallible visionaries
Romanticization of Harvard/Stanford “genius” dropout
Ignoring luck vs skill
Overemphasis on individual genius than team doing actual work
Irrational Exceptionalism
A belief in startups that one's company is uniquely destined for extraordinary success, despite overwhelming statistical evidence to the contrary.
Examples:
Most startups fail but we are different
Weekends are a social construct
“Changing the world”
Rationalization of present hardships for imagined future gains
Dismissal of industry-wide failure rates
Glorification of extreme effort and sacrifice
Double Down
Creating bigger and bigger claims to distract from the original claim
Examples:
Self-driving cars will be here next year, when it doesn’t happen, talk about traveling to Mars
GenAI model has flaws, don’t worry next model will be sentient and smarter than humans
Trojan Source Product
Open source product that uses community labor, then later forks to commercial licensing
Examples:
Rug pull strategy
Fake helpful project designed to get market adoption through goodwill, but ultimately benefits only the owner
“Generous Pour” Ethical Framing
Reframing ethical problems to highlight what is easy and the company is doing, while ignoring true externalities.
Examples:
We have unbiased training sets (hides addictive social media feed)
We minimize harmful output of GenAI model (hides stolen IP)
Business Model Circular Logic
Company exploits a “grey area” that harms the commons, then claims business model depends on grey area.
Examples:
Train GenAI model on data pirated media, then claim GenAI must be trained on pirated data or it won’t work well
Ignores the law creating unfair competition with those following the law (Taxi medallions, hotels, etc)