Читать книгу The Unintended Consequences of Technology - Chris Ategeka - Страница 34

Tech changed a small but mighty social norm and the language around how it references customers and clients. They rebranded humans as users. There is an old adage that points out that the two industries that call their customers “users” happen to be illegal drug dealers and tech companies. This dehumanizing language creates the ability to enjoy “user numbers” and dollars coming into the business without taking much responsibility for the human element behind the users. This is an important starting point, and we will see how it plays out in many ways throughout the book. The nation-state is supposed to care about the humanity of its population, whereas the tech-state can comfortably work with users, which creates an emotional detachment. After all, they are just numbers.

It's important to mention that none of the tech-state companies may be doing this out of malice. It started as a benign tweak, but that dehumanizing language has now morphed into a larger problem. Tech-states can get away with this dehumanizing approach to business, and the abuse of the planet in general, because of their enormous power and influence over most nation-states. After all, providing meaningful oversight is increasingly difficult because power has shifted.