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A review by kwheeles
Mindf*ck: Cambridge Analytica and the Plot to Break America by Christopher Wylie
4.0
Excellent objective view of the impact of social media in the US (author is Canadian). Shares my view of American 'exceptionalism' preventing us from improving our society by analysis of best practices elsewhere. Most of the narrative is 5 star, portions near the end were not as central to my own interests. The early sections read like a thriller - very compelling. Author is smart and original. Compelling paragraph on Peter Thiel:
'Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind Facebook, Palantir, and PayPal, spoke at length about how he no longer believes “that freedom and democracy are compatible.” And in elaborating his views on technology companies, he expounded on how CEOs are the new monarchs in a techno-feudal system of governance. We just don’t call them monarchies in public, he said, because “anything that’s not democracy makes people uncomfortable.”'
Great stuff.
'Peter Thiel, the venture capitalist behind Facebook, Palantir, and PayPal, spoke at length about how he no longer believes “that freedom and democracy are compatible.” And in elaborating his views on technology companies, he expounded on how CEOs are the new monarchs in a techno-feudal system of governance. We just don’t call them monarchies in public, he said, because “anything that’s not democracy makes people uncomfortable.”'
Great stuff.