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bootman's review against another edition
5.0
This is a decent book that’s all about four of the techno billionaires who are causing a lot of issues in this world and are a threat to democracy and the well-being of all of this. Taplin writes in-depth about Peter Thiel, Mark Zuckerberg, Mark Andreesen, and Elon Musk. The book dives into a variety of different forms of tech these guys are pushing as well as the insane ideologies of each of them and all the whacky stuff they do.
I will say that this book is 75% awesome book about tech billionaires being awful, but the other 25% had me rolling my eyes because it’s techno fear porn. Taplin is a major tech doomer, and there were points in the book where I audibly laughed. In the chapter on AI, he references the Google employee who claimed their AI was sentient, but the author neglects to mention how the guy’s claims were thoroughly debunked. Then, at the end of the book, Taplin goes through a list of tech we shouldn’t use, and he says, “Don’t use VR,” and I laughed super loud. Yes, the Metaverse has some ridiculous stuff going on, but ALL VR? That’s a bit much.
Overall, it’s a decent book that I’d recommend reading with some skepticism when it comes to the techno fear porn.
I will say that this book is 75% awesome book about tech billionaires being awful, but the other 25% had me rolling my eyes because it’s techno fear porn. Taplin is a major tech doomer, and there were points in the book where I audibly laughed. In the chapter on AI, he references the Google employee who claimed their AI was sentient, but the author neglects to mention how the guy’s claims were thoroughly debunked. Then, at the end of the book, Taplin goes through a list of tech we shouldn’t use, and he says, “Don’t use VR,” and I laughed super loud. Yes, the Metaverse has some ridiculous stuff going on, but ALL VR? That’s a bit much.
Overall, it’s a decent book that I’d recommend reading with some skepticism when it comes to the techno fear porn.
litwtchreads's review against another edition
3.75
A fascinating book. I learned a lot, but I felt like it glossed over some aspects that would have contributed more to the broader conversation. The last section of this book was lacking a bit for me, but overall, this was worth it to read and to better understand how and why these technocrats are selling the fantasies they are to us. 3.75/5
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