Tech Propaganda: An Introduction to Critical Thinking in Technology
Episode Notes
1. FOMO (Fear of Missing Out)
- Definition: Rushing to adopt new technologies without clear benefits
- Examples:
- Implementing GenAI without clear ROI just because competitors are doing it
- Skill development driven by fear of obsolescence
- VCs worried about missing the next big thing
2. Naive Utopianism
- Definition: Assuming all technology is inherently good
- Examples:
- Believing more smartphone scrolling is always better
- Expecting social media to lead to world peace
- Promoting UBI or crypto as universal solutions
- Assuming AI can completely replace teachers
3. Disruption and Technological Solutionism
- Definition: Ignoring negative consequences of tech solutions
- Key point: Tendency to overlook negative externalities
4. "Selling Two Day Old Fish"
- Definition: Resisting improvements to maintain profitable but outdated products/services
- Examples:
- Exaggerating job market demand for outdated skills
- Appealing to authority (big tech companies)
- Dismissing newer technologies as unnecessary or overly complex
- Claiming established technologies aren't actually old/slow
5. Superficial Media
- Definition: Promoting shallow or misleading information about technology
- Examples:
- Media monetizing via supplements
- Conspiracy theory forums
- Inexperienced podcast hosts discussing complex topics
- Making sensational predictions about future tech with little evidence
- Oversimplifying complex topics
6. Push to Disrupt
- Definition: Overconfidence in technology's ability to solve complex problems
- Examples:
- "Figure out the business model later" mentality
- Pushing products to market prematurely
- Ignoring negative externalities
- Dismissing critics as "not understanding the vision"
7. Billionairism
- Definition: Excessive admiration of tech billionaires and their perceived expertise
- Examples:
- Equating extreme wealth with universal expertise
- Idolizing tech billionaires as infallible visionaries
- Romanticizing the "Harvard/Stanford dropout genius" narrative
- Ignoring the role of luck vs. skill
- Overemphasizing individual genius over team efforts
8. Irrational Exceptionalism
- Definition: Unrealistic beliefs about a startup's chances of success
- Examples:
- "We're different from other startups that fail"
- "Weekends are a social construct"
- Obsession with "changing the world"
- Rationalizing present hardships for imagined future gains
- Dismissing industry-wide failure rates
- Glorifying extreme effort and sacrifice
9. Double Down
- Definition: Making increasingly grand claims to distract from unfulfilled promises
- Examples:
- Promising self-driving cars "next year", then pivoting to Mars travel
- Deflecting from current AI model flaws with promises of future sentience
10. Trojan Source
- Definition: Open source projects that later switch to commercial licensing
- Examples:
- "Rug pull" strategy in open source
- Using community labor before pivoting to commercial model
11. "Generous Pour" Ethical Framing
- Definition: Highlighting easy ethical actions while ignoring larger issues
- Examples:
- Claiming unbiased AI training sets while hiding addictive design
- Emphasizing harm reduction in AI outputs while ignoring IP theft
12. Business Model Circular Logic
- Definition: Exploiting legal grey areas and claiming they're essential to the business model
- Examples:
- Justifying use of pirated data for AI training
- Creating unfair competition by ignoring regulations (e.g., taxi services, hotels)
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