Against Platforms
Mike Pepi
A bold and imaginative critique of the hidden costs of digital life – and a manifesto for a better future . . .
At the turn of the millennium, digital technologies seemed to have immense promise for transforming our society. With these powerful new tools, the thinking went, we would be free to live our best lives, connected to our communities in ways full of infinite potential.
A quarter of a century on, this form of utopianism seems like a cruel mirage. Our lives are more fragmented and pressure-filled as ever, as we race to keep up with technologies that manipulate, command, and drain us at every turn.
So what happened? In Against Platforms, technologist and creator Mike Pepi lays out an explanation of what went wrong – and a manifesto for putting it right.
The key, says Pepi, is that we have been taught that digital technologies are neutral tools, transparent, easily understood, and here to serve us. The reality, Pepi says, is that they are laden with assumptions and collateral consequences – ideology, in other words. And it is this hidden ideology that must be dismantled if we are to harness technology for the fullest expression of our humanity.
Duration - 8h 4m.
Author - Mike Pepi.
Narrator - Tim Andres Pabon.
Published Date - Tuesday, 07 January 2025.
Location:
United States
Description:
A bold and imaginative critique of the hidden costs of digital life – and a manifesto for a better future . . . At the turn of the millennium, digital technologies seemed to have immense promise for transforming our society. With these powerful new tools, the thinking went, we would be free to live our best lives, connected to our communities in ways full of infinite potential. A quarter of a century on, this form of utopianism seems like a cruel mirage. Our lives are more fragmented and pressure-filled as ever, as we race to keep up with technologies that manipulate, command, and drain us at every turn. So what happened? In Against Platforms, technologist and creator Mike Pepi lays out an explanation of what went wrong – and a manifesto for putting it right. The key, says Pepi, is that we have been taught that digital technologies are neutral tools, transparent, easily understood, and here to serve us. The reality, Pepi says, is that they are laden with assumptions and collateral consequences – ideology, in other words. And it is this hidden ideology that must be dismantled if we are to harness technology for the fullest expression of our humanity. Duration - 8h 4m. Author - Mike Pepi. Narrator - Tim Andres Pabon. Published Date - Tuesday, 07 January 2025.
Language:
English
Opening Credits
Duration:00:00:32
Dedication
Duration:00:00:05
Epigraph
Duration:00:00:38
Introduction
Duration:00:23:04
Chapter 1: The Utopia That Never Came
Duration:01:03:46
Chapter 2: Computers Can't Think
Duration:00:41:15
Chapter 3: The Data Is Never Raw
Duration:00:36:52
Chapter 4: The Internet Is Not a "Thing"
Duration:00:34:48
Chapter 5: Technical Solutions Won't Solve Social Problems
Duration:00:42:31
Chapter 6: Decentralization Is an Illusion
Duration:00:46:45
Chapter 7: Software Is Hard
Duration:00:33:24
Chapter 8: Algorithms Are Made of People
Duration:00:25:22
Chapter 9: Technology Isn't Given, It's Made
Duration:00:41:51
Chapter 10: Platforms Are Not Institutions
Duration:01:19:18
After Platforms
Duration:00:13:29
Ending Credits
Duration:00:00:32