
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
Duración:00:00:32
Dedication
Duración:00:00:05
Epigraph
Duración:00:00:38
Introduction
Duración:00:23:04
Chapter 1: The Utopia That Never Came
Duración:01:03:46
Chapter 2: Computers Can't Think
Duración:00:41:15
Chapter 3: The Data Is Never Raw
Duración:00:36:52
Chapter 4: The Internet Is Not a "Thing"
Duración:00:34:48
Chapter 5: Technical Solutions Won't Solve Social Problems
Duración:00:42:31
Chapter 6: Decentralization Is an Illusion
Duración:00:46:45
Chapter 7: Software Is Hard
Duración:00:33:24
Chapter 8: Algorithms Are Made of People
Duración:00:25:22
Chapter 9: Technology Isn't Given, It's Made
Duración:00:41:51
Chapter 10: Platforms Are Not Institutions
Duración:01:19:18
After Platforms
Duración:00:13:29
Ending Credits
Duración:00:00:32