Flamethrowers and Fire Extinguishers – A Review of “The Social Dilemma”

The Social Dilemma is a film currently showing on Netflix. The film focuses on how large tech companies exploit society for profit. If you can see the film, I highly recommend it. If you do not know what the inner workings of tech-fueled psychological operations are like, then the film will enlighten you. If you already know about the inner workings of these technologies, then you will be impressed with how well the film explains things to lay persons.

The linked article is a lengthy review of The Social Dilemma. The review contains a recap of some of the film and presents what I believe are valid criticisms of the film. The final line in the review is a good summary of the criticisms: "But as far as the film is concerned, your role in resolving this dilemma is to sit patiently on the couch and stare at the screen until a remorseful tech insider tells you what to do."

Something important to keep in mind after watching the film -- always follow the money. People who made significant amounts of money contributing to the social problems we face today are now free to make more money telling us how to address the problem. As the review points out, "When there are dangerous fires blazing everywhere it matters whether the voices that get heard are apologetic arsonists or firefighters."

I see the real problem to be that capitalism tends to give power to individuals with unbridled hubris and greed. The hubris of some people (in any field, though here we are talking about the tech industry) is stunning. In my opinion, extra layers of technology do not solve problems -- extra layers of complexity mitigate symptoms and create new problems, while decreasing the stability of the overall system. We should not hire arsonists to run fire departments.