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his week’s Brief has a theme: big tech’s influence on the world, leading with journalism. Our stories: Google is rewriting news headlines with AI, Prime is delivering packages in under an hour, and Mark Zuckerberg decides to get himself a “co-CEO.”
I had the privilege of sitting down one-on-one with a Senior Editor at The Verge, a journalist I find equal parts incisive and fair in how she covers big tech. She also uses herself as a guinea pig, testing every wearable, AI device, and product big tech offers.
As we got deeper into our interview and conversation, I learned it went well beyond testing: she integrates these devices into her life for months at a time, often to the detriment of her own health (many of big tech and wellness wearables are gamified and attempt to push you to your “optimized” limit). She’s uncovered glitches in products, taken personal risks, and written articles that have inspired big tech to shift back to the right side of history, and it made me realize just how serious our first brief story is.
We have to be careful in letting Big Tech “rewrite” the narrative. We all know they create their own goalposts in almost every aspect, but it should never extend to how they’re actually covered in what they’re doing.
While I love and am honored to demo and review tech for M7 clients and prepare them for the future, the importance of my work pales in comparison to those journalists and activists who are doing similar “tech tastings”, but for the greater good.