The dangers of letting tech billionaires shape our world
Source: The Guardian ·
As SpaceX impacts Ukraine and AI-generated music divides artists and fans, critics are asking what happens when technology has too much control over our livesThis was originally published in TechScape, a newsletter about how technology shapes our lives. Sign up to receive it hereHello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you while sitting in…
From the source
Hello, and welcome to TechScape. I’m Blake Montgomery, US tech editor at the Guardian, writing to you while sitting in front of Roy Lichtenstein’s monumental Drowning Girl, on view in New York City. Today in tech, we’re discussing the perils of Elon Musk’s one-man global infrastructure, AI-generated music, and a Guardian AI conference in Paris. Elon Musk’s SpaceX is the single largest satellite operator in the world, larger than any government space bureau. The life-threatening consequences of that dominance and centralization of power are on full display. One man is in charge of global, vital infrastructure, which is thumbing the scales in the war on Ukraine. SpaceX’s internet service was throttled in Ukraine amid a series of devastating attacks by Russia last week, leaving the country extremely vulnerable. The US government controls StarShield, the satellite internet service produced by SpaceXSI for the Pentagon, which is what Ukraine relies on. Objects moving faster than 100 mph…