[The Typing Baker] We Are Not Consumers but the Product Itself

(By Lana Poruha / Translated by Kim Hyunjung / Sejong / 20,000 KRW)

[Asia Economy Reporter So-yeon Park] I remember feeling chills years ago when I came across news about Google's 'Library Project.' It was about Google inputting the books from every library in the world into its own database. Looking back now, it seems trivial, but at the time, I instinctively felt a chill. What kind of future would unfold for Google, having absorbed the essence and heritage of humanity? It was frightening.

The author of Don't Be Evil, The Rise of Malevolent Big Tech and What Comes After, Rana Foroohar, delved into the dangers of big tech companies based on her personal experiences and professional interests. Foroohar, a columnist and deputy editor at the Financial Times and a global economic analyst at CNN, was shocked one day in 2017 after coming home from work and opening her credit card statement. She found that $900 had been spent unknowingly on the Apple App Store. At first, she thought she had been hacked. However, she later discovered that her then 10-year-old son had spent $900 purchasing virtual player characters in an online soccer game.

At that time, Foroohar had also taken on a new role analyzing financial data at the Financial Times. In the process, she uncovered the somewhat shocking fact that only 10% of American companies owned 80% of corporate assets. These companies were not those owning vast physical assets or goods but were firms that had discovered the new 'oil' of the economy. They were big tech companies that had found ways to utilize information and networks.

The wealth generated by FAANG (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google) around the world is enormous. Issues related to monopolies, taxes, and economic order disruption involving these companies are increasingly revealing their harmful effects in our daily lives. These conflicts have led to the CEOs of Google, Facebook, and Twitter being summoned as witnesses before the U.S. Congress hearings.

Foroohar has played a significant role in exposing the true nature of big tech through her reporting and commentary, contributing greatly to bringing these companies to congressional hearings. She has received awards from the U.S. Economic Journalists Association and the German Marshall Fund think tank. In Don't Be Evil..., she criticizes the cartel-like behavior of big tech and their ugly tactics such as legally killing off competitors.

When Silicon Valley was emerging in the 1960s, many believed that technological advancement would make the world safer, more prosperous, and transparent. There was an expectation that free access to abundant information would open a democratic and fair competitive arena. However, the big tech industry has become a structure that makes money by collecting personal information. It has turned humans into products.

Google offers its search service for free. Facebook membership is also free. We think of ourselves as consumers. But the author says we are the product. We have become commodities exploited politically, economically, socially, and culturally.

The author condemns this phenomenon as the emergence of 'surveillance capitalism.' She points out it is a new economic order that uses experiences extracted from humans as raw materials for hidden commercial practices of prediction and sales. She emphasizes that the industry does not offer solutions and that the answer must be found by ourselves.