Barack Obama warned that technology is creating a more splintered world at the annual Dreamforce conference by Salesforce.
The 44th president talked about how the internet has helped divide American politics and society, stating that technology is creating a more splintered world while fueling the disparities among the wealthy and the poor.
In recent times, social-media and digital services have been accused of fueling polarization with algorithms that show people news and other content that match their preconceived thinking and viewpoints, this is why Obama declared the following at Salesforce.com Inc.’s annual Dreamforce conference in San Francisco while talking with Salesforce co-Chief Executive Officer Marc Benioff, according to Bloomberg reporting:
“The rise of extreme inequality both within nations and between nations that is being turbocharged by globalization and technology is one of the biggest risks for young people” (…) “New technologies have allowed us reach. We have a global market. I can project my voice and you can take your technology to new markets. It has also amplified inequalities.”
“People remark on the polarization of our politics and rightfully so (…) “People rightfully see challenges like climate change and mass refugees and feel like things are spinning out of control. Behind that, what I see is a sense of anxiety, rootlessness and uncertainty in so many people. Some of that is fed by technology and there’s an anger formed by those technologies.”
“If you watch Fox News, you live in a different reality than if you read the New York Times. If you follow one rabbit hole on YouTube or the internet, then suddenly things look completely different.”
