Open Banking Is Dead, TechnoOptimists Want A War
This week on the podcast, we discuss government that has failed to live up to its promise to innovate for the benefit of its citizens, and tech experts who believe that governments shouldn't be making these decisions in the first place. Get ready.
"What happens when tech experts decide that what they do is more important than government and they don't want to play by these rules?
The signs of open banking are clear. Although the dream of financial innovation and competition through open banking is not yet technically dead, in the cold morning light it appears to be just a dream. Minister Freeland announced new promises to make banking more affordable, but none of them will be necessary if the original promise of structural changes is kept. Is the creation of the Banking Ombudsman only a half measure or a big statement? It's a shame too because it looks like the #FreeBoswell team is starting to win hearts and minds.
Speaking of rhetorical appeals: a16z general partner Marc Andreessen has written a manifesto for tech optimists. It's bad in many ways, and many naive critics point out its flaws more cleverly than my undergraduate philosophical critiques.
But as a conversationalist on the podcast, you know that, in good faith, we encourage in-depth reading of complex topics, leading to greater dialogue and understanding. My biggest problem with the Techno-Optimist Manifesto is not what the document does wrong, but rather what it sets out to do: present an attractive, ahistorical reduction that does not inspire deep thought, but instead presents a militarized dualism.
I'm not trying to be polemical, I can only point out the harmful effects that lurk beneath the surface of the entire document. "Be our allies in the pursuit of technology, abundance and life" seems like a warm attitude, but it is based on the belief that any limitation in the pursuit of technology is an enemy (the list of enemies in the statement is quite long). thing). .
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It is perhaps no coincidence that this statement was released just weeks before US President Joe Biden signed an executive order regulating artificial intelligence. We've talked about AI tuning issues before on this podcast, and I don't mean to assume that the sequence is well-constructed, but I'd like to point out the author's response to the statement. Like the image shown above (also from Andreessen's Twitter account), it doesn't exactly inspire optimism. It's like optimism is used as a weapon.
And before I start the "do it just for the memes" argument, let me first remind you of the last 15 years of the internet or the concept of propaganda.
So is this tech podcast anti-tech or techno-pessimist? No! We just want to balance our enthusiasm for technology with a healthy skepticism about the claim that technology is an end in itself.
But we are open to discussion. Want to join us?
For more information, visit https://startwell.co.
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The BetaKit Podcast is hosted by Douglas Soltis and Rob Kennedy. Produced by Katie Lore, edited by Katie Lore and Poncho Navarro. Sponsored by Float and SAAS NORTH (use code "betatakit25" to get your tickets). Featured image courtesy of Marc Andreessen.