Big Data, Small Government?

Tech sociologist Evgeny Morozov examines the risks and limitations of the “solutionism” of the smart future, where the temptation to enrol technology companies rather than governments in solving all of the world's greatest problems will only increase.

RSA Thursday

We are swiftly moving into an era where everything around us will be "smart": we'll be wearing smart glasses that know who we are and what it is we are looking at, we'll be driving smart cars that know where we like to go, we'll be using smart search apps on our smartphones that would provide us with data before we have even asked for it.

All these "smart" devices will be recording lots of data about us; they will also be used to make "smart" interventions in our daily lives. "Smart" glasses might make certain menu items disappear when we go to a fast food restaurant or make our portions look larger than they actually are.

Now that everything is "smart," the temptation to enroll technology companies in Silicon Valley into solving all of the world's greatest problems will only increase - and many technology companies don't exactly shy away from the challenge. By drawing on several themes from his latest book 'To Save Everything, Click Here', leading tech sociologist Evgeny Morozov will address the risks and limitations of such "solutionism".

Speaker: Evgeny Morozov, writer and researcher in politics, society and technology.

Chair: Tom Chatfield, writer and commentator