Ɖ Gardịn vy on big téc: pop! gz ɖ bubl
(Transcription of a Guardian editorial of 10 Nov. 2022)
Ɖ bhīmoʈs v Silicn Vali fes sm sirịs śrincij n a rec̣nñ wɖ ɖ ssaytiz ɖe wrc in
Ʈrzde 10 Nvmbr 2022
Fes-bc, Insṭgram, Twitr, Aṃzn: ɖz bhīmoʈs hv śept ǎr wrld. Ɖs wintr, hvr, ɖ wrld z śepñ ɖm. Fest wɖ a globl dǎntrn, a YS icoṇmi ɖt apirz hedd fr rseśn n inṭrestrets śūtñ p acrs ɖ wst, big téc z in big trubl. Ɖs wīc, Meta – ɖ cumṗni ɖt ǒnz Fes-bc, ẂtsAp n Insṭgram – dclerd it wl sác 11,000 implôīz, or mor ɖn 13% v its stāf. Last wīc, Twitr’z ny ǒnr, Īlón Musc, got rid v haf ɖ wrcfors. In Ōġst, Snap, ɖ peṛnt frm v Snapćat, rdyst stāf bî 20%. Aṃzn hz anǎnst a hîrñfrīz, ẃl ɖ pemntsprosesñ-platform Strîp z olso śedñ 14% v its wrcrz.
A blīc wintr lîz ahd fr mni v ɖoz implôīz n ɖer faṃliz, az wel az ɖ frmz srvisñ n s’playñ ɖ big nemz in tecnoḷji. N a momnt v rec̣nñ z in stor fr big téc. Fr sm v ɖz cumṗniz n mni v ɖer manijrz, ɖs wl b ɖer frst sirịs dǎntrn, n ɖ comḅneśn v rîzñ inṭrestrets īvn az ɖ icoṇmi sncs cd mc it a riyl stncr. Ɖ past deced hz giftd Silicn Vali īzi muni n invstrz despṛt t bai groʈ az wel az gañbustr seilz v smartfonz – ɖ dvîs ɖt spōnd miłnz v aps. Ɖen cem ɖ pandemic, ẃć promtd biłnz v cnsymrz t bai n soṣ́lîz onlîn. Az Marc Zuckerberg admitd ɖs wīc, Meta wz amñ ɖoz bizṇsz ɖt cǎntd on ɖs hyj tîd steyñ in fr evr. It hz’nt.
Sm v ɖ rletd bizṇsz ɖt tc of in ɖ qontittiv īzñ yirz injoid mor inʈyziazm ɖn scrūṭni (WiWrc, enwn?). Uɖrz suḟrñ rît nǎ apir t hv bn runñ on fymz. F Mr Musc z sirịs (olwz a prṭnnt qsćn), Twitr hz bn luzñ £3.5m a de. At Meta, Mr Zuckerberg hz alejidli invstd ovr £88bn in a vrśn v vrćl riaḷti ɖt h cōlz ɖ meṭvrs. Ẃt rêcs in ɖ profits r Meta’z sośl netwrcs n advtîzñ, eriaz ɖt d nt cmand ɖ fǎndr’z undivîdd inṭrest. It jst so hapnz ɖt h ǒnz 13% v ol Meta śerz n cntrolz 54% v ɖ vot, so canot b īẓli ćalinjd.
Y nǒ an inḍstri z in a bubl ẃn its bosz b’liv ɖer ǒn babl. Bancrz swòr ɖer clevr fînanśl enɉnirñ hd concrd risc – untl ɖ craś cem. Ɖ fǎndr v ɖ criptocuṛnsi platform FTX, Sam Bancmn-Fraid, tld invstrz ɖt h wontd it t b ɖ ples ẃr “y cn bai a bnana”. H md ɖs stetmnt ẃl pleyñ a vidiogem. Ɖ munimen rspondd “I luv ɖs fǎndr” n gladli ćipt intu a biłn-dolr ẃip-rnd. Sm de, a scrīnraitr wl hv a lot v fun wɖ ɖs sīn. Bt tde, FTX z in a liqidticrîsis, lacñ ɖ caś t proses wɖdrẉlz. Ɖt biłn dolrz cd hv bn spent on fīdñ ppl or fîtñ clîṃt ćenj. Instd, it wl g dǎn az a tax rait-of.
Marcitcraśz ofn līv bhnd ny tecnoḷji n infṛstrucćr ɖt fyćr jeṇreśnz fînd indispnsbl, sć az ɖ relwez leid dǎn bî Victorịn spekletrz. Yt Silicn Vali hz loñ prīćt ɖ gospl v ẃt wn v its most ʈōtfl critics, Yevgeni Marozv, hz dubd “s’lūṣ́nizm”, or in uɖr wrdz tecṇlojicl fixz t sośl n p’liticl probḷmz. Poḷtiśnz v bʈ sîdz hv ofn riactd wɖ gret cṛdyḷti – īvn ɖo sm v ɖ inḍstri’z heviweits r noun fr max̣mîzñ ɖer tax’vôdns, infrinjñ priṿsi n trītñ wrcrz az dspoẓbl. Phps nǎ ɖt ɖ er z iscepñ ɖ bubl, ɖr cn b a riyl convseśn abt ẃt big téc oz ɖ rest v s n hǎ its bizṇsz cn streñʈn ɖ ssaytiz ɖe wrc in.
