Chad Mills

Excellent, balanced analysis about big tech & society

Revisado: 02-21-20

As an AI leader in the tech industry who also writes about related issues myself, I’ve read most major books related to big tech, Internet governance, and the impact of tech (and tech companies) on society.

I do enjoy almost all of them, though often having to tolerate major flaws. Many are hyper-partisan. Most are insightful in some respects but have a major bias or are narrow and miss an important piece of the puzzle. Few dare to venture substantive solutions. The Information Trade improves on all of these.

This book is pro-technology and emphasizes the value of technology in our daily lives. It’s pro-privacy and always focused on what’s best for the user. It’s pro-government and describes the unique and critical role government plays in protecting us.

Ms. Wichowski presents a clear and unique viewpoint that integrates these seemingly inconsistent—but clearly correct—viewpoints into a coherent story that captures the problem with a nuance and constructively positive outlook I haven’t seen anywhere else.

These issues are challenging and I can’t claim to agree with 100% of the basic points, but this is the only book that I find to be fundamentally on the right track. The optimism and constructiveness are a great bonus that make this book a pleasure to read.

The author doesn’t pretend to have every answer, but makes a strong attempt at moving the conversation forward productively.

What would I do differently?

I don’t think Ms. Wichowski clearly identifies the fundamental nature and scope of government, something which admittedly could also lead to disagreement and polarization. Her quotation of framers of the US government and multiple enlightenment thinkers paints a roughly correct perspective without being polarizing.

More crispness here would enable her to go further in delineating the difference between nation-states and the concept she coined, “net states.” And it would better enable sorting out the confusing boundary of where government should be doing more and what companies should indeed have control over—i.e. she could take the lay 10% of the book further and IMO more accurate. But this would come at the cost of risking some of the intense value in the first 90%.

For the scope of raising the problem and doing so in a way almost anyone should be able to learn from without taking offense, this book is wonderful.

Note that this feedback is asking too much from a book. I hope this critique is useful for people to understand what they’re going to get and not get from the book. But for what it’s trying to accomplish and where the bulk of the effort is spent, I am very happy with it exactly the way it is.

This is an easy 5 stars.

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