2nd Edition Book Club in November

We met at Anne’s to discuss “The Chaos Machine” by Max Fisher.  This book is a comprehensive review of Facebook, Twitter, You Tube and others in the Silicon Valley from their very beginnings to 2023.  While the author believes the founders had good intentions in their “start up” phase, most had no idea of the unintended consequences of their rapid growth.  To maintain and increase this growth, algorithms were continually fine-tuned to generate increased user engagement and increased ad exposure resulting in increased profits.  There is a lack of corporate oversight in order to maintain rapid growth and profits.  All of us felt we’d learned a lot about the online world and the impacts it’s had on society today.

submitted by Leslie Horsman