The below is a summary of my podcast interview with Cory Doctorow on the future of privacy.
When privacy becomes just another line on a balance sheet, how long before trust-and customers-vanish with it?
On the Synthetic Minds podcast, Cory Doctorow offers a stark warning: privacy, once considered a right, is now treated as a commodity by tech giants. Doctorow reveals how AI-driven surveillance erodes personal boundaries, turning data into a corporate asset, and leaving individuals vulnerable to exploitation. Businesses, he argues, must walk a fine line-leveraging data for growth without betraying customer trust. Outdated privacy laws create an environment where tech platforms operate unchecked, leading to personal data misuse and growing concerns about digital rights.
Doctorow also unpacks “platform decay,” explaining how companies like Google and Amazon, once user-friendly, prioritize profits at the expense of quality. This puts businesses relying on these platforms at risk of being trapped in diminishing returns, with reduced control over customer interactions. His advice? Diversify operations and foster competition to avoid becoming captive to a few dominant platforms.
- Science fiction, according to Doctorow, offers more than entertainment-it provides a lens to explore the ethical implications of emerging technologies, inspiring creative problem-solving.
- Governments need stronger privacy frameworks, but businesses shouldn’t wait for regulation to innovate ethically.
- Long-term survival depends on adaptability, foresight, and investments in alternatives that prioritize user experience.
Doctorow urges businesses to adopt science fiction’s imaginative thinking, developing strategies that anticipate future challenges. Organizations that treat privacy as a core value-not just a compliance issue-can turn potential risks into opportunities, building resilience in a landscape shaped by continuous technological disruption.
The erosion of privacy is a wake-up call: businesses can no longer afford to wait for governments to fix what’s broken. Those that invest in ethical innovation and sustainable practices today will thrive tomorrow. Can your organization think long-term enough to outmaneuver the shifting tides of platform monopolies and privacy erosion?
To read the full interview, please visit TheDigitalSpeaker.com
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