Silicon Valley thought India was its future, now things have changed(slate.com)
slate.com
Silicon Valley thought India was its future, now things have changed
https://slate.com/technology/2021/06/india-silicon-valley-twitter-google-censorship.html
174 comments
I see this as a propaganda piece.
The unique problem with India is that, a decade ago, it had a small but highly educated, privileged urban population, spread across a handful of cities, who are the most vocal in national media and social media. This was the situation when SV companies made inroads to India.
Then came the mobile revolution and the availability of smartphones coupled with dead cheap internet. The rural population jumped on the bandwagon. Then social media saw a lot of voices being raised against perceived in-sensitivity of liberals (I too agree that there is a disproportionate bias in news, towards one political leaning) or portrayal of India in international arena.
This is when SV started complaining.
And when the population speaks against SM, the elected representatives will act.
Take the most recent case of raids against Twitter. Twitter did a major mistake by labeling a piece of content "mis-information", while there was an active investigation was underway by the highest investigative authority in India on the same content. That is blatantly illegal. It should have said something like "these facts are being investigated" or something like that.
When an investigation is going on, media is not supposed to pass judgements. Twitter fumbled and India govt. took the opportunity.
Now you have Twitter agreeing, in writing, that it will follow the law of the land.
Silicon Valley is pushing limits. India, as a developing country with a mass of gullible rural population and culturally sensitive to perceived dominance of foreign culture, has ample number of politicians who will make use of every opportunity to gather followers.
The unique problem with India is that, a decade ago, it had a small but highly educated, privileged urban population, spread across a handful of cities, who are the most vocal in national media and social media. This was the situation when SV companies made inroads to India.
Then came the mobile revolution and the availability of smartphones coupled with dead cheap internet. The rural population jumped on the bandwagon. Then social media saw a lot of voices being raised against perceived in-sensitivity of liberals (I too agree that there is a disproportionate bias in news, towards one political leaning) or portrayal of India in international arena.
This is when SV started complaining.
And when the population speaks against SM, the elected representatives will act.
Take the most recent case of raids against Twitter. Twitter did a major mistake by labeling a piece of content "mis-information", while there was an active investigation was underway by the highest investigative authority in India on the same content. That is blatantly illegal. It should have said something like "these facts are being investigated" or something like that.
When an investigation is going on, media is not supposed to pass judgements. Twitter fumbled and India govt. took the opportunity.
Now you have Twitter agreeing, in writing, that it will follow the law of the land.
Silicon Valley is pushing limits. India, as a developing country with a mass of gullible rural population and culturally sensitive to perceived dominance of foreign culture, has ample number of politicians who will make use of every opportunity to gather followers.
> I see this as a propaganda piece.
I tend to agree. I've worked in SV a long time, and a majority of non-US-born coworkers remain Indian. I see no evidence of this changing, so I find it implausible that slate has it's finger on the pulse of tech and is detecting a weakening of the role of Indian programmers, nor have I observed any decline in the quality or usefulness of Indian programmers, which is ultimately what matters.
I tend to agree. I've worked in SV a long time, and a majority of non-US-born coworkers remain Indian. I see no evidence of this changing, so I find it implausible that slate has it's finger on the pulse of tech and is detecting a weakening of the role of Indian programmers, nor have I observed any decline in the quality or usefulness of Indian programmers, which is ultimately what matters.
I think the piece is about India the country, not Indian expats though?
I take the "influence" of India to be the pipeline of labor to SV. Those can be work-visa holders or those working in Indian offices, to me these two categories go hand-in-hand.
The article does make a reference to casteism in SV perpetuated by indian expats, unrelated to the rest of the piece.
> Twitter did a major mistake by labeling ....
They did not, Twitter has brandished its political leaning.
They pay very little to no taxes, it might be flexing or testing the waters to prevent a global tax as proposed in the G7.
Twitter in particular has double standards dealing with India vis-a-vis EU.
They did not, Twitter has brandished its political leaning.
They pay very little to no taxes, it might be flexing or testing the waters to prevent a global tax as proposed in the G7.
Twitter in particular has double standards dealing with India vis-a-vis EU.
I suddenly realized it was propaganda too when I go up to this gem of journalistic objectivity:
"His “Digital India” campaign (whose website, incidentally, has pretty horrid design) [...]"
"His “Digital India” campaign (whose website, incidentally, has pretty horrid design) [...]"
Perhaps ironically the only thing I can agree with in that article.
He isn't exactly incorrect, judge for yourself :)
https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/
Modi and his fan club have spent so much time and energy pissing off so many people that the moment they show weakness there will be major repercussions. So its a trap. All this "taming" SV narrative is their only move. The more control they have, the more people they piss off, the deeper the hole they dig themselves into gets. Sooner or later no one will help them out of the hole. And they can stay there and chant about their delusions of control.
Given the incompetence they have displayed its fascinating how anyone can have faith that such a govt can "tame", leave alone control SV.
Given the incompetence they have displayed its fascinating how anyone can have faith that such a govt can "tame", leave alone control SV.
[deleted]
This downward trend has long been in the works.
The current government came into power riding on a wave of popularity, largely driven by their "IT cells". Now comfortably in power, they are probably dismantling the path, to avoid others who might try to follow.
The government is not just in a stand-off with big-tech companies. It continues to view its own citizens as adversaries with frequent internet shutdowns [1].
[1] https://internetshutdowns.in/
The current government came into power riding on a wave of popularity, largely driven by their "IT cells". Now comfortably in power, they are probably dismantling the path, to avoid others who might try to follow.
The government is not just in a stand-off with big-tech companies. It continues to view its own citizens as adversaries with frequent internet shutdowns [1].
[1] https://internetshutdowns.in/
Can we stop with all this IT cell bullshit? Modi got in because he was more competent than the rajputra of the Nehru dynasty. My family are from Gujarat. We’ve known about Modi since he was governor. We moved out of our ancestral village several generations ago but still return on special occasions because our kuladevi is there. The area is semi-desert. Modi got water from the Narmada dam piped in. Now cash crops can be irrigated and the kids don’t die of dysentery any more. We used to have to stop at a larger town and walk a couple of miles down a dirt track to get there. Modi got a road built and regular bus service to the nearest city. That’s why he is popular. That area was staunchly Congress since 1947 and still is but you won’t find anyone with a bad word to say about Narendra Modi. He got things done and that’s what counts. The Hindu nationalism is just icing on the cake. (Remember there was a time when Congress also used to brag about how e.g Sardar Patel rebuilt Somanath.)
Now with the latest missteps such as demonetization and the COVID response etc. the bloom is off the rose a little but he is still genuinely popular and more importantly there isn’t anyone on the national scene “who might be trying to follow.”
Now with the latest missteps such as demonetization and the COVID response etc. the bloom is off the rose a little but he is still genuinely popular and more importantly there isn’t anyone on the national scene “who might be trying to follow.”
He also led pogroms, segregated living areas by religion and promoted rioters and terrorists. Gujarats gdp per capita is only slightly above the median.
And IT cell is a reality that has been exposed several times over. Identical copy paste tweets and interviews with ex-it cell employees.
And IT cell is a reality that has been exposed several times over. Identical copy paste tweets and interviews with ex-it cell employees.
Speaking of copy paste, what happened of the toolkit row?
Whether the objective was good or bad, should the people actively trying to trend things be called "IT cell for XYZ"?
It feels a bit hypocritical
They are actually paid to do it. They are employed by the IT cell of BJP. Other parties do the same, but cannot match the scale.
I gave you actual examples of improvements I’ve seen with my own two eyes. People can’t drink gdp.
I don’t doubt there could be an IT cell. What I was reacting to was the idea that it is a major reason for Modi’s success. Like “Russian collusion” this is just cope by people who can’t accept that it is they who are the unpopular ones.
People don’t understand that propaganda like hypnotism only works on people who are already primed to believe it. Why does anyone listen to this BJP IT cell? Do you know?
I don’t doubt there could be an IT cell. What I was reacting to was the idea that it is a major reason for Modi’s success. Like “Russian collusion” this is just cope by people who can’t accept that it is they who are the unpopular ones.
People don’t understand that propaganda like hypnotism only works on people who are already primed to believe it. Why does anyone listen to this BJP IT cell? Do you know?
Well people can drink their own blood. I actually knew people who were massacred in gulbarga society.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gulbarg_Society_massacre
Your screed reads like an apologia for Hitler.
I actually know Muslim friends in ahmedabad that cannot buy or rent a house in normal housing societies and have been ghettoized into Muslim enclaves with non existent municipal services.
I am glad that I live in the United states where nobody asks me for my religion or caste before renting or selling a home. United states is never going to be "dharmic", it got rid of its "dharmic" tendencies with the civil rights movement.
Edit: The dharmic comment was in response to another poster talking about United states becoming "dharmic".
I actually know Muslim friends in ahmedabad that cannot buy or rent a house in normal housing societies and have been ghettoized into Muslim enclaves with non existent municipal services.
I am glad that I live in the United states where nobody asks me for my religion or caste before renting or selling a home. United states is never going to be "dharmic", it got rid of its "dharmic" tendencies with the civil rights movement.
Edit: The dharmic comment was in response to another poster talking about United states becoming "dharmic".
The village I’m referring to (in Rajkot district) is less than 5% Muslim and those are Ismaili, Vohra etc. Even for them what happens to Sunnis in Ahmedabad might as well be on Mars as far as they care. What the RSS think about Hinduism is also irrelevant. Modi is revered for one reason and one reason only; what he actually did to make those peoples lives better. I mentioned in my original post that his popularity has not translated into popularity for the BJP in the area. That too is for local reasons.
LOL my “screed reads like an apologia for Hitler.” You are getting too emotional. I’m explaining why Modi is popular. Don’t think about it if it upsets you but don’t shoot the messenger in any case.
LOL my “screed reads like an apologia for Hitler.” You are getting too emotional. I’m explaining why Modi is popular. Don’t think about it if it upsets you but don’t shoot the messenger in any case.
I suggest learning more about what the word dharmic actually means. It seems clear to me that you are using some non-standard interpretation of its meaning.
Tata Nano factory moving from WB to Gujarat, not exactly a paper tiger.
All of this is indeed true.
However, he didn't win elections because of them. His win in 2014 was a reaction to a government lead by the Congress, where the Congress party leaders were intent on defaming and destroying their own Prime Minister.
And the 2019 success was a result of the focus on base infrastructure, economic, diplomatic and defense policy in the first term (the government made genuine and very noticeable improvements in terms of sanitation, electrification and water access across the country).
They also made some epic economic blunders, however, that pain is truly being felt several years later (besides the immediate pain which they were able to explain away by promising long term benefits, but as those benefits don't materialize, they are losing trust), and appear to have given up on economic and social development, and appear to be focused on purely extending their rule through policies of hatred.
It remains to be seen how successful their strategy will be, but the initial results seem to indicate that they are greatly underperforming local elections. And most of these were conducted before the impact of teh devastating 2nd COVID wave, which the government didn't just mishandle, but were probably responsible for, became apparent.
However, he didn't win elections because of them. His win in 2014 was a reaction to a government lead by the Congress, where the Congress party leaders were intent on defaming and destroying their own Prime Minister.
And the 2019 success was a result of the focus on base infrastructure, economic, diplomatic and defense policy in the first term (the government made genuine and very noticeable improvements in terms of sanitation, electrification and water access across the country).
They also made some epic economic blunders, however, that pain is truly being felt several years later (besides the immediate pain which they were able to explain away by promising long term benefits, but as those benefits don't materialize, they are losing trust), and appear to have given up on economic and social development, and appear to be focused on purely extending their rule through policies of hatred.
It remains to be seen how successful their strategy will be, but the initial results seem to indicate that they are greatly underperforming local elections. And most of these were conducted before the impact of teh devastating 2nd COVID wave, which the government didn't just mishandle, but were probably responsible for, became apparent.
Modi government is competent at marketing everything as his contribution, he is highly egoistic, doesn't accept any mistakes, or tries to push the blame to the Nehru Dynasty, Opposition etc. BJP IT Cell is one the most active proponent in pushing the image of Narendra Modi as the savior, whereas in reality, literally any leader who would have listened to experts instead of the election gurus, would have taken more sensible steps.
Modi government is full of yes man, and due to his popularity, the BJP party has itself become smaller than Modi, as elections are won in the name of the Prime Minister instead of the actual leader.
The government is also known for buying elected people post elections using money or power(CBI,ED intimidation) and known for manipulative numbers (they even changed the definition of GDP to make the numbers more attractive).
Modi actually follows Trump modulus of operandi, where instead of calling his opposition/critical news reports as fake news, he more conveniently calls them anti-national or pro-pakistani or western influences.
Anyways this stupid notion of no national alternative was also propogated the BJP IT Cell and BJP owned Media Houses only. Sadly a lot of Indians, including the commenter above have actually bought into it. If you actually look at numbers, India was falling behind on almost everything(jobs, economy etc) even before covid started. Factually speaking, the worst term of UPA(2009-2014) was actually better than the modi government's first term in lot of matrices. Here is a one such study, you can find several others by googling - (please be aware of pro-BJP sources such as https://www.opindia.com, Republic TV etc) https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/manmohan-singh-vs-n...
The government is also known for buying elected people post elections using money or power(CBI,ED intimidation) and known for manipulative numbers (they even changed the definition of GDP to make the numbers more attractive).
Modi actually follows Trump modulus of operandi, where instead of calling his opposition/critical news reports as fake news, he more conveniently calls them anti-national or pro-pakistani or western influences.
Anyways this stupid notion of no national alternative was also propogated the BJP IT Cell and BJP owned Media Houses only. Sadly a lot of Indians, including the commenter above have actually bought into it. If you actually look at numbers, India was falling behind on almost everything(jobs, economy etc) even before covid started. Factually speaking, the worst term of UPA(2009-2014) was actually better than the modi government's first term in lot of matrices. Here is a one such study, you can find several others by googling - (please be aware of pro-BJP sources such as https://www.opindia.com, Republic TV etc) https://www.livemint.com/politics/policy/manmohan-singh-vs-n...
Let us assume that this idea of “no national alternative” is stupid. Who is this person then? Name a name.
If that's the case, why would he fear the Internet so much? Your argument doesn't really hold.
Because that’s where his political enemies are? Most politicians don’t have very deep reasons for why they act.
The set of people who worry about the state of the internet does not overlap very much with the set of people who worry if they have water and the set of people who worry about Hinduism is separate yet. In a democracy whoever can cobble together enough of these different groups (and many more) to make majority will win. If he cannot he will lose. It’s as simple as that.
The set of people who worry about the state of the internet does not overlap very much with the set of people who worry if they have water and the set of people who worry about Hinduism is separate yet. In a democracy whoever can cobble together enough of these different groups (and many more) to make majority will win. If he cannot he will lose. It’s as simple as that.
he is popular because of the propaganda, by that logic hitler was also very popular. You are cherry picking data to suit your needs. Two examples at personal level do not balance the screw ups he has done at the national level. You are speaking as if no development work was done during earlier regimes. All the development started only after 2014. Stats speak another story about the development but then that is not what you want to hear.
Since you are still defending him, you must be blind to all other things seeing them as international conspiracy to defame your great leader.
> there isn’t anyone on the national scene
At this stage anyone, literally anyone, would be better than him
But anyways people
Since you are still defending him, you must be blind to all other things seeing them as international conspiracy to defame your great leader.
> there isn’t anyone on the national scene
At this stage anyone, literally anyone, would be better than him
But anyways people
Uh Hitler was very popular. (To be precise he was more popular than the other guys.). The problem people have with Hitler isn’t that he was unpopular.
Really the amount of projection in some of these replies is incredible. All I’ve done is explain why one group of people have warm feelings for Modi (and FYI no development work was done in that area by prior Congress or BJP governments.) I’ve even acknowledged that he has made serious missteps. But as in parts of the US, in parts of India ORANGE MAN BAD is the only acceptable response it seems. Just a different shade of orange that’s all ;-)
> At this stage anyone, literally anyone, would be better than him.
If you say so. In the real world there actually has to be a person. That person has to actually have a platform, preferably something more than HES HITLER YOU GUYZ, and has to appeal to a vast an diverse electorate who will be driven primarily by parochial concerns. That’s how democracy works.
Really the amount of projection in some of these replies is incredible. All I’ve done is explain why one group of people have warm feelings for Modi (and FYI no development work was done in that area by prior Congress or BJP governments.) I’ve even acknowledged that he has made serious missteps. But as in parts of the US, in parts of India ORANGE MAN BAD is the only acceptable response it seems. Just a different shade of orange that’s all ;-)
> At this stage anyone, literally anyone, would be better than him.
If you say so. In the real world there actually has to be a person. That person has to actually have a platform, preferably something more than HES HITLER YOU GUYZ, and has to appeal to a vast an diverse electorate who will be driven primarily by parochial concerns. That’s how democracy works.
I don't think people are going to like this reply mate. :)
Oh good. Maybe they can come back to India and develop the indigenous software industry.
India has some amazing tech getting made. For instance Hasura. I think India is doing to software what China has done to manufacturing.
What is that? I’m finding it hard to think of the analogues between software and manufacturing.
Your example of Hasura seems to be a company following the SV model
Your example of Hasura seems to be a company following the SV model
This is a theme that will apply in a variety of different areas, well beyond Silicon Valley. There was a sense in the late couple of decades that India will become a faithful follower of US practices (if not policies) with its easily accessible population for everything from movies to ecommerce, food chains to apparel brands and more. The implied sense was that the rapidly growing middle-class would want to mimic (or at least, consume) American lifestyle and values. This did hold when the numbers were small. When this number becomes a few hundred million it is absolutely unsurprising that this mass of users will have their own views and not blindly adopt what others say.
Clearly the changing political landscape has a role to play, but then the cause and effect are usually reversed. The reasons why the political landscape changed, why the current party came to power, are the more fundamental reasons why things are changing.
As India finds its own voice, as a substantial economy, market and an independent identity lots of companies and countries will have to rebevaluate heir views. Good or bad, who knows, but the change is inevitable.
As India finds its own voice, as a substantial economy, market and an independent identity lots of companies and countries will have to rebevaluate heir views. Good or bad, who knows, but the change is inevitable.
India is arguably faithfully following the US here, because Modi's populism has more than a few parallels to Trump.
[deleted]
Given the timelines involved, I'd say it's more likely that not that Modi is following in the footsteps of Xi Jinping. In fact most of Asia is in the hands of some kind of ethno-nationalist leader, from Duterte in the Phillipines to Suga in Japan, Xi in China or Jae-In in S. Korea. Modi is not really exceptional when viewed on the scale of other asian leaders. But Asia has always had a much more ethno-nationalist bent, so it may be surprising to people who compare Indian politics to those of Western Europe. Even western darlings like Aung San Suu Kyi, once in power, turned out to be of a strong ethno-nationalist bent, which I'm sure shocked a lot of her supporters in the West.
naruvimama(2)
That's a really interesting take. History must have had a role to play here, although I wonder in what way that could've influenced the current outlook and mindset of the peoples.
Wait, do you really think president Moon of S. Korea is ethno-nationalist of all things? You have no idea what you're talking about - he's just your run-of-the-mill liberal.
You really need to be careful generalizing the whole Asia region to fit your narrative. S. Korea was already a bit culturally ethno-nationalist not because of reasons like 'racism' or something like Western populist politics, but because of the more complex history of being colonized and almost assimilated by Japan. And diplomatically S. Korea's has always been pro-US for pragmatic reasons (military protection) and would probably stay that way for some time. (That doesn't mean there isn't any anti-US sentiment among citizens, it's just that it hasn't been materialized into anything significant in actual global relations.)
You really need to be careful generalizing the whole Asia region to fit your narrative. S. Korea was already a bit culturally ethno-nationalist not because of reasons like 'racism' or something like Western populist politics, but because of the more complex history of being colonized and almost assimilated by Japan. And diplomatically S. Korea's has always been pro-US for pragmatic reasons (military protection) and would probably stay that way for some time. (That doesn't mean there isn't any anti-US sentiment among citizens, it's just that it hasn't been materialized into anything significant in actual global relations.)
+1 to this. Grandparent comment greatly reduces Asian politics. Even the bit on Aung San Suu Kyi is way too simplified.
You're overestimating Trump. India under Modi is in the process of trying to build an authoritarian Hindu nation-state with a completely alternative model compared to the secular, western-inspired mode it has run on up until now.
Trump, despite tricking a few LARPers into thinking he had some kind of great agenda was just a TV show host. He was about as likely to rebuild the US in some kind of new image as a televangelist is in bringing the kingdom of god to earth.
Trump, despite tricking a few LARPers into thinking he had some kind of great agenda was just a TV show host. He was about as likely to rebuild the US in some kind of new image as a televangelist is in bringing the kingdom of god to earth.
India has always been run on a far more authoritarian model than the U.S. Yes, it's a true democracy but freedom and democracy are not the same thing, and the legacy of the former colonizers is very much there still. Modi is just pushing the overall authoritarian stance of Indian institutions in a different direction that anyways provides him with a lot of shallow, surface popularity.
I’d say it is less by Modi directly and more by the nazi inspired organization called the RSS that’s shaping up India lately. The only difference is that they won’t be repeating the hubris/mistakes of a Fuhrer style set up with a single point of failure.
All other things aside, Modi’s first term started in 2014, Trump’s in 2016. Even assuming that one is similar to the other, it raises the question of who’s following whom...
Definitely, if not consciously - I saw earlier today that Trump and his minions propagated the meme that says
"In reality, they're not after me, they're after you. I'm just in the way"
well after Modi, and in the time since it's been adopted by Netanyahu as well. I often wonder why these people are called "nationalists"...
"In reality, they're not after me, they're after you. I'm just in the way"
well after Modi, and in the time since it's been adopted by Netanyahu as well. I often wonder why these people are called "nationalists"...
Well to be fair even if India wants to play by different rules, it's important to be consistent when making policies. Social media isn't a new thing in India and the recent clampdown suggests that the government no longer has the most influential voice in social media channels. I also don't think Twitter cares too much about India because the moderation is pretty awful, but when it does moderate some powerful politicians, all hell breaks loose. A similar thing happened in Nigeria, where Twitter censoring the President caused the government to block the platform. It's inconsistent and makes the government look weak.
The recent intermediary rules are vague and broad enough that even independent news publishers appear to be targeted. The rules are probably unenforceable too, going by current law. Similarly, e-commerce rules that apparently target Amazon to "help" small traders don't seem to apply to domestic e-commerce marketplaces.
The recent intermediary rules are vague and broad enough that even independent news publishers appear to be targeted. The rules are probably unenforceable too, going by current law. Similarly, e-commerce rules that apparently target Amazon to "help" small traders don't seem to apply to domestic e-commerce marketplaces.
[deleted]
That's two over-a-billion population dysfunctional autocratic regimes in Asia.
Fun times ahead.
Fun times ahead.
Western Liberal democracy is basically vanquished in Asia, right at the time that Asia seems to be poised to dominate economically and demographically. Liberal democracy isn't making any inroads in Africa and Russia has certainly given it a firm no, with the Vysehrad states in Eastern Europe also turning away. Basically only Latin America is up for grabs at the moment and the results there seem mixed at best. We could well face a situation where this is a phenomena reserved for Western Europe and North America, with the rest of the world following the Chinese model. People forget that the U.S. beat the USSR in the cold war because of economic, not ideological, superiority. But it appears that the connection between democracy and economic outperformance is looking strained.
But what is perhaps more sobering is realizing that North America and Western Europe themselves look to be more interested in following the Chinese model, basically a surveillance state led by an anti-democratic elite that has no qualms about using violence and extra-judicial mechanisms of social control to supress popular movements like the Yellow Vests in France. In that case, the big difference between the Chinese model and the Western model would be that in the West, popular movements can be crushed as long as the big corps are OK with it, whereas in China the big corps are firmly under the thumb of the government.
I think those worried about authoritarianism should be much more concerned about the power of tech and big corps to control the public square than having the "wrong" people win elections, because the defending the process is much more important than the worrying about the outcome.
But what is perhaps more sobering is realizing that North America and Western Europe themselves look to be more interested in following the Chinese model, basically a surveillance state led by an anti-democratic elite that has no qualms about using violence and extra-judicial mechanisms of social control to supress popular movements like the Yellow Vests in France. In that case, the big difference between the Chinese model and the Western model would be that in the West, popular movements can be crushed as long as the big corps are OK with it, whereas in China the big corps are firmly under the thumb of the government.
I think those worried about authoritarianism should be much more concerned about the power of tech and big corps to control the public square than having the "wrong" people win elections, because the defending the process is much more important than the worrying about the outcome.
The pandemic and the gvt handouts are the only thing that crushed the yellow vests.
Demographic dividends are a thing. Liberal, socialist democracies use them better other systems.
I think in 20 years, when the demographic transition end in India, the regrets will be high and if there's no support from other economies, the effects will be 100 times worse than ex USSR countries, Portugal, Spain or Greece (European countries that missed on quite a few dividends).
Demographic dividends are a thing. Liberal, socialist democracies use them better other systems.
I think in 20 years, when the demographic transition end in India, the regrets will be high and if there's no support from other economies, the effects will be 100 times worse than ex USSR countries, Portugal, Spain or Greece (European countries that missed on quite a few dividends).
India is unlikely to reap any demographic dividends. Unemployment is increasing and jobs have been shrinking since 2015.
I am from one of the Visegrad states. Our democracy is mostly in the same flawed state, with a recent addition of Twitter outrages over culture war topics.
This is no surprise; a flawed democracy is precisely what the original Austria-Hungary once was, more flawed in Hungary, less flawed in Austria.
This is no surprise; a flawed democracy is precisely what the original Austria-Hungary once was, more flawed in Hungary, less flawed in Austria.
One could say the actual flawed state is a huge step forward from the flawed state of 30 years ago. When we cherry pick examples to compare to, we tend to miss a lot...
>I think those worried about authoritarianism should be much more concerned about the power of tech and big corps to control the public square than having the "wrong" people win elections, because the defending the process is much more important than the worrying about the outcome.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, because the "wrong" people winning elections is - in part - exactly how the process gets destroyed. Once in power, they twist the system to stay there - that's the pattern.
I'm not sure what you're trying to say here, because the "wrong" people winning elections is - in part - exactly how the process gets destroyed. Once in power, they twist the system to stay there - that's the pattern.
After the tech giants' activities in the 2020 US election, damn right the Indians should be muscling in. These companies are basically foreign media companies deeply integrating with the population in a way never before seen. They will eventually move against conservative governments politically.
If anything, the Indian government doesn't understand the threat being posed to them.
If anything, the Indian government doesn't understand the threat being posed to them.
Lmao, SV will know first hand what it means "don't play with fire". They thought they had another US, well they helped create another China.
When US will learn that only Europe can be considered their ally in this world?
When US will learn that only Europe can be considered their ally in this world?
> When US will learn that only Europe can be considered their ally in this world?
For Europe China is now largest trading partner. And European politicians will forever remember that private US companies banned acting president of the USA from the platform. Europe is also taking steps to get rid of Facebook, Twitter, Google and other SV darlings.
For Europe China is now largest trading partner. And European politicians will forever remember that private US companies banned acting president of the USA from the platform. Europe is also taking steps to get rid of Facebook, Twitter, Google and other SV darlings.
> Europe is also taking steps to get rid of Facebook, Twitter, Google and other SV darlings.
As a European. This is a big lol.
Just because the EU, German and French bureaucrats occasionally go on a powertrip and make a big huha about some service or another doesn't mean they are actually going to get rid of it. And just because politicians often bluster about some service or another, often spurned on by local lobbyists doesn't mean they will replace it, rather that they might invest a couple of million into a replacement that then instantly fizzles.
The German press lead by Springer spent years and year mobilizing their politicians against 'Google News' and the laws that came out of that were 10x worse for Users then anything Google would ever do. In the end Google News is still there and even if it wasn't, its hardly a relevant service.
So if it takes a decade of blustering and legal battles to maybe get few cent out of google for google news, how long do you think it would take to 'get rid of' them.
As a European. This is a big lol.
Just because the EU, German and French bureaucrats occasionally go on a powertrip and make a big huha about some service or another doesn't mean they are actually going to get rid of it. And just because politicians often bluster about some service or another, often spurned on by local lobbyists doesn't mean they will replace it, rather that they might invest a couple of million into a replacement that then instantly fizzles.
The German press lead by Springer spent years and year mobilizing their politicians against 'Google News' and the laws that came out of that were 10x worse for Users then anything Google would ever do. In the end Google News is still there and even if it wasn't, its hardly a relevant service.
So if it takes a decade of blustering and legal battles to maybe get few cent out of google for google news, how long do you think it would take to 'get rid of' them.
I want to call out that while the implication in the title might be true, nothing in the article provides any proof. By proof, I mean something like a quote from a big tech honcho to the effect of 'I don't see a future in India'. The article just spouts recent tech happenings in the last 3 years or so (chronologically beginning with Facebook's troubles pushing Free Basics on the Indian market, rightfully rejected)
OMG the world is shrinking for SV.
As US gets deeper and deeper into its Cultural Revolution more and more countries with strong cultural identity do not follow and become more and more selective in adopting US model - China, Iran, Russia, India, Europe...
As US gets deeper and deeper into its Cultural Revolution more and more countries with strong cultural identity do not follow and become more and more selective in adopting US model - China, Iran, Russia, India, Europe...
I'd rather see the culture that gave us the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Vedas, Upanishads, Algebra and many more outstanding creations have it's own way of doing capitalism, or whatever the heck they end up with, than having a another copy of the US, with more curry and funny accents.
This new Americanism seems like the cultural incarnation of entropy, whose sole purpose is desertify culture itself.
This new Americanism seems like the cultural incarnation of entropy, whose sole purpose is desertify culture itself.
That culture has been long gone for thousands of years. The current culture of anti-intellectualism, pseudo-nationalism and hatemongering will not take India to any forefront of world leadership.
The sooner we Indians stop living in the past and live in the present - and work for our future, the better.
The sooner we Indians stop living in the past and live in the present - and work for our future, the better.
Most people fail to realize this. The culture that had Ashoka as an Emperor, hosted Buddha in its soil, made breakthroughs in Mathematics and astronomy is long gone and disrupted. The condition of ower caste people were always horrible, and women were always oppressed.
But that society was also open to sex, gender identities, open, free-flowing debate, LGBTQ, alcohol, etc. that are now carnal sins in modern Hindu narrative.
What is gone is gone.
But that society was also open to sex, gender identities, open, free-flowing debate, LGBTQ, alcohol, etc. that are now carnal sins in modern Hindu narrative.
What is gone is gone.
France: https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/09/world/europe/france-threa...
> PARIS — The threat is said to be existential. It fuels secessionism. Gnaws at national unity. Abets Islamism. Attacks France’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
> The threat? “Certain social science theories entirely imported from the United States,’’ said President Emmanuel Macron.
> PARIS — The threat is said to be existential. It fuels secessionism. Gnaws at national unity. Abets Islamism. Attacks France’s intellectual and cultural heritage.
> The threat? “Certain social science theories entirely imported from the United States,’’ said President Emmanuel Macron.
This seems to be very related to the other article on first page: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=27488950
Seems like US tech companies were exporting US politics and values to India (whether by design or by simply forgetting that not all the world is US) and the government decided that doesn't fit their own goals. I see more of this starting to show up as US citizens demand that tech companies take active part in political censorship which will inevitably lead to clashes with cultures who don't fully agree with currently popular stances.
This goes double for more authariatiran right-wing governmenments. After all, even previous US administration lashed out at tech companies when it decided it didn't like content removal and fact checking.
Seems like US tech companies were exporting US politics and values to India (whether by design or by simply forgetting that not all the world is US) and the government decided that doesn't fit their own goals. I see more of this starting to show up as US citizens demand that tech companies take active part in political censorship which will inevitably lead to clashes with cultures who don't fully agree with currently popular stances.
This goes double for more authariatiran right-wing governmenments. After all, even previous US administration lashed out at tech companies when it decided it didn't like content removal and fact checking.
The fact checking of wuhan lab theory was very well done, wasn't it?
Your comparison is flawed. The article explains that Twitter's 'censorship' came only after its India-based employees were threatened with imprisonment by Indian authorities after not complying with an earlier censorship request. Your comparison of a tiny subset of internet users demanding 'censorship' in about a thousand different directions isn't the same thing as state violence.
This isn't just the government though. There's enough backing to the idea that Twitter especially applies very flawed moderation, suspension standards to voices on its platform. In the early days Twitter was a place for debate and discussion and hearing alternative viewpoints. That's eroded away and hence the outburst. Also I think Indians still hold the view that a corporate with its black box policies can't and shouldn't suppress the voices of democratically elected representatives. I think that's a recipe for disaster.
I don't like the crazy Hindu nationalism of current India at all. But the premise of this article is wrong and arrogant. India is a sovereign country and it has every right to define what is legal political discourse and what is not. The idea that the authority on this are some US companies or another outside force is absurd.
Media and free speech is regulated all over the world including in the USA. Outright racism will be banned within seconds on US social media, and you guys even banned your former president. As an outsider I might disagree with this from a theoretical perspective but I have no say in it, the formulation of these limits lies with the nation state, in USA as in India.
Media and free speech is regulated all over the world including in the USA. Outright racism will be banned within seconds on US social media, and you guys even banned your former president. As an outsider I might disagree with this from a theoretical perspective but I have no say in it, the formulation of these limits lies with the nation state, in USA as in India.
I'm no lover of these tech giants, but I think you're missing the point if you think there's no difference between Twitter banning Trump and succumbing to pressure from Modi after he threatened their entire Indian staff with arrest.
Sure when the us authorities want something from big tech, they can just ask nicely. Whereas if other countries wants something similar, they have to ask more forcefully (how forcefully depends on where on the totem pole of civilized nations they are).
Really just shows that big tech is us big tech.
Really just shows that big tech is us big tech.
@throwaway4good The Hindu nationalism narrative espoused by mainstream media (who are extremely Left and psuedo-secular) is a false one. In the contrary, Hinduism is unfortunately dying a death by thousand cuts. The country is suffering from numerous atrocities by Islam (forced conversations, rapes, temple vandalism etc.). These are just a few (and not all) atrocities by Muslims just in the past week
https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/temple-vandalised-journalist... Dalits forced to Leave Noorpur, Aligarh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hcce1SSubI Hindu beaten up by Muslims in a Muslim majority area over a petty spat where the latter were at fault https://twitter.com/swati_gs/status/1403969433157079047 Women and her children force converted to Islam and her children were circumcised https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/uttar-pradesh-forced-convers... Assassination attempt https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/yati-assassination-plot-vipu... Rape of a minor girl by a 50 year old Muslim cleric https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/up-gorakhpur-maulana-rapes-m... Doctor assaulted https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/west-bengal-family-of-one-sh... Temple vandalised and desecreated A 47 year old Muslim girl rapes minor girl https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/delhi-cleric-rapes-minor-gir... Muslims after gaining a local majority oppose a Hindu procession https://www.opindia.com/2021/05/tamil-nadu-hindu-procession-...
The above is in a Hindu majority nation. Imagine the sheer number of crimes/atrocities Muslims would commit if they were the majority (like they did in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Muslim majority nations).
Simultaneously, Hinduism is being dealt another severe blow by rampant Christian conversion (funded by donations arriving from the US) https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/how-devout-christian-miss... and misuse of Hindu temple funds by Christian Chief Ministers https://iskconnews.org/government-control-weakens-indias-tem... Hindu temples in the country (and especially my state) are being vandalised by the dozens. Barely a few months ago, an anclient year temple near my home was vandalised and the 400 year old temple idol was decapitated https://swarajyamag.com/insta/andhra-pradesh-400-year-old-lo...
The currently ruling party, BJP, were democratically elected. They can barely be classified a Centre party or a Centre-right party and even appeal to Christian and Muslim voters in a few Indian states. The old ruling party, Indian National Congress (INC) is an extremely corrupt, inept and psuedo-secular minority appeasing party leader by an incompetent leader (Rahul Gandhi). They've ruled India since 1947 independence and have caused irreparable economic and cultural damage to the country through their policies. The country and Hinduism will be in dire straits if they're re-elected.
> I don't like the crazy Hindu nationalism of current India at all.
https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/temple-vandalised-journalist... Dalits forced to Leave Noorpur, Aligarh https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Hcce1SSubI Hindu beaten up by Muslims in a Muslim majority area over a petty spat where the latter were at fault https://twitter.com/swati_gs/status/1403969433157079047 Women and her children force converted to Islam and her children were circumcised https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/uttar-pradesh-forced-convers... Assassination attempt https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/yati-assassination-plot-vipu... Rape of a minor girl by a 50 year old Muslim cleric https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/up-gorakhpur-maulana-rapes-m... Doctor assaulted https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/west-bengal-family-of-one-sh... Temple vandalised and desecreated A 47 year old Muslim girl rapes minor girl https://www.opindia.com/2021/06/delhi-cleric-rapes-minor-gir... Muslims after gaining a local majority oppose a Hindu procession https://www.opindia.com/2021/05/tamil-nadu-hindu-procession-...
The above is in a Hindu majority nation. Imagine the sheer number of crimes/atrocities Muslims would commit if they were the majority (like they did in Pakistan, Bangladesh and other Muslim majority nations).
Simultaneously, Hinduism is being dealt another severe blow by rampant Christian conversion (funded by donations arriving from the US) https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/how-devout-christian-miss... and misuse of Hindu temple funds by Christian Chief Ministers https://iskconnews.org/government-control-weakens-indias-tem... Hindu temples in the country (and especially my state) are being vandalised by the dozens. Barely a few months ago, an anclient year temple near my home was vandalised and the 400 year old temple idol was decapitated https://swarajyamag.com/insta/andhra-pradesh-400-year-old-lo...
The currently ruling party, BJP, were democratically elected. They can barely be classified a Centre party or a Centre-right party and even appeal to Christian and Muslim voters in a few Indian states. The old ruling party, Indian National Congress (INC) is an extremely corrupt, inept and psuedo-secular minority appeasing party leader by an incompetent leader (Rahul Gandhi). They've ruled India since 1947 independence and have caused irreparable economic and cultural damage to the country through their policies. The country and Hinduism will be in dire straits if they're re-elected.
> I don't like the crazy Hindu nationalism of current India at all.
This needs to be understood in the context of a cultural onslaught of American values. More than just social media, services like Netflix, Prime, Disney are streaming live into millions of households in India.
India has its own authentic identity that is under severe threat. If you look at China / East Asia - it is culturally and aesthetically like the West, mostly America, other than language and deference to authority.
India has been traditionally liberal through the ages, it has more diverse cultures embedded in society and has fought much fewer internal wars than any ancient civilization. Few other cultures have outright pacifist icons such as Buddha or Gandhi. It has been able to absorb external influences gradually while maintaining its own distinct identity.
The backlash we see is not as harsh as China or the Islamic world, but India will need its own gradual pace to accept changes. It is more than this core liberalism that connects India to the West. While India and America are not geopolitically aligned, Indians in America have formed deep cultural roots that connect the two cultures. Technology leaders like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella are role models for every child in India, so is American VP Kamala Harris.
The article in my view is not wrong, but takes a very narrow view of things. Other than the few 100 posts that Indian authorities have removed, there are 100s of thousands of critical posts that are still widely circulated. The government inadvertently makes "own goals" and add fuel to fire when it does stupid things like this. The farmer's protest blew up in their face and this is not the end.
There is a lot more to be hopeful about India rather than expect it to follow narrow nationalism of China or fierce capitalism of America.
India has its own authentic identity that is under severe threat. If you look at China / East Asia - it is culturally and aesthetically like the West, mostly America, other than language and deference to authority.
India has been traditionally liberal through the ages, it has more diverse cultures embedded in society and has fought much fewer internal wars than any ancient civilization. Few other cultures have outright pacifist icons such as Buddha or Gandhi. It has been able to absorb external influences gradually while maintaining its own distinct identity.
The backlash we see is not as harsh as China or the Islamic world, but India will need its own gradual pace to accept changes. It is more than this core liberalism that connects India to the West. While India and America are not geopolitically aligned, Indians in America have formed deep cultural roots that connect the two cultures. Technology leaders like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella are role models for every child in India, so is American VP Kamala Harris.
The article in my view is not wrong, but takes a very narrow view of things. Other than the few 100 posts that Indian authorities have removed, there are 100s of thousands of critical posts that are still widely circulated. The government inadvertently makes "own goals" and add fuel to fire when it does stupid things like this. The farmer's protest blew up in their face and this is not the end.
There is a lot more to be hopeful about India rather than expect it to follow narrow nationalism of China or fierce capitalism of America.
This was not the case pre 2014. You are speaking as if India is a country that was recently created.
It’s sad to see well intentioned people adopt the narrative that freedom of speech is just some western value, unfit for India.
People under oppression need your solidarity, not their circumstances being explained away.
People under oppression need your solidarity, not their circumstances being explained away.
It's hilarious to see SV firms pushing for freedom of speech while they disparage that same freedom in their own origin country.
One of my favorite comedy group from Nigeria has an apt skit
https://youtu.be/Z1yBM1mheU4
https://youtu.be/Z1yBM1mheU4
I had to laugh at this one. I'm neither a fan of social media nor the current Indian government, but this article is either ridiculously out-of-touch, or is aimed towards an ivory-tower audience nicely cosseted within universities far away from the country they're writing about.
There might've been an idealistic Silicon Valley in the 1990s-2000s, but if it ever existed, it's gone now, replaced by high-growth corporations whose goal is the same as all high-growth corporations, ie money and growth at the expense of everything else. The way they will make the most money is by amplification of whatever ideas governments and companies will pay money to amplify. The valley is not against the Indian government, it is with the people who will pay it the most / will amplify it's use the most. Political discussion will keep people within the social website bubble for longer times, so such discussions is what people will see. Administrative or legal action are side effects, and just fun-and-games as usual for both the SV companies as well as the customers (not users!) of the products, to ensure that they get a better deal for their side, in ways they've mostly always used throughout history.
The author also seems to neglect mentioning that every major SV company has fairly sizable employee presence across India and recruits heavily from India's best education institutes. These employees are some of the highest-paid in the country. A lot of people at upper levels of these companies' headquarters in the valley are of Indian origin. They know how the country works; they know how fiercely angry the people get at things they perceive as slights to their identity; they know what kind of leadership the BJP has, and they definitely knew what kind of person Modi is. If they still got in bed with him, it's due to their greed and lack of respect of the same values they seem to identify with.
> ...TikTok ban came into play, that the app had become an easy-to-use arena for conscientious citizens to counter mainstream media censorship, spread the word about protests, and give voice to Indians of different castes, gender and sexual identifications, and ethnicities, many of whom found themselves under attack from the BJP’s Hindu nationalist government
This is ridiculous. Anyone who used TikTok even for a minute in India knows that the app was far away from what this author seems to describe. It was nothing but people dancing around and making goofy videos. I am not sure how the app's design would have helped to do anything as serious as "spreading word about protests" in a consistent way.
I'm all for serious discussion of autocracy, of stifling free speech or spread of inflammatory rhetoric, but this is the flimsiest article I've read about it. It seems to side with the people responsible for amplifying these issues in the first place, and mindlessly bashes what it feels as working against those companies. IMO banning FB's Free Basics was unequivocally a good thing. Banning TikTok has almost no losers other than TikTok and some influencers.
Social media was supposed to be a way to keep touch with family and upload cat photos. If it got used for something far more sinister at global scale, it should expect some sort of pushback, regardless of the people doing the pushback are right or not.
There might've been an idealistic Silicon Valley in the 1990s-2000s, but if it ever existed, it's gone now, replaced by high-growth corporations whose goal is the same as all high-growth corporations, ie money and growth at the expense of everything else. The way they will make the most money is by amplification of whatever ideas governments and companies will pay money to amplify. The valley is not against the Indian government, it is with the people who will pay it the most / will amplify it's use the most. Political discussion will keep people within the social website bubble for longer times, so such discussions is what people will see. Administrative or legal action are side effects, and just fun-and-games as usual for both the SV companies as well as the customers (not users!) of the products, to ensure that they get a better deal for their side, in ways they've mostly always used throughout history.
The author also seems to neglect mentioning that every major SV company has fairly sizable employee presence across India and recruits heavily from India's best education institutes. These employees are some of the highest-paid in the country. A lot of people at upper levels of these companies' headquarters in the valley are of Indian origin. They know how the country works; they know how fiercely angry the people get at things they perceive as slights to their identity; they know what kind of leadership the BJP has, and they definitely knew what kind of person Modi is. If they still got in bed with him, it's due to their greed and lack of respect of the same values they seem to identify with.
> ...TikTok ban came into play, that the app had become an easy-to-use arena for conscientious citizens to counter mainstream media censorship, spread the word about protests, and give voice to Indians of different castes, gender and sexual identifications, and ethnicities, many of whom found themselves under attack from the BJP’s Hindu nationalist government
This is ridiculous. Anyone who used TikTok even for a minute in India knows that the app was far away from what this author seems to describe. It was nothing but people dancing around and making goofy videos. I am not sure how the app's design would have helped to do anything as serious as "spreading word about protests" in a consistent way.
I'm all for serious discussion of autocracy, of stifling free speech or spread of inflammatory rhetoric, but this is the flimsiest article I've read about it. It seems to side with the people responsible for amplifying these issues in the first place, and mindlessly bashes what it feels as working against those companies. IMO banning FB's Free Basics was unequivocally a good thing. Banning TikTok has almost no losers other than TikTok and some influencers.
Social media was supposed to be a way to keep touch with family and upload cat photos. If it got used for something far more sinister at global scale, it should expect some sort of pushback, regardless of the people doing the pushback are right or not.
> There might've been an idealistic Silicon Valley in the 1990s-2000s, but if it ever existed, it's gone now, replaced by high-growth corporations
1990s Silicon Valley was "idealistic"? That's news to me, IIRC they were all about "high growth" ventures like pets.com. Idealistic tendencies on the Internet are not altogether unknown of course, but I'm pretty sure you've always had to look for them outside the commercialized SV bubble. And modern day Fake Social Media is highly commercialized as you rightly point out. TikTok even more strongly so if anything.
1990s Silicon Valley was "idealistic"? That's news to me, IIRC they were all about "high growth" ventures like pets.com. Idealistic tendencies on the Internet are not altogether unknown of course, but I'm pretty sure you've always had to look for them outside the commercialized SV bubble. And modern day Fake Social Media is highly commercialized as you rightly point out. TikTok even more strongly so if anything.
I believe Tik Tok just gathers datasets for CCP to train AI models about foreign face features, voice etc. to improve surveillance etc and could even be used in a war to target foreigners using autonomous drones.
> replaced by high-growth corporations whose goal is the same as all high-growth corporations, ie money and growth at the expense of everything else.
Why do people say this? It's not insightful, I guess it's like some kind of ingroup signaling?
It's also, you know, not true. The growing companies like Amazon and Uber don't make money, and the money making companies don't do things "at the expense of everything else", or else they wouldn't be in their current markets. They would be selling heroin.
The CEOs don't want it to be true:
https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redef...
and neither do the corporate owners, since the same retirement funds own all the companies that are competing with each other, and so they don't really try that hard:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/the-autopi...
Sometimes owners even want the company to stop existing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-27/exxon-...
Why do people say this? It's not insightful, I guess it's like some kind of ingroup signaling?
It's also, you know, not true. The growing companies like Amazon and Uber don't make money, and the money making companies don't do things "at the expense of everything else", or else they wouldn't be in their current markets. They would be selling heroin.
The CEOs don't want it to be true:
https://www.businessroundtable.org/business-roundtable-redef...
and neither do the corporate owners, since the same retirement funds own all the companies that are competing with each other, and so they don't really try that hard:
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/04/the-autopi...
Sometimes owners even want the company to stop existing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-05-27/exxon-...
[deleted]
We are just so addicted in America to these platforms we just can't collectively even start to imagine how the whole world does not want the same addiction.
>Silicon Valley Thought India Was Its Future
I'm a bit skeptical. I'd imagine SV thought India was one country out of the 200+ their services are available in and if one of those 200 changing governments pass bad laws then whatevs, a developing countries manager can do a press release or something.
I'm a bit skeptical. I'd imagine SV thought India was one country out of the 200+ their services are available in and if one of those 200 changing governments pass bad laws then whatevs, a developing countries manager can do a press release or something.
The sad part of this is that we've know these kinds of trends were going to happen since the advent of the computer and automation. Computing and automation leave the average physical and intellectual ability behind. Someone born in the last 20 years could be forgiven for thinking that Science Fiction is only about dystopian stories of despair. Why? Because one cornerstone of SciFi is that the average IQ is worth less every day and is being replaced by technology. Those left behind will revolt. This easily explains Trump's appeal. Average people are feeling more irrelevant ever day. Trump is proof that even the worst of con men can tap into that despair. Andrew Yang ran his Presidential campaign in part on this theme, but UBI does nothing for helping people feel relevant or in control of their lives. The title of this article could have easily been, "Silicon Valley thought the US was its future, now things have changed." The disaffected are only becoming more disaffected every day because those in the technological advancement industries don't care.
>But this quickly disintegrated, and the bargain tech execs drove in embracing an already-notorious figure like Modi became much harder. In 2016, India blocked Facebook’s “Free Basics” initiative, an attempt by the company to offer free internet access through a network of Facebook-approved sites, out of concern that the program would have created unfair tiers for internet access;
I wonder why author thinks that "free basics" was a great idea that was crushed by Modi.
I wonder why author thinks that "free basics" was a great idea that was crushed by Modi.
Not crazy about the ambiguous/meaningless title
Not to mension the amount of repression etc the present ruling party indulges in..
15 years ago India looked like it would evolve into a country and society with liberal western values, but it hasn't made progress in recent years, but rather it has regressed.