I cannot disagree with the author given that modern companies are little more than an aggregation of short-term individuals each with her own agenda many of whom would happily backstab you in order to advance it.
>> the urge to displace direct perceptions of the real world in favor of costly and therefore profitable technological interfaces
That for some reason brings in mind all the chaotic ecosystem of modern IT infrastructure and development. Somehow, bigger and more complex seems to be the way things are lead to go every time.