Technology Fears and Scapegoats: 40 Myths About Privacy, Jobs, AI, and Today’s Innovation Economy

Acknowledgments
Contents
About the Authors
List of Figures
Introduction: The Roots and Risks of Today’s Techno-Mythologies
	The Innovation Formula
	Familiar Tech Fears
	America’s Pro-Technology Past
	How Myths Harm Innovation
	Negativity’s Roots
	Trump as the Tipping Point
	Why Us? Why Two?
	Notes
Society & Culture
Myth 1: Technology is Changing the World as Never Before
	Familiar Human Foibles
Myth 2: Technology Is Destroying Individual Privacy
	Weighing the Balance
	The Privacy Agenda Going Forward
Myth 3: Social Media Is Polarizing America
	Sources of Polarization
	Social Media Scapegoating
	The “Extremism” Fudge
	Notes
Myth 4: Technology Is Driving Today’s Societal Distrust
	Snowballing Societal Distrust
	Improving Digital Trust
	Co-Evolving Trust
	Notes
Myth 5: AI’s Arrival Is an Atomic Bomb Moment
	Flawed Analogies
	And One Missing One
	All Too Familiar Fears
	Specific Solutions
	Notes
Myth 6: Social Media Is the Leading Source of Misinformation
	Dynamics and Incentives
	Notes
Myth 7: Your Data Is Gold
	How Much Is Your Data Worth?
	It’s Not Your Data Anyway
	Economics Trumps Analogies
	Note
Myth 8: Digital Technology is Dangerously “Addictive”
	Two Ends of the Spectrum
	Ameliorating Factors
	Negative Biases
	Dueling “Wastelands”
	Notes
Myth 9: The Internet Is Extinguishing Local Languages
	Peak English?
	The Impact of AI
	The Top Twenty
	The Core 300… Or is it 1,000?
	Indigenous Preservation
	A Boon for Translators
	Notes
Myth 10: Social Media Is an Existential Threat to Democracy
	2016 as a Turning Point
	Social Media’s Role Revisited
	Conclusion
	Notes
Technology & Big Tech
Myth 11: The Pace of Technology Change Is Accelerating
	Device Comparisons
	Computing Eras
	Applications
	Comforting Consistency
	Notes
Myth 12: Technology Increases Societal Biases
	Pervasive Human Biases
	AI Biases in Perspective
	Related Critiques
	Conscious vs. Unconscious Bias
	Notes
Myth 13: Big Tech Faces No Competition
	Shifts in Global Leadership
	Shifts in Technology
	Shifts in Societal Priorities
	From Offense to Defense
	Notes
Myth 14: Silicon Valley Doesn’t Value Diversity
	Outdated Racial Views
	But Why Still Male?
	Predictable Ageism
	Areas of Tech Industry Leadership
	Still Work to Do
	Notes
Myth 15: Facial Recognition Is Inherently Biased
	Misused Data
	The Evidence Tells a Different Story
	The Cost to Society
	Notes
Myth 16: Big Tech Should Be Arbiters of “The Truth”
	Flawed Arbiters
	Pressured or Inclined?
	Hunger for Debate
	Political Speech Is Different
	Notes
Myth 17: Digital Technology Is Increasingly Disruptive
	Definitional Divides
	Notes
Myth 18: Strong Privacy Regulations Spur Digital Adoption
	Why Does This Matter and Where Did It Come From?
	Why Is This a Myth?
	Rules vs Trust
	Trust vs Adoption
	So Where Are We?
	Notes
Myth 19: Big Tech Practices “Data Imperialism” in Emerging Markets
	Mutual Benefits
	Data Needs to Flow
	Maximizing Value
	Notes
Myth 20: Big Data Systems Can’t Protect Individual Privacy
	Where Did This Come From?
	Why Is This a Myth?
	Best Practices
	Policy Implications
	So Where Are We?
	Notes
Jobs & The Economy
Myth 21: Data Is the New Oil
	Tempting Similarities
	The New Space Race
	Limits to Analogies
Myth 22: Productivity Gains No Longer Benefit U.S. Workers
	Why Does It Matter, and Where Did It Come From?
	Why Is This a Myth?
	Into the Data Weeds
	So Where Are We?
	Notes
Myth 23: Corporate Profits Are at an All-Time High
	Why Does This Matter and Where Did It Come From?
	Why This Is a Myth?
	Flawed International Comparisons
	So Where Are We?
	Notes
Myth 24: Technology Is Wiping Out the Middle Class
	Immigration and Household Shifts
	Winners Take More
	Notes
Myth 25: AI Will Lead to the End of Work
	Fueling Resistance
	Impact on Specific Jobs
	There’s No Lump of Labor
	Infinite Unmet Needs
	Notes
Myth 26: Digital Copying Is Victimless
	Common Justifications
	Real Damage
	The Importance of Copyright
	Notes
Myth 27: U.S. Broadband Lags Behind Other Developed Nations
	Competitive Speeds
	Reasonable Prices
	Real Competition
	A Healthy Situation
	Notes
Myth 28: The Internet Is Destroying Journalism
	Journalism vs. Journalists
	Are You Being Served?
	Too Much National News
	Not So Deserted Locally
	Restructuring for the Future
Myth 29: Market Concentration Is at an All-Time High
	Why Does This Matter and Where Did It Come From?
	Why This Is a Myth?
	So Where Are We?
	Notes
Myth 30: Big Pharma Is Driving High Healthcare Costs
	Normal Profits
	Pricing Realities
	Early Access
	The Pace of Development
	Notes
Global Competition & Strategy
Myth 31: Small Businesses Create Most New Jobs and Innovations
	Age Matters
	Who Are the Real Innovators?
	Small Business Motivations
	The Bottom Line
	Notes
Myth 32: We Have All the Technology We Need to Fight Climate Change
	Climate Hopes
	Harsh Realities
	It’s Not Just About Houses and EVs
	Facing Reality
	Notes
Myth 33: China Has Invented a New Form of Capitalism
	Revisiting the “Asian Miracle”
	Democracy as an Output
	Open China’s Potential
	Living with a Giant Tiger
	Notes
Myth 34: American Manufacturing Is Roaring Back
	Manufacturing’s Decline
	Measurement Distortions
	Weak International Comparisons
	Scapegoating Automation
	Notes
Myth 35: India Will Save the West from China
	Growing India Dependency
	India’s STEM Model
	Keeping the Pipeline Flowing
	India’s Neutrality
	A Worrisome Future?
	Note
Myth 36: The EU’s Digital Rules Are a Model for the World
	Why Countries Don’t Need Sweeping New AI Regulations
	Regulatory Motivations
	What Should Policymakers Do Instead?
	Notes
Myth 37: Antitrust Actions Are Needed to Curb Big Tech
	IBM and AT&T
	Microsoft’s Revitalization
	Undermining Intel
	History Suggests Humility
	Notes
Myth 38: Federal R&D Crowds Out Private R&D
	The Evidence Is In
	Public/Private Synergies
	The Impact on Productivity and Growth
	Notes
Myth 39: Industrial Policy Is Not the American Way
	Government and the Early Republic
	The Role of the States
	The Role of the Military
	Recent Policy Successes
	Notes
Myth 40: Industrial Policy Doesn’t Work
	Supporting Strategic Industries
	Market Inadequacies
	The Bottom Line
	Notes
Conclusion
Returning to a Pro-innovation American Agenda
	Defending Thyself
	A Pro-innovation Policy Past
	Missed Opportunities
	A Pro-innovation Policy Agenda for the 2020s
	Pro-growth Politics
	Winning Back Old Media
	A Twenty-First-Century Pro-innovation Narrative
	Notes
Index