Once seen by politicians as a tool to tackle issues, Capitol Hill is finding out that technology could be a double-edged sword with unintended consequences. Cecilia Kang, National Technology Correspondent at The New York Times, joined to take a closer look at the crossroads between politics and Silicon Valley.
Kang discussed why the Democrats became sour on Silicon Valley. She said the 2016 election was the start of a journey for the Democratic party to evaluate the role of technology companies in the spread of information. Kang added that they wanted to investigate whether social media companies were good or potentially harmful for democracy. When the shock wore off from the election results, they wanted to look into what was behind the outcome.
Are Democrats just trying to find something else to blame for election results they aren’t happy with? Kang pointed out that social media companies themselves have acknowledged that they did play a role in the election. This is evident in the newsfeed algorithm changes implemented by Facebook. The company is now placing a heavier emphasis on content from friends and family opposed to content from publishers.
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George Sakellaris, President & CEO at Ameresco, outlines how smart energy upgrades and performance contracts are cutting costs, CO₂, and boosting efficiency.
Seth Schachner, Managing Director at Strat Americas, breaks down Disney’s Q3 results: streaming profits, parks growth and ESPN rights deal with the NFL.
Kory Kantenga, Head of Economics Americas at LinkedIn, unpacks Friday’s jobs numbers, labor force trends, and signals of a potential economic deal with China.
Bret Kenwell, US Investment Analyst at eToro, joins us to break down tech earnings, what’s driving tech stock momentum, and what investors should watch next.
