In this timely and provocative book about our new tech-based reality, political insider and tech expert Alexis Wichowski considers the unchecked rise of tech giants like Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Tesla—what she calls “net states”—in a new light: personal, social, and geopolitical forces that rival nation states in power and capital. As these tech giants act more and more like countries, they are transforming the way the world works, putting our rights up for grabs, from personal privacy to national security. 

Written for the tech-savvy and tech-phobic alike—and featuring original reporting and insights drawn from more than 100 interviews with technology and government insiders, explores what happens when we give up our personal freedom and individual autonomy in exchange for an easy, plugged-in existence—and shows what we can do to control our relationship with net states before they irreversibly alter our future.

Wichowski urges us to remember that as tech users we have power over our technologies and the companies behind them; we are in control of the relationship.

Alexis Wichowski is associate commissioner for communications at the Department of Veteran Services, and an adjunct professor of technology, media and communications at Columbia University. Her work has appeared in The Atlantic, TechCrunch, Foreign Affairs, and WIRED, which published her viral piece, “Net States Rule the World: Ignore Them At Your Peril.”

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