The systems that underlie modern technology have gaping vulnerabilities that are being exploited by nations around the globe to maintain power and exert control.

COVID-19 vaccines are now being approved and deployed around the world. But will there be a sizable enough segment of the population willing to get them?

Where does the tech industries’ power lie? Are they “mind-control” platforms capable of influencing elections through algorithmic muscle, or does their true threat to society lie in market concentration?

Depending who you ask, big tech is either going to save humanity or destroy us. Taylor Owen thinks it’s a little more complicated than that. Join him in conversation with leading thinkers as they make sense of a world transformed by technology.

The US Judiciary antitrust hearing last month marked a turning point in the way government and society view the big tech companies. The investigation of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law, coupled with concerns about pandemic medical misinformation and the upcoming presidential election, means the tech industry is under greater scrutiny than ever before.

Advances in molecular biology, such as the gene-editing technology CRISPR, are enabling rapid developments in gene manipulation and a growing do-it-yourself community of biohackers. Genetic modifications can have global impacts. Who decides if research can proceed?

Individual nations are looking to find solutions to online harms occurring on platforms. The scope of platforms is global, and common issues emerge. Nations can share their knowledge with one another to better address the big tech industry.

The internet presents great opportunities for journalists to share their reporting, but it has also had negative impacts on the industry. Social media platforms have siphoned ad revenue from newspapers as well as allowed fake news to be shared widely.

The tech giants have entrenched themselves in all aspects of the internet. It has become nearly impossible to avoid interacting with one of the big five American tech companies when going online. Do consumers have choice or is it time to break up big tech?

Journalism’s role in balancing power in democracy is being undermined by the spread of disinformation on social media platforms. By allowing any content to be posted online, regardless of its validity, platforms are enabling autocrats to destabilize democratic institutions.