Should this exist?” is not generally a query that technologists ask themselves, Caterina Fake says. Instead, the Flickr co-founder grew to become an investor and says that most marketers and engineers will ask themselves, “Can this exist, may want to this exists, how can we gain the investment to make this exist? Those are the conversations we’ve had about technology for the past 15 to 20 years.”
But that narrative in tech is evolving, Fake tells WIRED on this week’s Gadget Lab podcast, from one among creativity, optimism, and converting the world to a stark truth wherein generation can do a lot of damage as suitable. The cracks show, and Fake says, “People are asking, ‘Whoa, what have we performed? Is this what we genuinely desired to construct?'” That line of questioning was the genesis for her podcast, Should This Exist?, a WaitWhat, a unique series made in partnership with Quartz.
In this week’s episode, Fake also weighs in on IBM’s use of Flickr as a database to educate its facial reputation algorithms. Could Fake or other entrepreneurs who created new merchandise in the early 2000s have foreseen the obsessive photo-sharing culture we’re now dwelling in? Yes… but also no.
Show notes: This week’s display also mentioned the tragic Ethiopian Airlines crash, Elizabeth Warren’s name for interrupting Big Tech, and Apple’s upcoming media-related event.
Additionally, be aware: WIRED’s Gadget Lab crew taped this podcast before news broke about a mass capture in Christchurch, New Zealand, that became stay-streamed on the internet. At the time of the booklet, a minimum of 49 people had been stated to have been killed. WIRED will continue to comply with this tale.
Recommendations: Caterina recommends Lost Time: Lectures on Proust in a Soviet Prison Camp. Arielle recommends the Death Clock extension for Chrome, which continuously reminds you of your mortality. Mike recommends Esther Perel’s podcast, Where Should We Begin? Lauren recommends the new HBO documentary The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley.
Send the Gadget Lab hosts feedback on their non-public Twitter feeds. For example, our visitor this week, Catherine Fake, may be discovered at @caterina. Arielle Pardes can be found at @pardesoteric. Lauren Goode is @laurengoode. Michael Calore can be determined at @snackfight. Bling the principal hotline at @GadgetLab. Our subject matter music is with the aid of Solar Keys.
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