We’re Not in a Democracy - We’re in a Demagoguery

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Previously titled “Big Tech Companies treat humans like batteries. We are just there to power their profits” — renamed by the publisher on Aug 2, 2026

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Recorded30 Apr 2025

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EP 383 - Jonathan MacDonald is back on the show and keener than ever to get you interested in Ethical Tech.We discuss why now, more than ever, people need to be given the tools, and moral frameworks to inform their interactions with increasingly opaque technology. How things like social media are seemingly set up to keep us amused, distracted and rob us of our critical thinking faculties and what that means for humanity in the long term.Jonathan isn’t an anarchist in a tin foil hat (or a cryptoevangelist in a blonde wig come to that) but he is very compelling on why we need to question whether Big Tech algorithms and the people who control them actually have our best interests at heart.He’s pretty convinced that they don’t, or at least don’t care about us beyond what we can do for them. Which is why he has set up SELF - a personal privacy filter - and also ETHICS TV to help people discuss, understand and control their own moral choices around tech.We also chat about the Roman Empire and its attitude to analogous situations. We know plenty of you like to think about that kind of thing quite a lot.*For Apple Podcast chapters, access them from the menu in the bottom right corner of your player*Spotify Video Chapters:00:00 BWB with Jonathan MacDonald02:23 Meet Jonathan03:18 The Mission: Alternative Future for Technology04:44 Humans Are Batteries05:05 The Reality of Free Services05:58 The Normalisation of Surveillance06:29 The Impact of Social Media on Society07:33 The Coercion of Media and Politics08:37 The Evolution of SELF: Personal Privacy Filter09:50 The Demand for Privacy in AI Tools10:50 The Future of Privacy: Self-Sovereign Mechanisms11:47 The Physicality of Data Privacy12:37 The Ineffectiveness of GDPR13:09 The Dark Side of Data Exploitation14:53 The Post-COVID Awareness Shift34:02 Ethics in Technology37:28 The Problem with Modern Democracy39:18 The Importance of Critical Thinking39:58 The Role of Media in Critical Thinking42:30 Education and Critical Thinking46:15 Ethical Issues in AI and Media46:41 The Dystopian Future of AI53:37 Building Ethical Technology01:04:36 Personal Reflections and Advice01:11:08 Quickfire - Get To Know Jonathanbusinesswithoutbullshit.meWatch and subscribe to us on YouTubeFollow us:InstagramTikTokLinkedinTwitterFacebookIf you'd like to be on the show, get in contact - [email protected] is powered by Oury Clark

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.

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