Sometimes, on this blog, we offer some recommended reading. Today, I’d like to suggest some recommended watching, at least for those that have a Netflix subscription or know someone who does. The documentary ‘The Social Dilemma‘ is a fascinating story, related by Silicon Valley insiders, about how social media have slowly turned into gruesomely effective tools to capture your attention and sell it to the highest bidder.

To paraphrase from the movie: on one side of the screen is you, and on the other side of the screen are dozens of the world’s best experts, aided by supercomputer AI’s. They do not have your best interest in mind. Imagine how that battle is going to play out?

While I’m certainly very worried by such developments, I still strongly believe computer networks can be a force for good, bringing people together and sharing knowledge ever more widely. In the end, it’s in our own hands to decide how we’ll design the tools of the future and at what price we’re willing to use them. Initiatives like the Decentralised Web offer a different vision for the future, where we could take control of our data back from big business.