Observed Signal · Aug 11, 2026 · Opinion / Commentary · Source: Noahpinion · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Negative
Debating Anti‑Tech Thought and Surveillance Concerns
Noah Smith responds to Henry Farrell's critiques of his review of Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson's book Power and Progress. Smith concedes he has underexamined the risks of ubiquitous digital surveillance but argues that anti‑tech intellectualism often conflates persuasion with coercive power and overlooks why consumers embraced technologies like the iPhone and Amazon. He defends the productive role of prominent technologists while acknowledging legitimate concerns about wealth, influence, and worker monitoring. The piece situates current anti‑tech sentiment within post‑2016 shifts in coverage and policy debates and warns that a backlash against tech could lead to unproductive class conflict or drastic government intervention.
Opinion analysis about anti‑tech sentiment, surveillance, and tech influence touches on policy debates and public attitudes that can affect regulation and industry reputation, but it does not report a platform policy change or major industry action.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Noah Smith published the essay 'The poverty of anti-tech thought' on Substack on 2026-08-11.
- The essay is a response to Henry Farrell's posts reacting to Smith’s review of the book Power and Progress by Daron Acemoglu and Simon Johnson.
- Smith says Acemoglu and Johnson discuss digital surveillance only briefly (three pages in the hardcover, pp. 320-322) and focus their argument on techno-industrial influence and persuasion.
- Smith argues that much anti-tech sentiment intensified after the 2016 election and through subsequent debates about disinformation, antitrust, and tech influence.
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“At this point, if you’re still reading this post, you’re probably asking “Why is this interesting to me, someone who has not read Power and ...”
“to a rounding error, all of American society has welcomed Big Brother into their pockets, turned on “track location”, accepted cookies, uplo...”
“to a rounding error, all of American society has welcomed Big Brother into their pockets, turned on “track location”, accepted cookies, uplo...”
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“In the end, the government will probably end up quasi-nationalizing the big AI companies in some way, in order to ensure that this powerful ...”
“In the end, the government will probably end up quasi-nationalizing the big AI companies in some way, in order to ensure that this powerful ...”
Ontology Mapping & Concepts
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