Something to think about when you next use your smartphone

[megilleland]

In a quarter of a century, Amazon has propelled Jeff Bezos from online bookseller to tech titan. He's the richest man on the planet, and the company he founded is one of the most powerful. Panorama investigates Amazon's rise to corporate superpower and asks whether there is a dark side to our love affair with the company. Former high-level insiders describe Amazon's huge, obsessive data-gathering operation, which enables the company to use what it knows about us to shape not only the future of retail but the workplace and technology too. On both sides of the Atlantic, politicians and regulators are beginning to question Amazon's power and to explore ways to rein it in. But some of Amazon's most senior executives say the company is a force for good, inventing new ways to serve customers and maintain their trust.  

Panorama documentary: Amazon: What They Know About Us

iPlayer download. Duration 59 mins First shown 8:30pm 17 Feb 2020 Available for 11 months

Or watch this

Shoshana Zuboff on surveillance capitalism | VPRO Documentary

The average person, including myself, were always in awe how certain people were blessed in making a lot of money, paraded as successful entrepreneurs and held in high esteem by worldwide leaders. So much money that I thought they must have a unique selling point/product or were part of a gangster/protection racket. I thought that if you worked hard, maybe long hours, your efforts would be rewarded and the money would flow in. Usually this wealth was produced in manufacturing and distribution - getting your product to the marketplace. But surprisingly today that wealth is generated with little effort, 24 hours day, by using data collected from us and resold to third parties - other businesses and governments. You may not realise the full consequences of using your smart phone, but watch these two documentaries to understand what really is going on. Already on its way to becoming your worldwide identity card and a means to strip every item of wealth and privilege you possess.