I’ve spent more than 20 years talking about technology and how it can improve people’s lives. For most of that time, I was optimistic about the future.
I still believe tech can make our lives better. But I’m increasingly concerned that companies building technology have stopped asking whether it actually does. I think it’s time we started asking harder questions.
My column for Network World (2000-2018) aimed to explain the benefits of new devices and software to business and personal users. This same optimism carried over to my podcasting and video career, where Today in Tech (on Computerworld) and DEMO (on CIO.com) continued the technology conversation with industry thought leaders.
Somewhere along the way, the relationship between technology companies and their customers changed. The tech industry now seems more interested in telling us what we need than listening to what we want. New technologies are being pushed into our workplaces, devices, and daily lives, often without clear explanations of how they make things better. Often, there are hidden benefits for the tech companies themselves (personal data, algorithms that exploit users’ emotions, etc.)
We’re expected to embrace the future simply because the companies building it tell us we should.
This goes well beyond AI, although it’s certainly accelerating the problem. Technology now shapes how we work, communicate, consume information (both real and fake), and understand the world around us. Social media has changed political discourse. Algorithms compete for our attention. Increasingly, decisions made by a handful of technology companies (and the billionaires who run them) affect millions of people who have no say in those decisions.
I now believe that technology has become too important to leave the conversation entirely to the companies building and selling it. Too many people and perspectives are missing, and I want to help change that.
The new Today in Tech with Keith Shaw will ask a simple question about the biggest stories in technology: What does this actually mean for the rest of us?
This means more opinionated commentary and analysis from me, more discussion of stories that people are talking about, and a willingness to challenge corporate narratives, industry hype, and conventional wisdom.
We’ll also look beyond enterprise technology to explore what’s happening in other parts of the tech multiverse (gaming, social media, gadgets). Because the issues affecting businesses and everyday users aren’t all that different.
If a particular technology is being forced on end users for no good reason (ahem, Sony ending disc-based games), or without proper training and support, I want to talk about it. If companies make grand promises about how their products will change our lives, I want to examine whether those promises hold up.
Interviews with other experts will remain a part of the series, but we’re focusing on guests who are willing to challenge the hype, question assumptions, and offer perspectives that might be missing from the larger conversation.
My fundamental values remain intact: curiosity about technology and its possibilities, respect for expertise and informed opinions, a willingness to hear different perspectives, and enthusiasm for genuinely useful innovations.
Being more skeptical doesn’t mean I’m becoming anti-tech or a Luddite. I can still be excited about technology while also questioning the companies, policies and decisions surrounding it.
We are at a crossroads with our relationship with technology. We can continue accepting whatever massive companies put in front of us, or we can start asking tougher questions about whether these changes serve our interests or theirs.
After more than two decades covering this industry, I don’t want to just comment on where technology is heading, but whether we’re heading in the right direction.
This is the kind of conversation I want to have, and I want to build a community of people wiling to have it with me.
This is an evolution in my approach to technology journalism, not a rejection of what I’ve done before. I’m still very proud of that work. In fact, my other show, DEMO, isn’t changing. It remains a showcase for actual products looking to solve real problems for companies and end users. Together, the two shows should give viewers a more holistic view of technology from multiple angles.
None of this works unless we build that community.
I could spend all day shouting from the mountaintop about what I’m seeing, but without people willing to challenge me, disagree with me, or offer their own perspectives, it’s not a conversation. It’s a lecture. I’m not interested in that.
So please, subscribe to the new channel. Watch the episodes either here, on YouTube (even at 2x speed), or Cheddar News. Tell me when you agree, or tell me when you think I’m completely wrong. I don’t have all the answers. But neither does Mark Zuckerberg.
For too long, we’ve been passive participants in a future that technology companies are dictating. It’s time we had a bigger say in what the future looks like.
Let’s do this together.
Want to chat? Here are some places to engage with me:
