A parable of late Web 2.0 social media, inspired by Jaron Lanier
Has Big Tech escaped meaningful scrutiny and consequences because they are already so powerful...the biggest lions whom everyone fears?
Or is it the case that they are the swift gazelles of the economy, now grown bigger than the dinosaurs of the previous age? They seem to be the dominant new herd by right of outpacing all others. So, a boundless new land is theirs to claim. It seems that they can, for now, race far ahead of the plodding old lion of society.
Yet their scent remains in the air. A muzzle lifts. Their intention is known. Could it be that like a squadron of careless aviators who fly into a box canyon, the swift herd of Big Tech sees only a horizon without obstacles? They trample smaller creatures and scare up clouds of fleeing birds. Do they run in a mistaken panic for survival—is that why they pay no mind to the tightening hills?
The deadly tragedy of the box canyon is the wall suddenly towering ahead. There is no room to turn. There is no time to climb. It is inescapable, save for earlier, wiser decisions. The day may yet come when Big Tech meets its wall, and there is nothing left for it to do but wait as slow, approaching footfalls herald a reckoning.