Why Big Tech is incompatible with democracy | Bruno Giussani

[MUSIC] You're listening to Ted Talk's Daily, where we bring you new ideas to spark your curiosity every day. I'm your host, Elise Hugh. How much of your day is shaped by technology you don't really control, and from a country you don't live in. The apps you open, the feeds you scroll, the cloud services you rely on. The AI tools that now seem to show up everywhere. Almost all, important software and digital services, they all now run on the cloud, as we say. Which means that both the data and the processing are not in our machines controlled by us locally, but they are on distant machines, on remote servers, to which we buy access, and we are controlled by the providers. That's author and journalist Bruno Jussani. In this talk, he shares why these technologies aren't just products anymore. They've become the invisible architecture of daily life. For governments, hospitals, businesses, the public forums, and our individual day-to-day work. And that gives the companies behind them enormous power. Bruno shares why he is especially concerned about what this means for Europe, where so much digital infrastructure depends on American platforms, American companies, and American law. Their utility is real, and that's why we have adopted them, and that's why it's so difficult to imagine doing without them. But for that comes at a price. You cannot build a healthy economy and a strong society on somebody else's digital infrastructure. He makes the case for what he calls Europe's digital difference, technology that doesn't spy on you, and infrastructure that gives people more choice, more control, and more accountability. It raises questions that reach far beyond any continent or country. How much autonomy do we really have right now, and what would it take to build a digital world we actually have, a say in? That's coming up right after a short break. And now, our TED Talk of the Day. How many algorithms are part of your daily life? How many sensors, how many screens? In fact, interacting with screens and other digital interfaces has become the main daily activity of almost all of us. But how many of those interactions are actually really of our choosing? Our lives and our societies are increasingly structured around and by algorithms and digital networks. And this algorithmization of life, I think, is a problem. For different reasons, and I want to touch upon two of them tonight. The first one is the nature of these technologies. We think they are products, and we buy them, and once we own them, we can do with them as we please. But in the last couple of decades, digital technologies have actually become platforms. Invisible digital architectures within which we live. And that changes absolutely everything. Almost all important software and digital services. Think of office and industrial applications, information and entertainment feeds, payments, artificial intelligence, chatbots, they all now run on the cloud, as we say. Which means that both the data and the processing are not in our machines controlled by us locally, but they are on distant machines, on remote servers, to which we buy access, and we shall control by the providers. And that gives them an immense power over our lives. It allows them to decide what we can and cannot do. What ideas get visibility and what don't? What information we can access, and also to influence our public debates. Of course, these technologies are efficient, useful, practical, well integrated, easy to use, often even free. But all that comes at a price. And finally, we are starting to understand it. Data extraction, privacy loss, fragmentation of attention, dependency, mental health, we can do a very long list. And now for the past three years, a little bit more, generative artificial intelligence is infield trading itself everywhere. It's popping up on all sorts of applications and programs. Talk into us like friends, giving us sometimes the impression that we have superpowers. And indeed, AI chatbots can seem magical because they offer something almost irresistible. The opportunity to delegate to a machine the effort of thinking, learning, writing, even deciding. They are like cognitive baby bottles, and every day tens of millions of people rush to the nipple. But the more we delegate thinking and deciding, the less we will be able to think and decide by ourselves. And indeed, we are increasingly surrounded by machines that under the cover of optimization and practicality diminish our ability to understand reality and to act upon it. And they algorithmically reprogram change our societies. Within we control them, but actually is they who hypnotize us and domesticate us. And I know that's not a happy profile of our current situation that they just described. And for us Europeans, and that's the second point, for us Europeans, this problem is compounded by the fact that almost all these digital technologies are American. For a long time, for a mix of economic opportunism and strategic naïve-tay and comfort and lack of imagination, we have accumulated a substantial technological lag. We have given up on our digital autonomy. And it didn't seem such a huge deal because these technologies were coming from a country that was a friend and an ally. But now the United States are undergoing an internal revolution with fascist tendencies. And they are engaging in a rogue and destabilizing external activism. Old established friendships are being replaced by openly hostile postures, by brazen interferences. And forced threats are becoming tools of foreign policy. And we must not fool ourselves. This is not just temporary. This is a profound systemic transformation. And the big tech companies, the big American tech companies, the one that we carry in our pockets, the one that are on our desk, on whose digital services we depend. They are aligned with the priorities of their government. We are actually seeing a convergence of military and political power and of cloud power. When the CEOs are invited to accompany the president to a dinner, for example, with the king of England. That's not so that they can take a selfie with the king. That's a signal. It's a signal that digital technology is today central to American power projection. In fact, we should start looking at their data centers. In the same way, we look at the military bases that the US is maintaining around the world. And in this context, the fact that large parts of Europe run on American servers and software owned by American companies, encoding American values and world views and subject to American law. Of course, da k Stefanova ro ti pri travavilitaเรz moments. Mi ti ten v� momentna bola jidku v� changeszanja vكرila radičan. Ten bil je od moravari na reasing. Je nam sam kakon stavlistoma. Topravaj, mil27, alems par čibire družnih tudimir moment. Defila n image pri metra od Amerikana. I teg dependens je potem politiko, i da ekonomiki. Rizk. V sebe uvoj rečni, na Amerikana digitali infrastratju, bi koto. Početni izvrši, početni, početni izvrši, ovo, početni izvrši, je je potem politiko, in v sebe, kaj pričetni, nebim, administracij, aspetaj, energisistem, biznesi, znači, meditari, pači, social network, nevrši, nevrši, nevrši, i je, je potem politiko, na transferi, sege, na teg komponis, na teg governis, i na teg sebe, na Amerikana, kači, i da, nači, nevrši, nevrši, nevrši, i, dependensis, kači, dependensis, kači, in v kursja, in v submision. A so, kači, kači, uržent, kači, uržent, kači, nači, a če, kači, na Amerikana, nači, kači, kači, či Ide bearl ohne boardi godi sam zaj deneg toj čivo i visnost ar såvez putrkovca. Vächterno bi seč modify Po di n experience region Bullet voli kar zones Lirano ka da iss Vomviet će fragstav Filipov ai mu ot~~ prvi opravge ten unfaircolovателя regionice ka to takov mako phlf. Je ev ul自己 kočnik spremet ne dumne dva naDA. Mimo njeg sa sem binds kad ev purjmiti kn21 postavni Rime. Pase me zač Leistaviti politiali te치를 predžnjite. un šsto dam je materničnočivista na Čaj naized ok. A jednačeče ste stada kineša? Tu je cel ko sav je tako, da je Europie je budi Ž 경우 na zakajelu, Ale vi je maternič주 priženfiz, da veliko za jednočnu sp orphannost. Si ma rploανno. Našično, noče, tako, tako, ale je to učakaj, i to je tako. A še to je to, da je to je to, da je to je skala in načičnoče. A jednačeče ste stada kaj načičnoče, da je to priježenje, načečnoče, načečnoče. Alek ret? Voj zelle ti passive, fy te poprakih segačiti u nojo istestavnic له, ker bod so tako, pohlebe as examination bod i aglije, i prično ehreke oligajuda na amerik je gl Shawno, se pred te spotkih rej obili tomba, iz lati v lijatno tegačova i najprej im behavior ulidedv u peos rem used pri temtej nego niskaj bala. V sebe je in poslju sebe tegača, i prično da obilibe da opravite, robastne, i razili. Ale pohlebe, pohlebe, pohlebe, da je vidi v reči, tako spajer, i je je bil je tudi, pohlebe, tudi, v biljans, v širozni, da je v sebe, Europi, uče, obili, Labor, tranjevenice i leci attachments, keliko za bi kolog razvTa od� clear 되 meitoji. Aے sickila mo ovo je in summation, Rongot digiji mo action aleome solidori francij morati kolni drasticallya za healthyorićite. Istrečne epistrii na in術vej teg gadate barak group i rokaológici. my doti je ideSabische, je sentani da jaz izbuljala k some izimo daj greg da greg boljala propinlaBIje, a sam do that it is about subsidies. esso neb 봐i je na Čāk Latin queer mirati stockstled des tač痔ala stanja k jaz vodu je manje šekaj kisčana smalar u steals preset 28% mendicaru drugstaviti možejokolina v mare, ale nadet replacementration scenes kay žišむvo define tate analiznice tr antiklje sa majljšvenje kompetiti. Th unbelvo butti te stavlitelj prustog basically Baši boljできala by oberomljšvenje vsečnice tr antiklje. A je je model, da je je to je veliko tato vzelo, da je veliko tato vzelo, da je veliko tato vzelo, da je veliko tato vzelo. A rezima kompetiti, da je je monopoli, da je veliko tato vzelo, da je veliko tato vzelo. E na mi da seno, kač teď je da necessary ovu spajo on je, a wi objelaj defense refreshing. Oลajty to na prežaj na proč jo, ko je je to posečne, Whewo palja, du propose všekite predbit. To primer teč link auto a pričite. Za majlojimpression?! Na dne posločna šokno paciija i je toame. Je razlapu nemala. Zobaj na na zagration. Svej, je to je začnje. Svej, je začnje, ale načnje, nezavljamo. Počak je na Franša. Svej, na Danmark, na šločna šločna šločna na Čermani. Mnustrujno na Ostria. dvima tšu socialparanata, t shipmenta corzpvića midano Properly s pod tem �etepнем iznočaj thinenom grute. Na hodine to stve af oplatinistiv a gl Chestavinke, alternatoru prot MAN Storm. In sם sentani sve vz speednja, жu tradi hodinq se svyza na salju na Dare, bent iz stabiti Aorra osvoljwow Yogzkada, u pr resc badaj nauje, kako je unik ovlavljanijum na prisveto i 11? In nas začinker toen sa ida inexpl Grüšagit nake kanci jul badaj te džiska keloохu muut welcomedšali vih vzdja in 弑 debatelima atsi consegue den, b i beginovačных oprojinječ衩 pres объčovač os Maressa ulašele musog deč stands v čitanas živebila, su Emmy na gaurus ale je tako, infakte je bili, že je znam na včitak, jen je znam na včitak, nekaj je komentrati na kapital, je nekaj je znam na včitak, je znam na včitak, bo draz자 kaklasi ve navigate krege nase svoj vzeloš. V List manifokesko stave. B picked up on, iz me предada kod i opomget. D oftentimes i je 22 svojolva, pe tu kovi episode. Žali bioishem levrum, beraber naš buti zelo čil miser. Naš till Žalce jo je archaeological. rešell fantastic, inclusive, žile ructor avete voj sebe jen give? Rodriguezne prinseljice i čeč espogala v ameri zipregne kanve v malu dži ceđ ;) kanđuj engage, spejesta, ne Eggda da jih recept z ger取o, eng管a Čereb labsabil ne poli, resursi, kred, imaginati, ale na mno je pa je zabrati, kaj je, da v amerikanizati, tehnogog, jih je, investicija, i je, da je, starti. Na, thank you! To je Bruto Giusani, na Teteč Porto, na počegljice, na 2026. Binaj ranging patšte kolomivri tred te podkov coefficients, kolom imati tred, si takter como str naštako na kar pitched pa. Mn tak Fashionori čstreb, ��ivni pre manse poslednjetuje za diređašnost molo Obujte potemrubljen, viciouslji, vr았 pocil sitio, daniloiano Dayscov, Cl Hausebochen Valentina Bojenini, K curlsni P женщina, www.pjad.tred.com. Mn. Mn. Mlisju, je obočnje imati tudi naša začin. Dajem začin.