Reich, Rob

"System Error" exposes the root of our current predicament: how big tech's relentless focus on optimization is driving a future that reinforces discrimination, erodes privacy, displaces workers, and pollutes the information we get. Armed with an understanding of how technologists think and exercise their power, three Stanford professors share their provocative insights and concrete solutions to help everyone understand what is happening, what is at stake, and what we can do to control technology instead of letting it control us. A forward-thinking manifesto from three Stanford professors--experts who have worked at ground zero of the tech revolution for decades--which reveals how big tech's obsession with optimization and efficiency has sacrificed fundamental human values and outlines steps we can take to change course, renew our democracy, and save ourselves.

Asks what attitude and what policies democracies should have concerning individuals who give money away for public purposes; and argues that the aims of mass giving should be the decentralization of power in the production of public goods, such as the arts, education, and science. Philanthropy, when properly structured, can play a crucial role in supporting a strong liberal democracy. Just Giving investigates the ethical and political dimensions of philanthropy and considers how giving might better support democratic values and promote justice.