Trampled by Unicorns

Big Tech's Empathy Problem and How to Fix It

By: Maelle Gavet

Narrated by: Megan Tusing

Length: 7 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech's Empathy Problem and How to Fix It explores how technology has progressed humanity's most noble pursuits, while also grappling with the origins of the industry's destructive empathy deficit and the practical measures Big Tech can take to self-regulate and make it right again. Author Maëlle Gavet examines the tendency for many of Big Tech's stars to stray from their user-first ideals and make products that actually profoundly damage their customers and ultimately society.

Offering an account of the world of tech startups in the United States and Europe, Trampled by Unicorns argues that the causes and consequences of Big Tech's failures originate from four main sources: the Valley's cultural insularity, the hyper-growth business model, the sector's stunning lack of diversity, and a dangerous self-sustaining ecosystem. However, the book is not just an account of how an industry came off the rails, but also a passionate call to action on how to get it back on track.

Gavet formulates a clear call to action for industry leaders, board members, employees, and consumers/users to drive the change necessary to create better, more sustainable businesses - and the steps Western governments are likely to take should tech leaders fail to do so.

©2021 Maëlle Gavet (P)2020 Gildan Media

Remarkable

This is the perfect book for what’s going on in the world today. Maëlle has nailed it.

Timely perspective on the current state of tech

Gavet does an incredible job of gathering together various ideas from industry leaders and sharing her own perspective, shaped by the state of the world in 2020 and how tech bears a great deal of responsibility for where we've found ourselves. While empathy within engineering and decision making isn't a new concept, it's refreshing to see someone layout the blueprint from ideation to adaptation to mutation for the not-so-good that we've seen platforms facilitate. While many industry leaders dance around the idea of what got us to this point and how we could have prevented it, Gavet faces these topics head on in a mindful way that makes you think more deeply about the lines of code you're writing and challenges you to build for the good of your users or the world rather than to simply see an idea come to fruition.

important topic, mostly inactionable

it's probably the sheer size of the problem that makes it like so, but while this book is claiming to be a call for action, there very little the regular people can do. the book is descriptive of the problem and sheds some light on the incentives that skew the industry the way it is, but it doesn't help picture an alternative to the current reality or how to get there without miracles.
it's important to read, mostly in hopes it would help pressure legislators and policy makers to do what's right.