Silicon Valley is Breaking Everything
From Taylor Lorenz’s Power User by Taylor Lorenz
April 17, 2026 · 30 min
About this episode
In this episode, Taylor Lorenz and guest Albert Fox Cahn discuss the negative impacts of Silicon Valley's 'Move Fast and Break Things' ethos on technology and society.
Is Silicon Valley actually making progress, or are they just breaking the world for profit? Support my independent journalism: 🙏 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/taylorlorenz 🗞️ Buy a paid subscription to my Substack: https://www.usermag.co In this episode of Free Speech Friday, I’m joined by legal scholar and surveillance expert Albert Fox Cahn to dismantle the "Move Fast and Break Things" ethos that has dominated tech for a decade. From the multibillion-dollar failure of the Metaverse to the "innovation theater" of the Apple Vision Pro, we explore why the most hyped technologies are often the most disastrous. We dive deep into the dark side of home security, revealing how Ring cameras have turned from safety tools into a massive surveillance network for law enforcement, sometimes even recording your most private moments without a warrant. We also tackle the "AI bubble," the myth of police body cameras, and why the "boring" analog solutions are often the safest bet for our future. Albert is the founder of the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project (S.T.O.P.) and the author of the new book, Move Slow and Upgrade: The Power…
People in this episode
Host: Taylor Lorenz
Guest: Albert Fox Cahn
Topics covered
- Silicon Valley
- technology ethics
- surveillance
- innovation
- AI
- home security
Keywords
- Silicon Valley
- surveillance
- innovation theater
- AI bubble
- home security
- incremental innovation
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Surveillance Technology Oversight Project
Products: Metaverse, Apple Vision Pro, Ring cameras, police body cameras
Books & works: Move Slow and Upgrade: The Power of Incremental Innovation
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