Big Tech vs Democracy | Yanis Varoufakis takes on Tim Nguyen

The Institute of Art and Ideas October 11, 2025
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The Institute of Art and Ideas

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The Institute of Art and Ideas creates hundreds of educational debates, lectures, and interviews on Philosophy, Science, Politics, and Arts. Learn from world-leading thinkers on the big ideas. From Hitchens to Galloway, Penrose to Pigliucci, our experts will teach you feminism to foreign policy, and quantum physics to consciousness. And if you want even more ideas from the world's greatest thinkers, visit our website at IAI.tv Or listen to our podcast, Philosophy For Our Times. Links below!

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Yanis Varoufakis and Google DeepMind researcher Tim Nguyen debate the rise of Big Tech, the end of privacy, and the corruption of society. Is Big Tech out of control? With a free trial, you can watch the full debate NOW at https://iai.tv/video/technology-and-freedom?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description From Karl Marx to Elon Musk, many have claimed that in the right hands, technology is a liberating force for good. But there is increasing challenge to this notion, with figures from Obama to Tim Berners-Lee warning that Big Tech poses serious threats to autonomy and freedom. As a result, many now argue we need to escape from Big Tech and its addictive character. But it's unknown if this is achievable. Critics argue Big Tech, through algorithms and data, manipulates our actions and choices in every aspect of our lives, so that human autonomy has already been radically undermined. Opting out is almost impossible. And Cambridge studies show anti-tech platforms, claiming to combat Big Tech addiction, often only replicate it in another form. Should we conclude that technology has undermined our freedom and we are no longer in control of our decisions and behaviour? Do we need to evolve digital rights to resist manipulation and provide self-governance, and will this work? Or might breaking up or banning Big Tech be part of the solution, allowing us to claim back autonomy? #bigtech #capitalism #economics #politics #ai #artificialintelligence Yanis Varoufakis is a world-renowned economist, academic, and politician. His latest book is "Technofeudalism: What Killed Capitalism". Timothy Nguyen is a leading AI researcher at Google DeepMind and the host of the podcast, "The Cartesian Café". Janne Teller is a critically-acclaimed writer of novels, essays, and short stories. Teller’s work includes existential themes on a grand scale, which often spark controversial debate. Hosted by Shini Somara. The Institute of Art and Ideas features videos and articles from cutting edge thinkers discussing the ideas that are shaping the world, from metaphysics to string theory, technology to democracy, aesthetics to genetics. Subscribe today! https://iai.tv/subscribe?utm_source=YouTube&utm_medium=description&utm_campaign=https://iai.tv/video/technology-and-freedom 00:00 Mass surveillance 00:33 Technofeudalism and mutant forms of capital 03:24 Big Tech, freedom, and trade-offs 05:53 "Google is surveying us just as successfully as the Chinese Communist Party" 07:13 Algorithms that prey on the desperate 08:48 Big Tech has corrupted politics and undermined democracy 10:20 The case for Google 12:59 A.I. programs work against the interests of normal people 15:46 Human rights, immense powers, and the need to socialise Big Tech For debates and talks: https://iai.tv For articles: https://iai.tv/articles For courses: https://iai.tv/iai-academy/courses

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