"Techlash" - Why have our views of technology become so grim?

As part of the "Startupnight 2018" in Berlin, Stefan Heumann gave a talk on the perceptions of technology and how they have changed in recent years: Only a few years ago the connectivity of the Internet and new technologies associated with it were celebrated for the potential to solve problems and make our lives better. Now technology seems to have turned against us. Social media is undermining public discourses, workers are struggling in the gig-economy and the concentration of market power in big digital platforms seems unstoppable. We are seeing a backlash against the promises of technology in public discourses - a phenomenon that is widely discussed as "Techlash". The talk will focus on the forces that have brought us "Techlash" and present ideas for discussion on how we can regain a positive vision about technology - a vision where technology serves and liberates people and not the other way around.