tanteOct 28

We keep seeing startups who want to replace something valuable (therapy, counseling, tutoring, artistic expression) with some tech bullshit under the banner of democratization. But why do we need to invest so much in bad tech that doesn't work instead of just giving people access to what they need?

This is a sign for how fucking atrophied our mental muscles are. How limited our space for thinking about how things should be.

You want to democratize "going to therapy"? Make it "free" as in paid by socialized healthcare. You want to democratize "making art"? Give people money and free time to express themselves.

None of these things are meaningfully addressed through tech. It's always about the political struggle to give people what they need and deserve.

Show threadMinos

@tante (semi-)contra: clothing for instance was democratised through technical progress / price reduction alone, basically.

“Semi” because, well, fuck the tech bros, ofc it’s not primarily what they’re about (rather monopolisation / taking advantage of winners-take-all effects in cases of low-friction). That and major doubts, to say the least, about whether therapy really could be done without humans in any meaningful sense.

Oct 29 at 6:32pmWeb