Contact apps that trace where we have been and who we have touched; software that tells bosses how hard we’re working from home; face masks that light up to show whether we have a virus. These are just a few of the technologies being deployed to help fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
Surveillance capitalism was a dirty phrase before coronavirus hit. Now, it seems to be business as usual, something investors are pricing into share valuations, as information technology has grown to represent one-quarter of the value of the S&P 500. But although the “ techlash” now seems a thing of the past, the very success of the digital giants and their role in virus fighting may eventually prove their undoing.
The conventional wisdom is that Big Tech will emerge far bigger and more powerful than ever once the pandemic is over. Amazon is unquestionably the world’s most essential retailer, hiring 100,000 extra staff to manage its quarantine-related demand surge.