Silicon Valley: The New Welfare State?

Today, technology companies promise us a seemingly genuine path towards social mobility. So they are more than happy to provide the public with free services in exchange for our data. 

Initially, those services were limited to communication and search functions, but nowadays they increasingly include services that promise better healthcare (e.g. wearables), better education (e.g. MOOCs), better transportation (e.g. Uber) and even better and free connectivity for all (e.g. Internet.org). 

But what are the moral, political, and social consequences of accepting this free bargain? And why are our existing governments so eager to go along with Silicon Valley's plans?

In combination with this lecture the movieCitizenfour is also part of our programme on Mon 26th Oct.