In Beyond the Valley: How Innovators Around the World Are Overcoming Inequality and Creating the Technologies of Tomorrow, Ramesh Srinivasan--professor at UCLA's Department of Information Studies and director of the UC Digital Cultures Lab--examines the character of Silicon Valley's technological development. He scrutinizes the ethos of tech companies, allowing corporations to insulate themselves from the harm caused by their growth, and asks, "Shouldn't technology be people-centered, not in use and addiction, but in creation and application?"
There's an idea of an open Internet that obscures the reality of the network of privately owned architecture most people use to access the Internet. By probing this contradiction, Srinivasan (Whose Global Village?) tries to make his readers more aware of the reality of the digital infrastructure that has infiltrated and permeated their lives, and the implications of its extended reach.
Convenience comes at the price of privacy, creates more risk for vulnerable people, and contributes to economic inequality and political divisions. Beyond the Valley asks readers to imagine a technological future that balances connectivity and innovation with concerns about equity, diversity and democracy, thereby pursuing an "internet that acts as a 'global village.' " For an industry that deliberately keeps the focus off of its negative effects, Srinivasan's work is a necessary intervention and critique, while also shining a light on those working to come up with solutions to counteract the pitfalls of a technologically focused world. --Michelle Anya Anjirbag, freelance reviewer