QuoteProject
Technology is, in many respects, an enabler for an open, transparent society. But it's also an enabler for supervision to a completely unforeseen degree. And for commercialising personal space to an unforeseen degree.
Margrethe Vestager
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

Technology can promote openness and transparency but also leads to increased surveillance and commercialization of personal data.

This quote highlights the dual nature of technology, emphasizing that while it can facilitate a more open and transparent society, it also has the potential to enable unprecedented levels of supervision and the commercial exploitation of individuals' private lives. This reflects the ethical dilemmas that arise from technological advancements and the need for society to navigate these challenges thoughtfully.

Themes

TechnologyTransparencySupervisionPersonal SpaceCommerce

In practice

Example use cases

During a speech on digital privacy, this quote can be used to emphasize the importance of safeguarding personal data.

More from Margrethe Vestager

A woman who wants to go places needs to bring her own ladder.
Margrethe VestagerRead
I think any company should compete on the quality of their products, their prices, the novelty they can produce, their services, because that would be fair competition.
Margrethe VestagerRead
No government can give a selective advantage to a specific company, because that would make competition unfair.
Margrethe VestagerRead
When I was very young, I took no interest in party politics. My line of interest was how can you be part of an influence to the society that you live in.
Margrethe VestagerRead
Competition is one of the most important drivers of innovation because you have to stay in the race. You have to think of something new, and if you don't, well, of course you should leave the market.
Margrethe VestagerRead
We want a free market, but we know that the paradox of a 'free' market is that sometimes you have to intervene. You have to make sure it's not the law of the jungle but the laws of democracy that works.
Margrethe VestagerRead

Similar quotes

I'd always maintained that much of the anarchy and craziness of the early internet had a lot to do with the fact that governments just hadn't realised it was there.
William GibsonRead
I've never really been very interested in computers themselves. I don't watch them; I watch how people behave around them. That's becoming more difficult to do because everything is around them.
William GibsonRead
There's so much innovation going on, and there are lots of people funding that innovation, but there's very little innovation on that infrastructure for innovation itself, so we like to do that ourselves to help companies create more tech companies.
Naval RavikantRead
What we want to do is make a leapfrog product that is way smarter than any mobile device has ever been, and super-easy to use. This is what iPhone is. OK? So, we're going to reinvent the phone.
Steve JobsRead
Technology is causing a set of seemingly disconnected things - shortening of attention spans, polarization, outrage-ification of culture, mass narcissism, election engineering, addiction to technology.
Tristan HarrisRead
Right, and you point out something important which is that people who don’t want to pay, people who are pirates, don’t get bothered by the DRM, they go out and buy the cracked books or download the cracked books for free. It’s only people who are foolish enough to pay for them that get locked into these platforms.
Cory DoctorowRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.