
Team Human with Douglas Rushkoff Do Tech Billionaires Want Us Dead? (w/ Taylor Lorenz)
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Feb 18, 2026 Taylor Lorenz, tech culture reporter and founder of UserMag, discusses leaving legacy outlets to build independent media. Short takes cover media misogyny and the selfie panic, how proposed child-safety laws risk mass surveillance, biometric identity monetization, and elites planning to insulate themselves from collapse. The conversation highlights privacy-first regulation, digital homesteading, and resisting tech authoritarianism.
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Child-Safety Laws Can Expand Surveillance
- Proposed child-safety laws often function as data-harvesting mechanisms for companies.
- Taylor warns these rules remove anonymity and expand surveillance rather than protect children.
Biometric Identity Is A New Data Market
- Identity verification and biometric systems are lucrative for investors and platforms.
- Taylor links identity tools to broader data monetization and future AI value extraction.
Data Enables Discriminatory Pricing
- Surveillance pricing and data-driven discrimination are emerging realities.
- Taylor cites examples like grocery price variability and health denials as early signs.




