Trampled by Unicorns

About the Author

Maelle Gavet is a leading technology executive and one of the brightest stars in the tech industry. She has been named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum, one of Fortune’s 40 Under 40, one of the Most Creative People in Business by Fast Company, and was fifth among Time magazine’s List of the Top 25 Female Techpreneurs. Gavet has held significant roles, including CEO of OZON.ru, Russia’s largest e-commerce site, executive VP of operations at the Priceline Group, and Chief Operating Officer at real-estate platform Compass.

Main Idea

"Trampled by Unicorns: Big Tech’s Empathy Problem and How to Fix It" by Maelle Gavet explores the empathy deficit in the tech industry and proposes strategies to address it. Gavet argues that the destructive behavior of Big Tech originates from cultural insularity, hyper-growth business models, lack of diversity, and a self-sustaining ecosystem. She calls for a shift towards more empathetic and sustainable business practices in the tech industry.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Monsters of Scale
3. Pandora’s Box
4. Tech Giants at a Crossroads
5. Culture Bubble
6. Emerald Cities
7. The Tax Gap
8. The New Feudalism
9. Anti-Social Networks
10. Venture Capital and the Holy Grail of Scale
11. Psychos of the Valley
12. Fixing the Chaos Factory
13. We Should All Be Chief Empathy Officer
14. What Does an Empathetic Company Look Like?
15. A Multiplayer Game: Corporate Governance in Tech
16. Tax, Privacy, and Other Running Sores
17. Modernizing Employment and Labor Protections
18. Protecting Privacy and Rethinking Data Ownership
19. People Power

Introduction

Maelle Gavet begins by highlighting the dual nature of technology: its power to advance humanity’s noble pursuits and its destructive empathy deficit. She sets the stage for a comprehensive examination of the tech industry's failures and proposes actionable solutions to foster a more empathetic and sustainable industry.

Monsters of Scale

Technological advances have significantly improved our lives, yet they have also brought about unintended negative consequences. Gavet emphasizes that the relentless pursuit of scale by tech giants often leads to ethical and moral lapses, contributing to a harmful impact on society. Digital innovation has improved standards of living and connected us in ways previously unimaginable, but it has also created dependencies and vulnerabilities that can be exploited.

"Technology has smashed open a Pandora’s box of devastating side effects: disinformation, hate and harassment, catastrophic privacy breaches, disruptions unleashed by the gig economy, monopolistic bullying, and more." – Maelle Gavet

Pandora’s Box

The widespread use of technology has opened a Pandora’s box of side effects, such as disinformation, privacy breaches, and monopolistic behavior. Gavet argues that the tech industry’s blindness to the human cost in the name of progress has led to exploitation and subservience to technology. The industry must grapple with these issues if it is to harness technology for the greater good.

Tech Giants at a Crossroads

Tech giants like Facebook, Apple, Google, and Amazon stand at a crossroads, facing increasing concerns about their ethical responsibilities. Gavet calls for a reboot that puts ethics and empathy at the core of their operations. Companies must decide whether to continue their pursuit of scale at any cost or to adopt more responsible and empathetic practices.