About The Book

Andrew Keen was among the earliest to write about the dangers of the Internet to our culture and society. His most recent book, The Internet Is Not the Answer, was praised even by Kazuo Ishiguro in the New Statesman (UK), who called it “compelling,” “persuasive,” and “scary.” Keen’s new book, How to Fix the Future, based on research, analysis, and Keen’s own reporting in America and around the world, showcases global solutions for our digital predicament. After the huge changes of the Industrial Revolution, civilized societies remade nineteenth-century capitalism into a more humane version of itself, and Keen shows how we can do the same thing in the wake of the Digital Revolution.Keen identifies five broad strategies to tackle the digital future: competitive innovation, government regulation, consumer choice, social responsibility by business leaders, and education. Traveling the world in order to identify best (and worst) practices in these five areas, Keen moves from Estonia, where the cofounder of Skype and the forward-thinking president Toomas Ilves are forming a model for Internet digital governance, to Germany, whose automobile titans are acting carefully to navigate the future of self-driving cars, to Scandinavia, Korea, India, and, of course, Silicon Valley.

Powerfully argued and deeply engaging, How to Fix the Future provides hope that the economic inequality, unemployment, cultural decay, war on privacy, and individual alienation that the digital upheaval is causing may still be solvable, and that the future may yet become something that we can look forward to.

Praise

“How to Fix the Future, by longtime tech critic Andrew Keen, avoids simplistic condemnations, offering instead a progressive plan to ease the growing discomfort with emerging technologies that only a few years ago were being celebrated. The book provides compelling examples of ongoing experiments addressing new ways of developing and integrating socially responsible technology into our lives, especially in media, government, and education . . . Keen genuinely believes that, yes, we can fix the future.”—Larry Downes, Washington Post

“With his new book, Keen switches from sarcasm to a kind of pragmatic optimism . . . Like Churchill, he offers mostly blood, sweat and tears; but at least he has a program of what needs to be done . . . It makes sense, as Keen seeks to do, to take the long view of our current dilemmas.”—John Naughton, Guardian

“In [Keen’s] acerbic, articulate global survey of human-centered solutions, he examines best practice in consumer choice, education, innovation, regulation and social responsibility . . . An invigorating mix of principle and vision.”—Nature

“Ambitious . . . How to Fix the Future is a truly important book and the most significant work so far in an emerging body of literature in which technology’s smartest thinkers are raising alarm bells about the state of the Internet, and laying groundwork for how to fix it.”—Fortune

“Eschewing much of the over-the-top luddism that now fills the New York Times, the Guardian, and other mainstream media outlets, Keen proffers practical solutions to a wide range of tech-related woes.”—TechCrunch

“Despite the kinder, gentler approach, Keen fans—and there are many—needn’t despair. In the name of a newfound positivity, the British-American entrepreneur and writer hasn’t sacrificed his demon edge . . . Similar to his other works, Keen rejects the notion that these problems can be fixed by the tech giants themselves . . . Instead he calls for a cultural and political awakening, mainly in tech-obsessed America, where public servants are expected to fight these concentrations of power, rather than cater to them.”—Charles Turner, WikiTribune

“After years of giddiness about the wonders of technology, a new realization is dawning: the future is broken. Andrew Keen was among the first and most insightful to see it. The combination of the digital revolution, global hyperconnectivity, and economic dysfunction has led to a populist backlash and destruction of civil discourse. In this bracing book, Keen offers tools for righting our societies and principles to guide us in the future.”—Walter Isaacson, New York Times-bestselling author of Steve Jobs and Leonardo Da Vinci

“In this engaging, provocative book, [Keen] outlines five strategies—regulation, competitive innovation, consumer choice, civic responsibility, and education—that, working in collaboration, can help ensure an open, decentralized digital future . . . Valuable insights on preserving our humanity in a digital world.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Keen, who has spent his career warning of the dangers of the Internet, takes a more positive turn in this complex yet accessible study. Comparing our current situation to the Industrial Revolution, he stresses the importance of keeping humanity at the center of technology.”—Booklist

Praise for The Internet Is Not the Answer:

“The Internet Is Not the Answer is the most compelling, persuasive, and passionately negative thing I’ve yet read on this topic. It offers a scary picture of how the ultra-libertarian superstars of Silicon Valley are leading us inexorably into a future with the sort of social inequalities not seen in the West since the early days of the Industrial Revolution.”—Kazuo Ishiguro, New Statesman (Books of the Year)

“Andrew Keen has written a very powerful and daring manifesto questioning whether the Internet lives up to its own espoused values. He is not an opponent of Internet culture, he is its conscience, and must be heard.”—Po Bronson

“Andrew Keen is the Christopher Hitchens of the Internet. Neglect this book with peril. In an industry and world full of prosaic pabulum about the supposedly digitally divine, Keen’s work is an important and sharp razor.”—Michael Fertik, CEO, Reputation.com

“This is the best and most readable critique of Silicon Valley yet. Keen is no technophobe nor a stranger to The Valley and this is what makes his book especially devastating. On the other hand it allows him to carve out a small space for optimism.”—David Lowery, founder of Camper Van Beethoven and cofounder of Cracker

“Keen should proudly wear the label of 21st-century Luddite. His new book, The Internet Is Not The Answer, is a packed compendium of all the ways digital life casts aside basic human virtues in favor of a rapacious, winner-takes-all economy . . . Keen has delivered an enormously useful primer for those of us concerned that online life isn’t as shiny as our digital avatars would like us to believe.”—Washington Post

“Keen is intent on exposing the greed, egotism and narcissism that fuels the tech world . . . Even if you don’t agree with, say, his vitriolic takedowns of Uber and Airbnb, his sheer passion is likely to hold your interest.”—Chicago Tribune

“The Internet Is Not the Answer claims that the only real best friend today’s tech titans have is money, and until policymakers intervene, or until the ‘digital elite’ adopt a more altruistic posture, the Internet will remain a winner-take-all marketplace that’s widening a yawning gulf between society’s haves and have-nots. . . . The Internet Is Not the Answer supports its convincing narrative with startling numbers and research cataloged over roughly forty pages worth of endnotes.”—San Francisco Chronicle

“The Internet Is Not the Answer returns to arguments that Mr. Keen has made in previous books, expanding the case for worries about privacy in the wake of the revelations of Edward Snowden . . . it makes a strident economic argument. . . . Unbridled techno-Utopianism shows only the revolution’s benefits, and is dangerously incomplete. It is handy, therefore, to have sceptics like Mr. Keen around.”—Economist

“[Keen] can be a telling polemicist and has a sharp eye when it comes to skewering the pretensions and self-delusions of the new digital establishment. . . . Keen has a sharp ear for the sanctimonious of tech happy talk.”—Financial Times

“[Keen is] the most famous British tech voice in the US.”—GQ

“Keen’s larger point stands: The tech world, like industrial capitalism before it, will not become sufficiently equitable unless we legislate it to be that way . . . So instead of waiting for technology to sort us out, Keen argues that it’s time to intervene—to manage digital developments in ways that increase rather than undermine human welfare.”—Globe and Mail

“The Internet Is Not the Answer is the most frightening book I’ve read in years (perhaps in my lifetime), as frightful as the conservative Supreme Court justices and the deniers of climate change. . . . Keen is unsparing of what he calls ‘the libertarian elites’ who want to eliminate all oversight, all regulations, all concern for the safety of others. . . . I’d call him a prophet.”—CounterPunch

“Silicon Valley entrepreneur Andrew Keen takes on the very institution that provides his living . . . Impassioned and insistent, this is a wake-up call worth considering.”—Cleveland Plain Dealer

“Andrew Keen has again shown himself one of the sharpest critics of Silicon Valley hype, greed, egotism, and inequity. His tales are revealing, his analyses biting. Beneath the criticism is a moral commitment, too, a defense of humane society—the right to be left alone, a fair shot at success, access to the doings of the powerful, and other democratic ideals threatened by the Internet and its moguls.”—Mark Bauerlein, author of The Dumbest Generation

“Keen provokes us in every sense of the word—at times maddening, more often thought-provoking, he lets just enough out of the Silicon Valley hot air balloon to start a real conversation about the full impact of digital technology. But will anyone accept the invitation? And, if they do, will anyone thank Andrew Keen for bursting our bubble? If so, maybe there’s hope for the digital generation after all.”—Larry Downes, co-author of Unleashing the Killer App

“A provocative title and an even more provocative book. Andrew Keen rightly challenges us to think about how the internet will shape society. I remain more optimistic, but hope I’m right to be so.”—Mark Read, CEO, WPP Digital

“Andrew Keen has done it again. With great authority he places modern Silicon Valley into a historical context, comparing its structure to the feudal system, which produced a wealthy elite from the efforts of myriad serfs. If you have read The Circle, this is your next read. Like me, you may find much to disagree with. But you won’t be able to put it down. This is a book that demands a reaction. The Valley will never be the same.”—Keith Teare, co-founder of TechCrunch, Easynet and RealNames

“Keen makes a deeply important argument and offers a constructive caution that there is no Moore’s Law for human progress, that technological determinism is not a good in itself, and that until we fuse technology with humanity the real power in the technology that connects will in many ways be to disconnect us from what matters.”—Dov Seidman, CEO of LRN and author of How

“For the past two decades, as we listened to a chorus of pundits tell us the Internet would generate more democracy and opportunity, the real world seems to grow more oppressive and unequal by the day. Drawing on his formidable knowledge of this New Economy, Andrew Keen explains why Uber could make billions destroying taxi unions, to cite just one example – and why some people still see this as progress. If you’ve ever wondered why the New Economy looks suspiciously like the Old Economy—only with even more for the winners and less for everyone else—put down your shiny new phablet and read this book.”—Robert Levine, author of Free Ride

“The argument travels between a beach in Mexico where the photo-sharing app Instagram was invented on a laptop and the boarded-up buildings in Rochester, N.Y., that memorialize the bankruptcy of Kodak. . . . [Keen] knows the digital world inside and out—both as an entrepreneur and as a journalistic commentator.”—Christian Science Monitor

“Keen goes among the Silicon Valley hipsters—those who truly believe they are on the verge of joining the one percent who own half the winner-takes-all economy—and he is not impressed.”—New Scientist

“Keen, himself a veteran of the tech industry, reveals the behind-the-scenes workings of the Internet . . . His best message, however, is that with consideration and the application of care we can still shape a future society that utilizes the strengths of the internet while not allowing it to overwhelm us and turn us into robotic servants of the very technology that was designed to help us gain freedom and growth as human beings.”—Daily News Online

“If you’re stuck like a fly in the World Wide Web and your life is largely lived online, then The Internet Is Not the Answer is a book you won’t be able to put down.”—Journal Record

“Should be applauded for rowing against the tide of veneration for technological innovation.”—Daily Telegraph

“A punchy manifesto on the internet age. . . . [Keen] guides us through the history and excess of the net, from its arrival in 1991, though the birth of Instagram in 2010 and onwards, to the specter of privacy concerns and ‘big data’ that loom over us today. . . . The book is dazzling in scope. . . . This book is a must-read for anyone remotely concerned about their lives on the net.”—Independent

“Andrew Keen’s pleasingly incisive study argues that, far from being a democratizing force in society, the internet has only amplified global inequities. . . . [Keen] wants to persuade us to transcend our childlike fascination with the baubles of cyberspace so that we can take a long hard look at the weird, dysfunctional, inegalitarian, comprehensively surveilled world that we have been building with digital tools. . . . Keen challenges the dominant narrative about the internet—that it’s a technology that liberates, informs and empowers people.”—Guardian

“The most devastating book I’ve read in a long while. Keen describes an Internet that’s not as virtuous, open and egalitarian as was promised by those who developed it . . . this is from someone who embraces the digital age and still sees its potential.”—San Jose Mercury News

“Keen warns of [the] Internet’s disastrous impact . . . [he] argues that the digital revolution has been—his words—’an epic fail.’ . . . A harsh critique of the digital world.”—Voice of America

“A devastating new book.”—Daily Mail

“Given the increasing power of technology in our lives, it’s worth spending some time with skeptics, people like Andrew Keen . . . The Internet Is Not the Answer is a polemic with a good dose of gratuitous tech bashing . . . Keen argues that the Internet’s hidden costs outweigh its benefits.”—Mercury News

“Keen wants you to know that the Internet has not lived up to its early promise. Rather than fostering an environment of intellectual and social democracy, it has spawned a rule-by-mob culture, promoted narcissism and voyeurism, encouraged intolerance and exclusivity, created global monopolies, increased unemployment, and decimated whole industries.”—Booklist

“A damning indictment of the Internet and digital technology . . . A well-written, convincing critique of Silicon Valley, and a worthy read for anyone with an email account.”—Publishers Weekly

“It is with an acerbic wit, perspective and profound dismay that Keen dismisses the Internet as the revolutionary vehicle for progressing human civilization that it started out to be.”—Prague Post

“[A] brilliant, packed history . . . An outstanding polemic, not only for internet sceptics (below as well as above the age of sixty) but also for its credulous users.”—Sydney Morning Herald

Excerpt

More and more skeptics argue that today’s networked transformation is actually endangering humanity by writing us out of our own story. This new people problem, they fear, is turning out to be a feature, rather than just a bug, of our networked age. And so one contemporary skeptic, Jaron Lanier, the American computer scientist who first coined the term “virtual reality,” admits to a nostalgia for that halcyon time in the last century when technology did, indeed, put people first.

“I miss the future,” Lanier confesses.

He’s not alone. Even Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, is nostalgic for the open, decentralized future that he imagined he had fathered in 1989. And so, at the 2016 Decentralized Web Summit in San Francisco, Berners-Lee spoke passionately about the current state of the internet, particularly the emergence of vast digital monopolies and the pervasive culture of online surveillance. This Summit, held in San Francisco’s Inner Sunset district at the headquarters of the Internet Archive, the world’s largest non-profit digital library, captured the disenchantment amongst many other leading technologists with the current web.

“We originally wanted three things from the Internet,” Brewster Kahle, the Summit organizer and the founder of the Internet Archive, told me: “reliability,” “privacy” and “fun.” We got the fun, he admits. But the other stuff, privacy and reliability, he argued, hasn’t been delivered.