A documentary for our times
The Great Hack isn't 100 percent accurate, but it needs to be seen
NETFLIX'S NEW DOCUMENTARY The Great Hack explores how technology companies are using personal data and algorithms to manipulate how we think, feel and, most crucially, vote. But considering how the ethical discourse on technology has moved to facial recognition and artificial intelligence, much of what's explored here feels slightly dated and insufficient.
That said, The Great Hack needs to be seen, if only to remind ourselves how gullible we were when we completed Facebook personality tests to vaguely determine who we thought we were - and how gullible we continue to be when we use FaceApp to vaguely determine how we might age.
Directed by Karim Amer and Jehane Noujaim, The Great Hack centres on three interviewees. The first is Brittany Kaiser, a young woman who formerly worked for Cambridge Analytica, a controversial UK-based consulting firm which harvested personal online data to create ads and messages that influence voting behaviour and electoral outcomes.
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Lifestyle
Former Zouk morphs into mod-Asian Jiak Kim House, serving laksa pasta and mushroom bak kut teh
Massimo Bottura lends star power to pizza and pasta at Torno Subito
Victor Liong pairs Aussie and Asian food with mixed results at Artyzen’s Quenino restaurant
If Jay Chou likes Ju Xing’s zi char, you might too
Mod-Sin cooking izakaya style at Focal
What the fish? Diving for flavour at Fysh – Aussie chef Josh Niland’s Singapore debut