Dr D's column: What the tech giant should do to get back in the world's good books

Dear Dr D,

Once we, the tech companies, were king. We ruled stock markets, we conquered investors, we were courted by leaders, we were the future. Most importantly, we were beloved of the populations and to a large extent we still are.

Their lives revolve around the devices we have made and the services we offer more than any other device and service in history. When automobiles became popular they were still used for only a few minutes in the day. People didn’t go to bed with them. When telephones came to homes, people didn’t pick them up every few seconds to check if someone had called.

But today, our devices, meaning handhelds and wearables, and our services, meaning social media, occupy have replaced the real world. This is in so many ways great: one is connected always. And yet we sense that some disillusionment is creeping in now. That whole Russian bot thing with the US election, fake news, the accusations of profiling people, using their search data to stalk them with stuff to be sold. All of that. It’s coming to a head. Tech = evil.

This makes us look bad. It is weighing on us and we are obsessing over it. We spend most of our time exchanging views on this among ourselves but it is quite fruitless. We need help. We need support.

Our question to you is: what do we do to be able to get over this, to be able to get back in the good books of the world?

- Silicon Valley

Dear Silicon Valley,

You have fallen off the pedestals you had placed yourself on. Your users never loved you: they loved themselves. You only gave them another way of expressing that. In time something else will come along in your stead. Sorry, but that’s life.

As for fake news: fight it by subscribing to a good newspaper. I would recommend this one.

(Dr D is one of the leading doctors in the country. He values his privacy, but not of his clients.)

STATUTORY WARNING: This humour column is not for the weak-kneed or the thin-skinned.