Silicon Valleys Skeptical Prophet: Evgeny Morozovs Cautionary Insights on Technologys True Power

While Silicon Valley has been promising peace, friendship, and democracy through applications, Belarusian researcher Evgeny Morozov has been cautioning that technology is not magic, but a tool of power. A decade ago, he was labeled an alarmist; today, his books are viewed as a guide to navigating the digital realm.

Evgeny Morozov is a researcher, writer, and public intellectual originally from Belarus. He is one of the most prominent and consistent critics of Silicon Valley. After studying in the United States and working at Stanford University, Morozov published two influential books that shaped his intellectual trajectory and laid the foundation for contemporary techno-skepticism.

Unlike many theorists, Morozov goes beyond merely criticizing technology; he analyzes its political and economic underpinnings. He views Facebook, Amazon, and Uber not just as services but as powerful institutions that are transforming society. In an article for The Guardian, he scrutinizes the so-called «platform capitalism,» an economic model promoted by tech giants.

Morozov argues that these companies’ desire to label themselves as “platforms” is less about innovation and more a clever strategy to evade traditional regulations, taxes, and accountability. They do not produce goods or provide services directly but merely connect suppliers with consumers. This enables them to achieve immense market value with minimal assets and personnel.

The central thesis of his article is that the real power of these “platforms” lies not in their main services but in their control over peripheral aspects: payment systems, identity verification, location data, and algorithms. These supportive components have become crucial, and those who control them dictate the rules of the entire industry.

*“The world of ‘platform capitalism,’ despite its intoxicating rhetoric, is not significantly different from its predecessor. The only change is in who pockets the money.”*

Morozov’s first major work, *The Net Delusion: The Dark Side of Internet Freedom* (2011), critiques «cyber-utopianism» — the naive belief that the internet and social media inherently promote democracy and liberate societies from authoritarian regimes. He argues that reality is much more complex and grim.

Morozov’s core argument is that the very technologies activists use to organize protests can also be employed with even greater effectiveness by dictatorial governments to achieve their ends. Authoritarian regimes have learned to utilize the internet for mass surveillance of citizens, identifying dissenters, disseminating pro-government propaganda, and manipulating public opinion. He contends that the internet has become a powerful instrument for entrenching power, rather than undermining it.

*“The West’s obsession with the liberating force of the internet is based on a profoundly misguided understanding of how authoritarian regimes operate.”*

He also introduced the concept of «slacktivism,» criticizing the notion that online activities, such as likes, shares, or signing petitions, constitute genuine political action. Such engagement fosters an illusion of political participation but does not entail real risks or efforts, distracting from more complex and effective forms of real-world protest.

*“Authoritarian governments will not collapse due to a few sarcastic tweets.”*

Morozov’s book serves as a call for a more sober and critical perspective on the role of technology in politics. He demonstrates that the internet is merely a tool, and its impact is entirely contingent on the social and political context in which it is employed.

*“Attributing the establishment of democracy to the internet is like thanking the blacksmith for the sword’s ability to kill.”*

His second notable work, *To Save Everything, Click Here: The Folly of Technological Solutionism* (2013), critiques the very ideology of Silicon Valley. Morozov introduces the term «solutionism.»

Solutionism is the belief that any complex social, political, or cultural problem can be resolved with a simple and elegant technological solution, usually through an app, platform, or algorithm.

According to Morozov, solutionism is dangerous because it offers simplistic answers to complicated issues. It encourages us to disregard context and focus solely on what can be measured and optimized, neglecting everything else. Instead of reforming flawed institutions (such as courts, parliaments, or healthcare systems), solutionists propose simply fitting them with a technological «crutch» that merely masks the problem, and may sometimes exacerbate it.

In his book, he urges readers to approach technological «silver bullets» with skepticism and to recognize that many significant human and societal questions are not engineering challenges but require political debates, moral choices, and compromises.

*“The greatest sin of solutionists is their intellectual blindness, their inability to see the world as a chaotic, complex, and unpredictable place. They want to believe that if they have a hammer (in the form of technology), then every problem is a nail.”*

In recent years, Morozov has shifted from pure critique to proposing alternatives. His new project, The Syllabus, is a media platform that seeks to address the issue of the information overload driven by social media algorithms.

Current news feeds tend to show us what provokes immediate emotional reactions rather than what is genuinely important and enriching for understanding the world. The Syllabus operates on a different principle. The project utilizes technology to analyze thousands of sources (academic papers, lectures, podcasts, videos), but the final selection and curation of content are done by expert individuals.

The goal is to provide users not just with snippets of news but with in-depth, contextualized content on crucial topics: from climate change and international politics to the future of artificial intelligence. Essentially, it is an attempt to create a healthy information diet in contrast to the digital fast food offered by tech giants.

The key ideas and objectives of the project:

The Syllabus targets researchers, scholars, journalists, analysts, politicians, students, and anyone who wishes to engage deeply with the ongoing processes in the world rather than merely consume news. It operates as a paid service, highlighting its independence from a clickbait-driven advertising model.

At first glance, Morozov’s ideas should resonate with the crypto community. Like proponents of decentralization, he criticizes the monopolies of Google and Meta, opposes “walled gardens,” and condemns the surveillance economy. They share a common adversary — the centralized power of tech giants.

However, Morozov is highly skeptical of cryptocurrencies and blockchain technology. In his writings and talks, he often places them alongside other manifestations of technological solutionism. From his perspective, the belief that blockchain can “fix” trust, corruption, or ineffective bureaucracy is a similar error to that of early internet enthusiasts.

The Syllabus features a dedicated section on cryptocurrencies, in which Morozov asserts that public discourse about digital currencies is intellectually impoverished and one-sided. On one side are critics who shallowly label everything a scam, while on the other, which troubles him more, are the “true believers,” primarily venture capitalists, who shape public opinion for their interests.

To address this issue, Morozov launched The Crypto Syllabus. Its aim is to provide intellectual resources to help journalists, scholars, and anyone interested critically and deeply analyze crypto phenomena (from blockchain to NFTs).

Morozov argues that discussions of crypto technologies cannot be detached from a broader context, including financial history, geopolitics, and the relationship between Silicon Valley and Wall Street. He believes that, at present, the crypto sphere is mostly “a set of solutions in search of problems.”

He is also skeptical of «crypto-libertarians,» urging them to demonstrate why their decentralized solutions are more effective in combating global capitalism than other political strategies, such as the democratization of central banks.

Evgeny Morozov’s work is more relevant now than ever. Amid the rise of AI, his warnings about “black boxes” that make decisions for us resonate strongly. His critique of solutionism prompts reflection: are we attempting to “solve” the problem of human creativity with ChatGPT, and the issue of decision-making with algorithms whose logic we do not fully grasp?

Morozov does not offer simple answers and does not descend into Luddism. Instead, he advocates for clarity — compelling us to ask uncomfortable questions: Who benefits from this technology? What problem is it genuinely addressing, and what new ones does it create? And are we trying to mend a broken world simply by pressing “Save All”? In an age where technology promises us everything, the ability to pose the right questions becomes our most important asset.