In a column for The New York Times, Farhad Manjoo describes why 2017 "was a terrible year for the tech industry," which, he admits, is "an odd thing to say at a time of record growth and profits." Though top tech companies pulled in more users and profits, as well as new services that challenge traditional notions of privacy — such as unlocking a front door for package delivery or a smartphone by facial recognition — "underneath this apparent success was a momentous shift in how the tech business deals with the world," he writes, arguing that a decade from now, "we will come to regard 2017 as a turning point. ... Because this year, for the first time, tech giants began to grudgingly accept that they have some responsibility to the offline world." The scope of that responsibility, however, "is another matter entirely." (Registration may be required to access this story.)
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