If we built the houses we needed, the anxieties and fears that motivated the Brexit vote would at last recedeOver the past three years, commentary about the nervous, uncertain condition of Britain has repeatedly veered into questions of “belonging” and…
Read moreAuthor: John Harris
Little by little, big tech’s veneer of invincibility is starting to crack | John Harris
Facebook, Google, Apple and Amazon are rattled. And two women, one on each side of the Atlantic, are leading the wayJust for a moment, let us pull our eyes away from Brexit and focus instead on two interwoven stories about how the world has gone wrong,…
Read moreWant to see the future? Take a trip on Wales’ model railway | John Harris
The Heart of Wales line offers much more than beautiful scenery. It shows ‘social rail’ can transform communitiesAs the first hints of an autumnal chill chime with a revived sense of Brexit dread, this may not seem the best time to talk about hopeful g…
Read moreStreet battle: the activists fighting to save their neighbourhood from the tech giants
Facebook, Google and Amazon have not just colonised the internet: their hubs, campuses and offices are taking over huge sections of cities around the world. But campaigners from New York to Toronto and Berlin are fighting back‘It’s a challenge out here…
Read moreThe global battle for the internet is just starting | John Harris
Two competing visions of our digital future have emerged from China and Silicon Valley. But are they really so different?If only for a moment, set aside the comparatively parochial drama of Brexit, think about the giant swath of humanity that now uses …
Read moreThe Brexit threat hanging over startups in the UK tech sector
EU departure is hitting staffing and triggering animosity to European employees“We allow cultures to understand each other better,” says Bernhard Niesner, the co-founder and chief executive of a language-learning app called Busuu.Its HQ is near Old Str…
Read moreWorkers’ rights? Bosses don’t care – soon they’ll only need robots | John Harris
Tech companies like Amazon make massive profits yet seem to treat their staff appallingly. As we click, we should consider the dystopia to comeAs anyone with a TV will know, Amazon’s Christmas ad campaign is built around a surreal fantasia in which its…
Read moreWithout a fair tax on tech, it’s the end of the state as we know it | John Harris
Big tech companies are transforming societies – but their pitiful contributions aren’t enough to help governments adaptAlongside the results of last week’s US midterms came the passing of San Francisco’s Proposition C, a measure that will tax firms wit…
Read moreWe once marvelled at Neil Armstrong. Now space is a playground for the rich | John Harris
Nasa’s greatest feats were a triumph for mankind. History will be less kind to today’s space pioneersThe promised journey is from Earth to the edge of space, rather than London Euston to Crewe, but the story of Richard Branson’s company Virgin Galactic…
Read moreAmazon v the high street – how Doncaster is fighting back
The old pit town lost 5% of its high-street shops last year – but both the council and creative locals are trying to think againMost towns and cities have the strange, uncertain spaces some people call “edgelands”, but Doncaster’s seem to go on for eve…
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