Mark Zuckerberg

In this course

Zuckerberg figures primarily as a case study in the political economy of AI infrastructure and the concentration of computational power within Big Tech's hands, particularly Meta's massive investments in the AGI race. The course readings use him as an exemplary figure of how platform capitalism and accelerationist ideology intersect—both in Thiel's investment circle and in contemporary corporate AI strategy—raising questions about who controls the technological systems that increasingly mediate social life and cognition. His presence also appears in darker speculative passages about the human costs of technological iteration and product testing, suggesting an undercurrent of concern about the ethics obscured by corporate scale.

Background

Mark Elliot Zuckerberg is an American businessman and programmer who co-founded the social media service Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms. He serves as its chairman, chief executive officer (CEO), and controlling shareholder.

Mentioned in 3 readings