Omnipotent Amazon
It’s an Amazon world and we just live in it. Industrialization has given way to a new age of data domination, and Amazon is at the forefront of this phenomenon. Consumers appreciate the wide range of products, the fairness of price selection and the convenience of fast delivery. The company is so popular that it now controls nearly half of all online commerce in the United States, and its influence continues to grow around the world. Yet in the light of this stratospheric success, critics have accused the company of invasive data practices and potential privacy breaches. The omnipotent Amazon has brought in these growing voices of dissent as it weighs the costs and benefits associated with becoming a global powerhouse.
Amazon collects vast amounts of data about each of its users—an amount that could fill thousands of printed pages. From this data, they can create a fairly accurate personality profile. Most consumers see this feature as an added convenience; a way for companies to recommend other products that might be useful to them.
Amazon’s highly intuitive database learns about your preferences, your relationship status, and the most intimate details of your private life. As shown in the movie, it can tell if you’re pregnant before you even know it.
Beyond the data-collection issues, the film uncovered other abuses of power by the company. Worker wages are stagnant, and as many as a third of workers receive government food stamps. The company pays next to no taxes in the region where its headquarters and distribution centers are located. Whistleblowers have witnessed brutal and extreme working conditions.
Her sphere of influence has included space travel, the news media, and access to the legislature. Some of their technologies assist law enforcement with surveillance and facial recognition.
Almighty Amazon draws on the expertise of data experts and consumer advocates to weave its cautionary tale. The consensus on their position is clear. While we could benefit immensely from this in the short term, Amazon’s grip on our society could spell a darker future for all of us.
Directed by: Martin Herzog, Marko Rösseler
