Google and Facebook's former PR executives expose the dark side of tech companies to Time magazine

Former senior PR executive Torick (Dex Hunter Torricke), who has worked for Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, and Google DeepMind, revealed behind-the-scenes secrets of tech companies to Time magazine after leaving his position. He expressed particular confusion about Facebook founder Zuckerberg, stating that while the tech industry pursues breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, it completely lacks concrete plans to address social impacts.

Torick’s explosive revelation: Zuckerberg doesn’t know what to do at the United Nations

Recalling his 2015 trip with Zuckerberg to the UN General Assembly, Torick noted that the leader overseeing a billion global users was vague about the basic structure of international order. On their private jet, Zuckerberg asked him, UN? What are we going there for? The founder was scheduled to give a speech to world leaders but was unprepared and had no speech draft.

In response to Torick’s recent comments, a Meta spokesperson dismissed them as absurd. Torick, however, pointed out that this kind of disconnect between top executives and reality is not an isolated case. For a long time, tech giants have woven optimistic narratives through PR rhetoric, trying to persuade the public that technological progress will inevitably lead to a better future, while deliberately ignoring risks. He admits that his past role was to promote these positive stories, but now sees it as moral decay.

Tech giants have never concretely planned for AI impacts

During his 15-year PR career, Torick worked with Zuckerberg, helped Elon Musk handle crises at SpaceX, and before leaving, wrote PR statements to stabilize social reactions following the launch of ChatGPT by Google DeepMind.

Regarding the current rapid development of artificial intelligence, Torick openly criticizes his former employers for pushing the world toward a cliff, without concrete strategies for mass unemployment, geopolitical turmoil, or environmental destruction. He points out that tech companies tend to discuss abstract, vague topics to avoid substantive legal regulation, focusing resources on pursuing hard power. At the 2023 inaugural AI summit at Bletchley Park, he observed that industry players and governments failed to reach binding agreements, producing only non-binding technical documents. He believes this reckless development approach is extremely irresponsible, especially as society faces the largest economic transformation in human history.

Torick is also disappointed with the tech industry’s indifference to international humanitarian crises. While he has a higher sensitivity to refugee issues due to his background, he finds Silicon Valley tends to ignore reality. He specifically mentions that AI companies often turn a blind eye to regional conflicts and geopolitical massacres, sometimes remaining silent for commercial or political reasons, even maintaining silence with certain regimes. He criticizes this value system as having lost its moral foundation.

Leaving PR roles to initiate advocacy

After leaving Google DeepMind, Torick founded the nonprofit Center for Tomorrow in London to develop concrete policies for AI impacts. He advocates that humanity’s future blueprint should not be controlled by a few AI labs but co-designed by policymakers, business leaders, and civil society. Although he has not yet proposed solutions for AI-induced unemployment, he emphasizes the need to break the deadlock of elite isolated decision-making. He plans to promote advocacy through organizational initiatives and political participation, pushing for cultural and institutional innovation to bridge the huge gap between technological development and social adaptation.

A spokesperson for DeepMind, a Google subsidiary, declined to comment publicly on Torick’s criticisms. However, Google challenged the notion that tech companies have not proposed concrete measures for AI impacts, stating that DeepMind has always maintained a balanced view of AI, considering both risks and benefits. Time magazine’s reporter reached out to Musk’s companies for comment but received no response.

This article, in which former PR executives from Google and Facebook expose the dark side of tech companies, originally appeared on Chain News ABMedia.