Naomi Klein: How big tech plans to profit from the pandemic

For a few fleeting moments during the New York governor Andrew Cuomo's daily coronavirus briefing on Wednesday 6 May, the sombre grimace that has filled our screens for weeks was briefly replaced by something resembling a smile. "We are ready, we're all-in," the governor gushed. "We are New Yorkers, so we're aggressive about it, we're ambitious about it … We realise that change is not only imminent, but it can actually be a friend if done the right way." The inspiration for these uncharacteristically good vibes was a video visit from the former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, who joined the governor's briefing to announce that he will be heading up a panel to reimagine New York state's post-Covid reality, with an emphasis on permanently integrating technology into every aspect of civic life. "The first priorities of what we're trying to do," Schmidt said, "are focused on telehealth, remote learning, and broadband … We need to look for solutions that can be presented now, and accelerated, and use technology to make things better." Lest there be any doubt that the former Google chair's goals were purely benevolent, his video background featured a framed pair of golden angel wings.