Is the party over? Probably not, but it is cooling down.

Technology has driven real growth for decades. It has stood apart from the risks in financialisation – simply shuffling dollars, euros, and pounds around to fund the designer goods market (well, apart from Patagonia). Innovation has fuelled new products and services, creating hundreds of thousands of jobs, and boosting GDP. It has remodelled how we live.

Even tech’s titans are suffering, with companies as big as Amazon, Apple, Alphabet and Meta said to be freezing or slowing hiring – or in some cases, laying off staff. With consumers facing inflation and wider worries across all industries, advertisers are rethinking their spending, which is especially unwelcome news for the likes of Google and Facebook.

The threat of an impending, even perfect storm is compounded by systemic issues that were dogging the sector before Covid and now, the war in Ukraine. Sexism, racism, and ethics are issues tech...