Mammon category archive
The Me Veneration 0
Robert Reich sums up Donald Trump’s approach to governance–well, really, to just about everything–in eight points. Here are the four that I think predominate; follow the link for the others and for the rest of Reich’s article.
(snip)
(6) Personal enrichment by Trump and other officials is justified in pursuit of victory.
(7) So are lies, cover-ups, and the illegal use of force.
(8) Trump is invincible and omnipotent.
Copywrongs 0
I have noted before in these electrons that, since my earliest days on Usenet and BBSs (that’s “bulletin board systems”–look it up), I have been amazed at how persons willingly believe stuff that they read on a computer screen, when they would not believe the same stuff if it happened before their eyes. Now, with the advent of AI chatbots, we’ve progressed to a point at which persons willingly believe stuff they hear from their computers when they wouldn’t believe the same stuff if it happened before their eyes.
Bloomberg’s Catherine Thorbecke thinks that, as AI spreads, it’s time for the companies that are manufabricating it to come clean about what they are using for their “training” data. She asks
The answer appears to be “yes” to all of the above. But we can’t know for sure because the companies building these systems refuse to say.
The secrecy is increasingly indefensible as AI systems creep into high-stakes environments like schools, hospitals, hiring tools and government services. The more decision-making and agency we hand over to machines, the more urgent it becomes to understand what’s going into them.
I commend the entire article to your attention.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Trustworthy? At Psychology Today Blogs, CUNY professor Azadeh Aalai reminds us that
(s)ome of the perils of AI include the spread of false information and the potential to manipulate.
And, speaking of the potential to manipulate . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
Robert Reich explains the five ways to become a billionaire. They may not be what you (or Horatio Alger) might expect.
- First, exploit a monopoly.
- A second way to make more than a billion is to get insider information that’s unavailable to other investors.
- A third way to make more than a billion is to buy off politicians who will change the rules of the “free market” in your favor.
- The fourth way to make more than a billion is to extort big investors.
- The fifth way to make more than a billion is to get the money from rich parents or relatives.
Follow the link for a detailed discussion of each one.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Our new robotic overlords? Security maven Bruce Scneier points out that
Follow the link for his exploration of the implications of the infiltration.
This New Gilded Age, All the News that Fits Dept. 0
Amy Goodman points out that oligarchy can lead, not just to monopolies dominating and thereby controlling markers, but to their dominating and thereby controlling information.
The Crypto Con 0
In the midst of a longer post, almost as an aside, Atrios gets to the heart of the crypto con in five words:
Was “Republican Family Values”
Always a Misdirection Play?*
0
Thom argues that Republicans have shown that what they value is money, not families.
_________________
*You bet your sweet bippy it was.
This New Gilded Age 0
The Trump maladministration launches plans to stiff national park employees of their honorably-eaarned wages.
Facebook Frolics 0
Fraudulent (adjacent at the very least) frolics.
One more time, “social” media isn’t.
It’s not the public square, although it seems like it.
It’s a series of private squares and their rulers manipulate them as they wish.
The Ghost Gun Haunting 0
The ghost of ghost guns comes back to haunt a purveyor of portable phalluses.
Here’s a bit from the news report:
(snip)
In lawsuits filed in 2022, the state of New York and the cities of Buffalo and Rochester filed separate actions against Houston-based Primary Arms and other gun sellers, alleging that they deliberately marketed and sold ghost guns to New York residents, contributing to gun violence in the state.
Russian Impulses 0
Via the Las Vegas Sun, Trudy Rubin warns that, to understand Donald Trump’s plan for peace in a piece of Ukraine, we need to follow the money.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
A step forward? SFGate’s Drew Magary minces no words:
Follow the link for more unminced words.
The Entitlement Society 0
Via the Charlotte Observer, LZ Granderson argues that “(m)en like Trump represent what the founders were fighting against.” Here’s a bit of his argument:
Their aversion wasn’t to wealth and power. It was about what can happen to a person who grows up knowing nothing but wealth and power.
Follow the link for the rest of his reasoning.
Parks and Wreck 0
Via The Denver Post, Alex Johnson is not optimistic about the future of our national parks under the Trump maladministration.
Whoopsie Doodle, Black Sox Redux Dept. 0
One more time, no one could have predicted this. Via the AP:
Except everyone who was paying attention.
Emoluments 0
Via the Las Vegas Sun, Jamelle Bouie follows the money and concludes
Follow the link for his evidence.