Mammon category archive
This New Gilded Age 0
Thom runs the numbers.
This New GIlded Age 0
At the Idaho State Journal, Kim Shinkoskey follows the money.
This New Gilded Age 0
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared a war on poverty.
At the Colorado Sun, Mike Littwin makes a strong case that now, over six decades later, the Trump maladministration has decided to make poverty great again surrender.
Unguarded Rails 0
When I worked for the railroad, we were governed by the “Rules of Conduct” (I probably still have my copy tucked away somewhere). Of course, there were other rules and policies and procedures, but the Rules of Conduct guided them all.
The railroad can be a dangerous place. In the early days, one way that hiring managers would determine whether an applicant for an on-road job had experience was to count his fingers . . . .
Over that years, the culture changed, and one of the rules that was drummed into everyone’s head was this:
Safety is of the first importance in the discharge of duty.
Via The Japan Times, Gautam Mukunda makes a strong case that that rule seems to be unheard of at the Zuckerborg, or, methinks, among much of Big Tech, as they plunge into AI. A snippet:
Meta’s chatbot scandal demonstrates a culture that is willing to sacrifice the safety and well-being of users, even children, if it helps fuel its push into AI.
This New Gilded Age 0
In a longer article about the Trump maladministration’s attempts to destroy the Digital Equity Act, a Techdirt reporter makes what methinks a trenchant observation (emphasis added):
I commend the entire piece to your attention.
Emoluments . . . 0
. . . meet the Crypto Con.
This New Gilded Age 0
Sam talks with Megan Greenwell, author of Bad Company: Private Equity and the Death of the American Dream, about how private equity firms are gutting the American dream for personal gain.
Afterthought:
They go into detail about what happened to Toys ‘R Us.
Trickle On Economics Rides Again (or Is That “Still”?) 0
Sam and the crew destroy discuss the rationale for not taxing billionaires offered by the Republican candidate for New Jersey Lieutenant Governor.
The Algorithm Abyss 0
At Psychology Today Blogs, Tara Well explores how “VR and social media create blurred realities that negatively affect well-being.”
I commend her article to your attention and remind you that Big Tech’s algorithms are not for our benefit; they’re for theirs.
The Bagmen 0
Sam and the crew follow the money and decode de code.
Aside:
This is what can happen when you think the government should be run like a business.
The Waste Land 0
No, not the poem by T. S. Elliot, though it is indeed an excellent poem.
Our environment, once Donald Trump finishes ravaging and ravishing it.
Electric Bugaboo 0
Apparently, Tesla reckons that what you don’t know can’t hurt them.
The Greased Palm, a Notion of Immigrants Dept. 0
Trump decrees that they can pay to play.
The Art of the Con 0
Methinks my old Philly DL friend Noz makes an excellent point.