Mammon category archive
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
Bruce Schneier asks whether “we really want to entrust this revolutionary technology (AI–ed.) solely to a small group of US tech companies?”
He goes on to remind us that
Follow the link for the rest of his thoughts.
Twits Own Twitter 0
Elon Musk apparently has the courage of his evictions.
No Place To Hide 0
At the Washington Monthly, Karina Montoya has a long and detailed article about how advertising strategy is changing once again. In the past decade, advertising moved to “social” media, with a disturbing side effect of eroding the business models of legitimate news organizations. Now, she argues, retailers are marketing personal information gathered through loyalty programs, credit card purchases, and the like to advertisers. The entire piece is worth a read, but this particular bit caught my eye:
Corporations, not the government, are your “surveillance state.” And we walk nekkid through its streets every day.
It’s All about the Algorithm 0
Said algorithm engages those eyeballs and sucks them right down into a vortex of vile.
“Social” media isn’t.
Artificial? Yes. Intelligent? Not So Much. 0
In San Francisco, driverless cars are providing persuasive evidence that drivers are a valuable resource.
Afterthought:
Methinks one of the most striking characteristics of “Tech Bros”–and I’m referring specifically to that particular subset of the tech community–is their arrogance.
How Far Will Wells-Fargo? 0
Well, as Yogi Berra once said, “It’s deja vu all over again.”
And, in more news of Wells-Gone-Farther . . . .
This New Gilded Age 0
LZ Granderson wonders whether Republicans have ever read any of the works of Charles Dickens.
Here’s how his article starts:
High school freshman girls should not double as cocktail waitresses at night.
That’s not a sentence I thought needed to be said, but here we are in 2023, and conservative lawmakers in more than 10 states are making efforts to roll back child labor laws. Cocktail waitress is just one of the disturbing occupations floated as appropriate work for children.
Iowa enacted a law last month allowing more kids to work more dangerous jobs. In Arkansas, a 14-year-old would no longer need to show an employer proof of parental approval.
Now the arguments against this movement are painfully obvious, but the so-called case for child labor requires unpacking.
Follow the link for the unpacking.
Afterthought:
As Republicans reintroduce child labor while barring immigrants who are willing to work, I am again reminded of Professor Shade’s mantra, “History is irony.”
The Steel Fist 0
Sam and Greg Mitchell discuss the “Memorial Day Massacre” and the ensuing cover-up of the police riot.
This New Gilded Age 0
Ian Millhiser looks at Clarence Thomas’s concurring opinion in Sackett v. EPA, the case which just gutted the EPA’s authority to protect against water pollution and finds it–er–concerning. A snippet:
Courting Disaster 0
Writing at Above the Law, Joe Patrice is somewhat less than impressed with Chief Justice Roberts’s latest remarks on judicial ethics in the Federal judiciary.
Fly the Fiendly Skies 0
They explore new frontiers of fiendliness every day.
(Boy, am I glad that my days of hopping on airplanes for business trips are behind me.)
Quarterback Sneaky 0
Zandar throws a penalty flag on Brett Favre for illegal procedure.
This New Gilded Age 0
Teenaged workers at a Popeye’s allege that Popeye’s is overworking Swee Pee.