Category Archives: I For One Welcome Our Silicon Valley Overlords

Facebook Is a Conservative News Organization: The PreP Edition

Posted on November 1, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

It’s becoming increasingly obvious that Facebook should be thought of as a conservative publication–the editorial decisions are rightwing, as Jacob Silverman has noted (boldface mine): If it’s not clear already, then it must be said: Facebook is a right-wing company, … Continue reading →

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Harnessing Amoral Silicon Valley

Posted on October 25, 2019 by mikethemadbiologist

A theme I harp on quite a bit here is the failures of governance that surround us in the U.S. of 2019. While people often assume that failed governance is the exclusive purview of government, the abdication of governance by … Continue reading →

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Amazon Cries Uncle

Posted on October 14, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

While I didn’t like the particulars of Sanders’ STOPBezos Act, which would have imposed corporate taxes equal to the benefits, such as SNAP, that a company’s workers was eligible to receive, it definitely seemed to have put the pressure on … Continue reading →

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Clever, But Not Wise

Posted on August 17, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

Cathy O’Neill makes a great point about various tech bro overlords (boldface mine): The way I see it, these guys — and they are mostly guys — were arbitrarily chosen. They started with some good ideas, some luck, great timing, … Continue reading →

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Remembering Why The Office Of Technology Assessment Was Eliminated

Posted on June 15, 2018 by mikethemadbiologist

By Republicans, of course. Recent events, such as the Facebook hearing on Capitol Hill, have made it clear that we are governed by those who do not understand technology very well, to put it charitably (boldface mine): A quartet of … Continue reading →

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So Now Google Can Record What I’m Saying

Posted on October 9, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

I can see the reason for the excitement over Google’s Pixel Buds, which could offer instantaneous spoken language translation. But this does mean Google will be hearing everything you’re saying. Does anyone think they won’t be ‘harvesting data’ from this? … Continue reading →

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When Algorithms Censor

Posted on August 2, 2017 by mikethemadbiologist

First they came for the socialists… (boldface mine): In the three months since Internet monopoly Google announced plans to keep users from accessing “fake news,” the global traffic rankings of a broad range of left-wing, progressive, anti-war and democratic rights … Continue reading →

Posted in Economics, I For One Welcome Our Silicon Valley Overlords, Internet | 2 Comments

The Deep Implications of Dumb Transit Ideas

Posted on September 4, 2015 by mikethemadbiologist

Recently, I’ve come across two very stupid transit ideas, both of which demonstrate lazy pessimism. The one you probably haven’t heard about is Boston Councilman Steve Murphy’s proposal for personal travel pods: The Boston City Council tomorrow considers a proposal … Continue reading →

Posted in Boston, I For One Welcome Our Silicon Valley Overlords, Transportation | 3 Comments

When Big Data Goes Awry: This Is Worse Than the “Rape Sufferers” List

Posted on February 5, 2014 by mikethemadbiologist

Yes, some scumbag marketing company really does distribute–for money–a mailing list of probable rape survivors. One might think you can’t get much lower than that, but that’s just demonstrating a lack of imagination (boldface mine): An off-and-on customer of OfficeMax, … Continue reading →

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