If you only read one article this year, it has to be THIS by @Mer__edith, the president of #signal :
"AI is a marketing term, not a technical term of art. [...]
This is also why it’s imperative that we recognize mass surveillance – and ultimately the surveillance business model – as the root of the large-scale tech we’re currently calling “AI”."
Only accusing the "big companies" for doing all sort of "unethical" things, is like only accusing mass murderers for the killings that they do. Every crime is a crime. Big or small. Small companies do similar shady practices and abuse people or destroy the environment.
But best is to look at the system that creates these entities instead of accusing companies or people.
As long as the underlying practice on this planet is to TRADE or else you are fucked, then this is what we are going to do and prioritize. Thus the evolution of companies and billionaires, waste, pollution, you name it.
Interesting approach. But it's commercial, not decentralized, and is backed by Sam Altman and more Big Tech honchos, so my first reaction is skepticism.
Prova de que big tech é uma prisão:
"Um estudo recente conduzido pelo economista Leonardo Bursztyn, da Universidade de Chicago, retratou bem essa armadilha. Os pesquisadores recrutaram mais de mil estudantes universitários e perguntaram a eles quanto dinheiro exigiriam para desativar suas contas no Instagram ou no TikTok por quatro semanas. É uma pergunta padrão de economistas para calcular o valor de um produto. Os estudantes responderam que precisariam, em média, de 50 dólares (59 no caso do TikTok, 47 no caso do Instagram) para sair dessas plataformas.
Em seguida, os pesquisadores disseram aos estudantes que tentariam convencer a maioria dos alunos da faculdade a sair das redes sociais, também mediante pagamento. E perguntaram: “Quanto você exigiria receber para desativar sua conta se a maioria dos outros também saísse da plataforma?” A resposta, em média, foi menos que zero. Em todos os casos, a maioria dos alunos se dispunha a pagar para sair da plataforma." https://sol2070.in/2024/05/Prova-de-que-big-tech-%C3%A9-uma-pris%C3%A3o #bigtech
After watching OpenAI's presentation and, even more, an excerpt from Google's presentation yesterday, I asked myself: is this AI, according to the big tech companies (especially Google - for OpenAI it's their core business, so I understand their perspective), truly what users want and need, or is it just another method to lock people into using their technologies, which are not easily self-hostable?
I'm not arguing for or against it, but I noticed that (almost) the entire Google I/O yesterday was focused on this...
»Software aus der Schweiz statt Amerika:
Software von Big Tech ist alternativlos? Stimmt nicht, sagt Swiss Made Software und zeigt auf seiner Website mögliche Schweizer Lösungen.«
Abgesehen davon @inside_It, wäre ua Open-Source auch eine Alternative. Obwohl sehr viele dieser Software Kostenlos ist, lässt sich damit durchaus gut Geld verdienen ohne bei 0 anzufangen, wie zB die IT-Konzerne aus der USA.
"Een ander punt dat het College noemt is dat een groot deel van het aanbod afkomstig is van grote techbedrijven zoals Apple, Google, en Microsoft. "De invloed van deze bedrijven kan sturend zijn en kan scholen van hun producten afhankelijk maken, ..."
Featured speaker this time was Euro Member of Parliament @kimvsparrentak who passionately spoke on the need for a more free Internet detached from #bigTech and more focussed on #Democracy and real #Social interaction.
When confronted with her presence on X and Insta, and the lack of active presence here on the #Fediverse we promised to help her.
Please help us get a decent follower-base here and follow her account right now, before she even gets a chance to get more active. A follower base of more than a 1000 people will surely help her convince her party members to spend time and money on a real presence here.
> Microsoft has the government locked in as a customer, so the government’s options for forcing change at Microsoft are limited, at least in the short term.
This applies to the states of the 🇪🇺 #EU and many other countries as well. But the bigger problem is: Nobody seems to care. Many times people just shrug and say that we can't change that anyway. ¯_(ツ)_/¯
To me it's the same situation as with the 🌡️ #ClimateCrisis. You can make the change. Switch to #FreeSoftware such as a :linux: #GNU / #Linux system, support #OpenSource projects through contribution and donation, and never trust the cloud (other people's computers).
No #AI or "genius" at #Microsoft or other #BigTech company will save the world or protect you from #Cybercrime. It's up to you and it's your responsibility to make the change. 🛡️ #ITSec is a process that begins with your #Commitment to it, and the #Internet is no sandpit (anymore).
The EU declares Apple's iPadOS as a 'gatekeeper' due to its vast app ecosystem, locking in businesses like yours or users like you.
The European Union's designation of Apple's iPadOS as a "gatekeeper" signals a significant win for small businesses and startup owners in fostering a fair digital marketplace.
This move further underscores the EU's commitment to regulating tech giants such as Apple and gives smaller businesses the opportunity to thrive and innovate.
Apple must now comply with the DMA within 6 months. Our CEO, @jon, welcomes this, noting that iPads and iPhones share the same ecosystem and that Apple controls both as the gatekeeper.
Why enshittification of the internet is progressing so quickly - options are being destroyed one by one as monopoly power exerts itself.
"...So where have the missing companies gone? A 2023 paper by a trio of academics suggests a fairly straightforward answer: the Magnificent Seven ate them. Or at least a lot of them..."
Co-founder of Twitter joins new Mastodon board of directors. Right, so federating with Threads wasn’t a mistake. This is just the direction Mastodon is going. Oh, well. Another Mozilla emerges.