parismarx

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Silicon Valley wants us to believe ChatGPT and other AI tools will usher in a wonderful tech utopia (unless it destroys the human species).

But those narratives distract us from the truth that generative AI isn’t about making the world a better place. Its goal is to enrich investors and reduce the power of everyone else, and we need to recognize that before it’s too late.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/the-chatgpt-revolution-is-another

#tech #ai #chatgpt #openai

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Have you heard the stories of aliens in Roswell, New Mexico? What about Area 51? Or even the US Congressional testimony from yesterday that UFOs are real?

On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke to Kelsey Atherton to understand where the UFO conspiracy theories came from, how military secrecy created a fertile ground for them to grow, and whether UFOs are really out there.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/13288181-are-ufos-really-out-there-w-kelsey-atherton

#tech #ufo #uap #aliens #military

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Elon Musk decided to change Twitter’s name to X on a whim on Saturday. The company’s new logo was sent to Musk by one of his cult followers and used to belong to a podcast praising Musk and his companies.

Musk thinks he’s setting Twitter up for a great future as an “everything app,” but it’s yet another decision that shows how little he understands about what people want from the website.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/twitters-days-are-numbered

#tech #socialmedia #twitter #x #elonmusk

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Twitter’s new X logo wasn’t made by an in-house designer. It’s from an old podcast hosted by one of the cult that Elon took from his replies.

The font is Monotype’s Special Alphabets 4. Who wants to bet Musk didn’t pay for the rights before slapping it all over the place?

#tech #twitter #x #socialmedia #design

The characters of Monotype’s Special Alphabets 4 font

parismarx, 10 months ago to random

since elon musk is destroying twitter because he got obsessed with a domain name, i decided to celebrate by buying a new domain of my own: paris.wtf

redirects to my personal website for now, and may make a fun email address

parismarx, 10 months ago to random

Given how often Elon Musk steals memes, I’m not surprised he’s stealing logos now too.

Steven Dengler pointing out how much Twitter’s new X logo looks like the logo from his former company

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

In 2000, Elon Musk tried to rebrand PayPal as X.com, but was forced out by the board and replaced as CEO by Peter Thiel.

Now he’s doing the same to Twitter, but is surrounded by sycophants who can’t tell him it’s a bad idea.

Read more: https://www.disconnect.blog/p/elon-musk-wants-to-relive-his-start

#tech #twitter #x #elonmusk #socialmedia

Elon Musk tweeting the new X logo to replace Twitter.

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

In 2000, Elon Musk became the CEO of PayPal and tried to rename it X.com even though surveys showed the public hated the name but trusted PayPal. Now he’s repeating the same mistake with Twitter, but this time no one can oust him as CEO.

Without PayPal’s success, Musk never would have become the man he is today. The money he made when eBay bought it allowed him to invest in Tesla & SpaceX.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/elon-musk-wants-to-relive-his-start

#tech #elonmusk #twitter #socialmedia

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

This week in the Disconnect Roundup: will AI really automate our jobs like past technologies? Some interesting stories on that topic! Plus, a bunch of recommended reads, labor updates, and other news you might have missed!

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/roundup-will-ai-really-automate-jobs

#tech #ai #jobs #socialmedia

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Is Threads going to replace Twitter? It’s not trying to steal all the bird app’s users and doesn’t want the politics, but it does want to welcome the advertisers Twitter scared away.

For Insider, I explore Meta’s plans and whether they’ll succeed.

https://www.businessinsider.com/threads-never-replace-twitter-meta-zuckerberg-musk-advertisers-brands-influencers-2023-7

#tech #twitter #threads #meta #socialmedia

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

Tech companies are scraping the web to develop AI tools they promise can do everything — including understanding Indigenous languages. But that’s not true.

On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke with Keoni Mahelona about how capturing Indigenous language data is another form of colonialism, and how Te Hiku is taking a very different approach with the Māori language in Aotearoa New Zealand.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/13247893-big-tech-won-t-revitalize-indigenous-languages-w-keoni-mahelona

#tech #ai #newzealand #indigenous

parismarx, 10 months ago to random

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has made $1 billion from the company. Earlier this year he laid off more than 10,000 workers.

Hard to think of a better example of inequality in tech and the wider economy.

Microsoft to lay off more employees months after letting 10,000 workers go Amazon, Google and other large technology companies have also scaled back this year after having added headcount rapidly to meet rising demand during the Covid pandemic.

parismarx, 10 months ago to tech

lmao, the US military keeps accidentally sending highly sensitive information to email addresses in Mali because they write .ml instead of .mil. The Dutch company managing Mali’s domain has collected 117,000 emails this year alone.

Control of Mali’s domain is about to revert to the Mali government, at which point it can collect all those emails. It’s a close ally of Russia, and could theoretically pass on information.

https://www.ft.com/content/ab62af67-ed2a-42d0-87eb-c762ac163cf0

#tech #military #pentagon

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

The Hyperloop was never meant to be built. Elon Musk admitted it was all about fueling opposition to California’s high-speed rail project so it would get canceled.

He never planned to improve transportation; he just wants to keep people trapped in cars.

https://newrepublic.com/article/174089/big-tech-watching-drive

#tech #transport #elonmusk #transportation #hyperloop #trains

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

Movie studios and streaming companies are using digital technology to upend the business model of Hollywood and disempower labor in the process. Now actors are joining writers by going on strike to defend their profession.

“The digital age is cannibalizing us,” says SAG-AFTRA president Fran Drescher, recognizing how tech has been key in undermining workers’ rights.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/the-digital-age-is-cannibalizing

#tech #wgastrike #streaming #sagaftra #hollywood

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

Silicon Valley promised us a transport future filled with driverless cars, Hyperloops, and more. But they delivered continued car dependence where vehicles are filled with digital tech so they take a cut of the profits.

Read my debut for @newrepublic!

https://newrepublic.com/article/174089/big-tech-watching-drive

#tech #transport #transportation #elonmusk #transit

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

Israel has had Palestinians under occupation for decades, and that allows weapons companies to test and develop new technologies on them that can then be sold abroad.

On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke to Antony Loewenstein about how that tech is developed, what it means for Palestinians, and how the Israeli government uses oppressive tech for diplomatic leverage.

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/13212302-how-israel-uses-occupation-to-develop-military-tech-w-antony-loewenstein

#tech #israel #weapons #military

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

Robotaxis run by Waymo and Cruise are blocking transit and emergency vehicles in San Francisco, so local activists are pushing back.

For Disconnect, I spoke to @SafeStreetRebel about using traffic cones to disable the driverless cars and their campaign to stop the state regulator from expanding robotaxi service. They’re doing the important work of fighting against tech for a better city!

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/stopping-robotaxis-with-traffic-cones

#tech #sanfrancisco #transport #transportation #google #transit

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

Google’s senior research director Greg Corrado says he wouldn’t want its medical chatbot to be a part of his family’s “healthcare journey,” but he’s excited for it to be deployed on poor people.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/7/8/23788265/google-med-palm-2-mayo-clinic-chatbot-bard-chatgpt

#tech #ai #google

parismarx, 11 months ago to random

A 52-year-old with a child’s sense of humor.

parismarx, 11 months ago to random

everyone: watches right-wing “free speech” platforms like parler, gab, and truth social be utter failures

elon musk: i’m going to buy twitter for $44 billion and turn it into a “free speech” platform where all right-wing extremists are welcome!

parismarx, 11 months ago to tech

In February, I wrote about how Elon Musk’s vision for Twitter 2.0 was a revival of something he tried and failed to pull off back in his startup days.

During his ongoing mid-life crisis, he was trying to return to that moment, but as I explain, he never learned any lessons from that failure and was doomed to repeat them. Seeing how the last few months have played out, that’s proven pretty accurate.

https://www.disconnect.blog/p/elon-musk-wants-to-relive-his-start

#tech #twitter #elonmusk

parismarx, 11 months ago to threads

No pressure to join the new Zuck app, but if you’re on Threads feel free to give me a follow! I’m already blocked by DoorDash 😂

https://www.threads.net/@parismarx

#threads #meta #tech #socialmedia