HN Reader

Databases, facial recognition, video synthesis (creating unreality), Pattern recognition, …. There’s a whole lot of techniques and technology going back to Operations Research in WW II that is useful to those in charge. Yes, tools are neutral, but some are more, erm, useful than others in this. Hackers hack, pocket the cash where available but don’t often consider the larger implications of their hack.

But then societies seem to be going well until they’re not. Boiling frogs I guess. And nobody reads the history as it’s all been done before and the clues are just there written down.

After seeing the 180 of people like Chamath and Sacks I feel like historians and people who are curious to understand what went through the heads of apical figures at Siemens, VW, Mercedes-Benz, BMW, Bayer etc during the rise of Hitler...well the ideal would be to get a time machine but the closest thing to that is to tune in their All_in podcast weekly

All the others starting from Zuck and Musk too of course but their media apps are more scattered and tweets don't have the same impact as a weekly podcast.

"The time has come, I can no longer remain silent. The current US administration is perpetrating a fascist takeover of our democracy, and Big Tech CEOs and companies are complicit. It's time to reckon with the inextricable ties between the companies we turn to for innovation and excitement and the government's horrific actions. If this video alienates you because you support this administration, good. You are not welcome here. Please unsubscribe. Everyone else, let's keep these things in mind as we go forward. Never forget the gross violations of civil liberties, baldfaced corruption, and gross acts of evil being perpetrated."

For me the weirdest capitulation comes from Tim Cook, who for years cosplayed as an LGBTQ inclusion proponent but now actively undermines these values by brown-nosing the Trump regime. First, by personally gifting Trump one million dollars for his inauguration; then the grift with the golden statue; and very recently, by attending the Melania movie premiere.