Notices by Paris Marx (parismarx@mastodon.online), page 2

Apple engineers show Tim Cook was too quick to jump on the hype train

https://www.wired.com/story/apple-ai-llm-reasoning-research/

#tech #ai #apple #genai #generativeai

DATA VAMPIRES is a four-part series exploring the costs of hyperscale data centers and why tech billionaires are desperate to build more.

In Part 2, we visit some of the communities on the front line of the data center binge and learn why they’re pushing back.

Listen to the full episode: https://techwontsave.us/episode/243_data_vampires_opposing_data_centers_episode_2

#tech #datacenters #ai #genai

On Thursday, Elon Musk claimed Tesla’s Optimus robot was rapidly advancing then had them engage with his gullible cult fans and work the bar.

But the robots were being remotely controlled by Tesla employees using haptic suits.

https://disconnect.blog/roundup-elon-musks-dream-of-robot-slaves-isnt-coming-soon/

#tech #tesla #elonmusk #optimus

“For Pressly, real privacy would mean not simply enabling people to participate in such decisions but mandating that far less data be made in the first place. … His proposal evokes a kind of digital degrowth.”

Need to pick up this book. Read @bentarnoff review:

https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-weekend-essay/what-is-privacy-for

#tech #privacy

Elon Musk has been promising a transport revolution for a decade.

His Cybercab event repeated a ton of the lines he’s used to justify those failed projects over the years, with no concrete details for how he’ll realize the robotaxi one either. There’s no reason to believe he’ll deliver.

https://disconnect.blog/elon-musks-cybercab-recycles-a-decade-broken-promises/

#tech #elonmusk #tesla #cybercab #transportation #transport #selfdriving

DATA VAMPIRES is a special four-part series digging into the costs of hyperscale data centers and why tech billionaires are desperate to build so many more.

In Part 1, we explore where “the cloud” came from and how it expands the power of Amazon, Microsoft, and Google.

Listen to the full episode: https://techwontsave.us/episode/241_data_vampires_going_hyperscale_episode_1

#tech #ai #datacenters #microsoft #amazon #google #techwontsaveus

Coding is being positioned as place where generative AI is going to have a huge impact.

But a new study of 800 developers found GitHub Copilot did little to improve productivity, while introducing 41% more bugs into the code.

https://www.cio.com/article/3540579/devs-gaining-little-if-anything-from-ai-coding-assistants.html

#tech #ai #genai #coding

Mark Zuckerberg wants you to think he’s a new man because he wears baggy clothes and gold chains.

But the reality is that he’s embracing right-wing politics and spurning critics while presenting himself as a great future builder to distract from the ongoing harms of his platforms. Don’t fall for the deception.

https://disconnect.blog/mark-zuckerbergs-rebrand-is-a-master-class-in-distraction/

#tech #meta #markzuckerberg #ai #orion #smartglasses

Mark Zuckerberg has a new look, and he’s managed to use it to get better press coverage even though his company is still causing a load of harm.

On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke to @KarlBode to discuss why we shouldn’t fall for Zuckerberg’s rebrand.

Listen to the full episode: https://techwontsave.us/episode/240_dont_fall_for_mark_zuckerbergs_rebrand_w_karl_bode

#tech #markzuckerberg #facebook #meta

So disappointing to see how Uber continues to get away with its global war on workers and their rights.

Here’s a staggering chart from the Financial Times showing how much Uber drivers’ wages have fallen across most of the world.

https://www.ft.com/content/7b503c54-ee5b-4413-ad06-580cdab531e5

#tech #uber #gigeconomy

Generative AI hype is fueling a massive build out of hyperscale data centers around the world. It’s not about serving the public, but realizing an extreme vision of the future being pushed by self-serving tech billionaires.

DATA VAMPIRES, a new four-part series from #TechWontSaveUs, begins next Monday.

New episodes will drop every Monday on our public feed, but our supporters on Patreon will get every episode on day one. Sign up: https://patreon.com/techwontsaveus

#tech #ai #datacenters #genai

The EU is losing its biggest tech antagonists, and FTC head Lina Khan could find herself out in the cold after November regardless of who takes office.

Tech’s power must be reined in, but are we in the midst of their revenge against the regulators?

https://disconnect.blog/roundup-is-the-tech-antitrust-era-waning/

#tech #antitrust #competition #monopoly #ai

Elon Musk was on hand to award fascist Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni an award from the Atlantic Council last night.

He said she was “someone who is even more beautiful on the inside than she is on the outside.”

https://www.politico.eu/article/precious-genius-elon-musk-love-bombs-beautiful-giorgia-meloni-global-citizens-award-un/

#tech #elonmusk #italy #politics

“More than 90% of the public library digital market is controlled by one private equity leveraged company that bypasses the library through their app, which makes digital readers think the rental app is their library. In the worst case scenario, this decision gives publishers carte blanche to continue to force libraries into unconscionable monopoly contracts and lock them into their closed surveillance apps.”

https://www.libraryfutures.net/post/were-still-fighting-for-fair-use

#tech #reading #books #library

The Three Mile Island nuclear facility plans to reopen in 2028 to supply Microsoft’s AI data centers. It was the site of the worst nuclear disaster in US history.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-20/microsoft-s-ai-power-needs-prompt-revival-of-three-mile-island-nuclear-plant

#tech #ai #datacenters #microsoft #genai #generativeai

JD Vance says that if Europe tries to regulate Elon Musk’s platforms, the US government should end support for NATO.

This is exactly why Musk is embracing the extreme right: he knows they’ll defend his power at all costs.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/jd-vance-elon-musk-x-twitter-donald-trump-b2614525.html

#tech #elonmusk #jdvance #politics #twitter

Frankly, it’s depressing how one billionaire can fuck up the night sky for the rest of humanity and our collective ability to try to understand more about the universe.

The new generation of Starlink satellites create even more interference than the old ones.

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy4dnr8zemgo

#tech #space #starlink #spacex #elonmusk

Across the United States, utilities are planning new gas-fired power generation at their fastest rate in years — in part to supply tech companies who are building out massive data centers driven by AI hype.

Generative AI remains a climate disaster.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-16/us-natural-gas-power-plants-just-keep-coming-to-meet-ai-ev-electricity-demand

#tech #ai #climate #datacenters #genai #generativeai #cloud

@inthehands Thanks for the thoughts, and I largely agree with that. I’m not trying to suggest states are perfect by any means, but the only way I see of taking on the power of tech monopolies and trying to build an internet that’s more oriented around public benefit than profit is through engaging with governments in a constructive way and acknowledging that not all cultures have the same values as the US cyberlibertarians.

For decades, internet politics has been shaped by a cyberlibertarian perspective that obsessed about government while enabling the corporate dystopia we live in today.

If we want a better internet, we must abandon that perspective and reclaim sovereignty over digital technology.

https://disconnect.blog/reclaiming-sovereignty-in-the-digital-age/

#tech #internet #politics #socialmedia #brazil