Big Tech: The New Predatory Capitalism

“We’re making the world a better place.” The phrase is thrown around so often in the tech world that it became a punch line on the HBO satire Silicon Valley. Executives controlling the largest tech titans—Google, Amazon, Facebook, Apple, and Microsoft—might even believe it. But in a searing presentation at Business Insider’s IGNITION conference in…

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Silicon Valley Techies Still Think They’re the Good Guys. They’re Not. | WIRED

In September, I met with a prominent entrepreneur looking for positive press on his new project. Meetings like these are a common, usually formulaic, part of my job—except in this one, the conversation drifted to the tech industry’s year of bad headlines. As we discussed the latest sexual harassment scandal, he posed a question: Will…

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Security robot at SPCA in the Mission gets a warning from the city to stay off the sidwalks – San Francisco Business Times

San Francisco residents continue to rage against the machines. While the city’s board of supervisors moves toward finalizing limits on robots that roam the sidewalks to deliver food and goods, it must also find a way to handle security robots that patrol public sidewalks. Ad Tag – c1 (xs/xm/md) The S.F. SPCA in the Mission…

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Google Has Picked an Answer for You—Too Bad It’s Often Wrong – WSJ

Going beyond search, the internet giant is promoting a single result over all others, and many are contentious, improbable or laughably incorrect Google handles 90% of the world’s internet searches, and it increasingly is promoting a single answer for many questions. Here’s how the algorithms are—and aren’t—working Google became the world’s go-to source of information…

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‘Alexa, Can You Prevent Suicide?’ – WSJ

“Alexa, I’m depressed.” “Alexa, I’m being abused.” “Alexa, I’m considering suicide.” When Amazon introduced Alexa in 2014, it quickly discovered that users wanted more than traffic reports and Taylor Swift songs. According to the company, more than 50% of interactions with Alexa are “nonutilitarian and entertainment related,” a category that includes professions of love for…

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