Paris Marx / is on Nostr

critic of tech futures | host of tech won’t save us | writer of disconnect | my book “road to nowhere” is out now! | he/they

Last Notes

2024-08-09 20:13:53

i’ve been looking forward to this book for so long, and now that i have the galley i can’t help feel a little sad i won’t get to discuss it with david.
i’ll be discussing on the podcast somehow, and i hope you all buy a copy — even preorder!
https://files.mastodon.online/media_attachments/files/112/933/890/087/900/398/original/8260acff8a72c50e.png

2024-07-24 15:40:55

Elon Musk said the woke mind virus “killed” his trans daughter, while misgendering and deadnaming her in an interview with Jordan Peterson.
It’s the latest proof that Musk sees his children as part of a reproductive project, not as people he cares about. His daughter is very much alive.
https://disconnect.blog/elon-musk-doesnt-care-about-kids-he-cares-about-demographics-2/
#tech #elonmusk #trans #pronatalism

2024-07-02 21:20:51

A total ban is the only sane policy for Airbnb. There obviously needs to be accommodation in cities for visitors, but that shouldn’t be at the expense of housing units for people who actually live there. More governments should follow Barcelona’s lead.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-21/barcelona-plans-to-ban-all-short-term-rentals-for-tourists-from-2029
#airbnb #tech #cities #travel

2024-03-15 01:51:00

“Apple has long owned the high end of the smartphone market — but in China, Huawei has become the hip brand for young people, and the shift is starting to show up in sales figures.
Tesla is facing a similar problem with Chinese brands like Nio, Li Auto, and BYD. (Nio, in particular, has developed a cult following that’s remarkably similar to Tesla’s rabid U.S. fan base.)”
https://restofworld.org/2024/exporter-apple-tesla-china/
#tech #apple #tesla #huawei #china

2024-03-08 15:35:36

The internet’s promise was always a libertarian fantasy, but there were still benefits to be had for most people.
As commercial pressures escalated, those benefits were slowly eroded and the drawbacks grew. Now generative AI could kill them altogether.
https://disconnect.blog/the-digital-revolution-has-failed/
#tech #ai #generativeai

2024-02-15 00:02:17

Apple fans are reporting headaches and burst blood vessels as they bring back the Vision Pro before their 14-day return window closes.
https://www.theverge.com/2024/2/14/24072792/apple-vision-pro-early-adopters-returns
#apple #vr #tech

2024-02-12 02:15:47

“Uber’s margins fattened as competitors fell by the wayside and the company ground down costs.”
Those “costs” are driver wages. Uber’s shifted billions from drivers to corporate coffers and that will now fund a big share buyback and potentially a divided.
https://www.ft.com/content/7a333873-b860-4139-82db-4517eb7ddcd2
#tech #uber #gigeconomy #workers #labor

2024-01-24 17:31:42

Sam Altman’s vision for AI proliferation will require a lot more computation and the energy to power it.
He admitted it at Davos, but he said we shouldn’t worry: an energy breakthrough was coming, and in the meantime we could just use “geoengineering as a stopgap.” That should set off alarm bells.
https://disconnect.blog/sam-altmans-self-serving-vision-of-the-future/
#ai #openai #tech #climate #energy #agi #samaltman

2024-01-16 16:01:32

Elon Musk has long opposed unions, but now he’s taking his war on workers to an entirely new level.
In Sweden, Tesla wants to blow up the Nordic labor model, while SpaceX is echoing the Federalist Society by trying to destroy the NLRB in the United States. He must be stopped.
https://disconnect.blog/elon-musk-just-escalated-his-war-on-workers/
#elonmusk #labor #tesla #spacex #union

2024-01-13 17:43:36

“Current and former personnel describe a culture of hubris, fed by the faith that Silicon Valley-style invention could outsmart industry incumbents. Time and again, these people say, Amazon ceded control to managers with little or no health-care experience, often ignoring advice from industry experts recruited to help guide the effort.”
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2023-11-27/amazon-amzn-bets-on-one-medical-after-past-health-care-initiatives-sputter
#amazon #health #tech

2023-11-18 23:00:20

When we warn the real threat of AI is how it’s used against people in the present, not the fantasies that some day computers might think for themselves, this is exactly the kind of thing we’re talking about: health insurers using AI to deny care.
https://arstechnica.com/health/2023/11/ai-with-90-error-rate-forces-elderly-out-of-rehab-nursing-homes-suit-claims/
#tech #ai #health #healthcare
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2023-11-08 23:14:16

Did you enjoy my four-part series ELON MUSK UNMASKED?
I’ve started posting longer versions of the interviews with experts who participated in the series for Patreon supporters. First up is NYT Johannesburg bureau chief John Eligon discussing Elon Musk’s childhood under apartheid!
https://www.patreon.com/posts/elon-musk-under-92386534
#tech #elonmusk #podcast

2023-09-30 14:28:59

Richest man in the world wants to jail democratic socialist councillor who doesn’t serve his personal interests.
There needs to be a full-scale assault on the power of billionaires. Otherwise, democracy’s days are numbered.
https://missionlocal.org/2023/09/elon-musk-calls-for-jailing-of-san-francisco-supervisor/
#tech #politics #elonmusk #sf

2023-07-07 19:20:08

Instagram head Adam Mosseri says pretty conclusively they don’t want Threads to be the new app for news and journalists. Makes sense given Meta is threatening to pull news in Canada and California.
Ultimately, Threads is a sanitized space for brands, grifters, and celebrities — all designed to sell you more shit.
#meta #tech #threads #socialmedia #instagram
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2023-03-31 11:56:51

Twitter’s ad revenue is down 89% and not many users are signing up to its paid subscription. In April, it’s removing “legacy” blue checks and further prioritizing paid accounts.
For Disconnect, I explain that Elon Musk needs this to push more users to subscribe to Twitter Blue so he can pay his $1.5 billion in annual interest payments. But it doesn’t look like that’s going to happen.
https://www.disconnect.blog/p/twitters-moment-of-truth-has-arrived
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