Hello, this week I thought I would try a short link round up of things (a la Corey Doctorow style) that I thought were interesting and worth sharing. :)
https://a.wholelottanothing.org/american-billionaires-are-a-policy-failure/
I think it's pretty obvious that billionaires as a concept should not exist. But if its not,
Matthew Haughey does a great job breaking down why billionaires aren’t just bad but also a policy failure.
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/08/14/business/worker-productivity-tracking.html
I used to work at a non-profit that acted like a tech company and so much of our work was figuring out ways to collect more data. There were good intentions behind this, of course, but it definitely made me wonder a lot about the whole process of data collecting. Sometimes I think we use numbers and analytics to hide our deeper insecurities. It gives the appearance of control and the more data you collect, the more in control you can be. What’s missing is trust. The convenience of tech, I think, can actually encourage us to avoid decisions that require trust. To look at hard numbers rather than people. This isn’t ignored numbers or analytics, but overabundance leads to weird gadgets like bossware.
https://www.wired.com/story/never-repeating-patterns-of-tiles-can-safeguard-quantum-information/
And ultimately, its people meeting people that can lead to greater discoveries such as two mathematicians making breakthroughs in quantum mechanics on a shuttle bus. (This was so interesting, I’m sure they will be making a movie about this in a few years)
https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2024-02-24/aging-healthcare-story-literature-lorrie-moore
This next piece I found to be beautifully written and incredibly profound. I have two aging parents and while they are not yet at a place where I have to care for them, I’m trying to cherish every moment I have with them. I’m not sure what I’ll do when they are gone, but I have them now. Now is, in the end, the only space that matters.
https://nonetoon.tumblr.com/post/645475612991094784
Finally, I will say I do have some projects and ideas in the works. Most won’t be about AI because at this point there is not much to add that someone smarter and well spoken hasn’t already said. I also have a lot of anxiety right now about posting! So I think doing something fun and lower stakes will help me build confidence. Until next week!