Kiss Off
When I woke up this morning, the last thing I wanted to do was cheat on my laptop. She accepts me, never complains that I bring her everywhere or that I still type with two fingers, and she never tells anyone where she hides my folder of inappropriate links. That’s what I wrote the morning that the first iPad came out, in a syndicated (and disturbingly honest) piece, I Kissed an iPad and I Liked It. This was back when the only question about new technology products was how much we’d love them. Times and technologies have changed. These days, people seem more likely to rage against the latest machine. We’re seeing that rage most clearly in the bipartisan resistance to data centers, but the contempt is a lot more widespread than that. Our opinions about tech have changed, even though some of the tech we’re maddest about has been around for a while. That includes data centers. The Verge (Gift Article) provides a detailed look at the changing landscape, and the changing opinions, in Loudoun County, Virginia, where the future of data centers arrived 20 years ago. Is This the Future of America? In terms of data center sprawl, tech company gall, and public appall, the answer might be yes.
+ We’ve also been seeing nonstop stories about the anger at Flock surveillance cameras. But like data centers, these cameras aren’t new. “Labeling the anger at Flock as a reaction to ever-present surveillance in contemporary society seems accurate, but this doesn’t explain why it’s happening right now.” David A. Graham in The Atlantic (Gift Article): Why the Flock Backlash Has Gotten So Intense. “The Flock backlash fits into a broader moment of anger—at corporations in general, and at tech companies and artificial intelligence in particular.”
+ “When New York City public schoolchildren return to the classroom next week, younger students will be barred from using artificial intelligence. No individual screens will be allowed until third grade. And teachers will not be able to ask A.I. to grade assignments.” And many parents in NYC are complaining because they think the restrictions don’t go far enough. NYT (Gift Article): A.I. Is to Be Banned in N.Y.C. Elementary and Middle Schools.
+ Today, the SF Gate has a story about an army of stylists helping San Francisco tech workers dress for dates. But it’s going to take a lot more than a new set of clothes to change the current perception of our tech emperors. Part of it is their size and power (which I covered earlier this week in Wiped Off the Map), part of it is their current set of leaders, part of it is the damage they’ve done to democracy and decency, and part of it is that an industry that once felt like it was on our side is consistently letting us down. I mean, do I need to draw you a map? OK, I will: Apple changes Lake Ontario name to ‘Lake America.’ Think this is disgusting for you? I once made out with this company…
