The Ethics of Millionaire Status

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jun/24/cory-doctorow-on-elon-musk-ai-bubble-bosses-cruel-fantasies

This AI-related article is mildly interesting but also dubious at points. In addition to other issues, it touches on the growing concern surrounding the AI-bubble. Regardless of what AI does or fails to do, this hype alone and the potential for a burst and the economic fallout that results is becoming a substantial story on its own merits.

Surveillance Revisionism

I happened to catch some Newsmax on a recent night and couldn't help but grin listening to the commentators drone on about the surveillance state and how the citizenry shouldn't have to give up so much of its personal data.

Many will have no problem with giving up their data to corporations - who in turn affect and shape state policy and effectively lobby the government.

Costa Rica, Semi-conductor Devices, and the American Empire

https://english.elpais.com/international/2024-04-22/from-san-jose-to-silicon-valley-costa-rica-is-emerging-as-a-hotbed-for-us-chips.html

The microchip industry has become strategic for the United States, meaning it is guaranteed federal subsidies and is becoming integrated with the security state. New facilities are being developed in Arizona, Texas, Idaho, Ohio, and New York but the industry is always going to be looking for cheaper options. A decade ago that was in China and other Asian locales. The US might be comfortable with South Korea, Japan, or even the Philippines but after the supply chain snags associated with Covid, the US is looking for something closer, a location that wouldn't be affected by such shipping scenarios. As such, Costa Rica has suddenly become an attractive option.

Congress and Big Tech: Hypocrisy and Blindness all on Sides

https://breakpoint.org/big-tech-families-and-the-role-of-government/

As we've come to expect, Stonestreet is less than helpful in addressing the salient issues. This time it's about families, technology, and the state. It continues to astonish me that parents have so little oversight or influence over their children that they are unable to curtail the problems associated with Smartphones and social media.

Almost Blacklisted by Google

I recently had an interesting experience with Google. An article from 2016 was flagged by the Blogger platform as violating their community terms of use. It wasn't removed, but it was censored in that you have to agree that you were an adult to read it – and sign in via a Google log-in.

Facial Recognition Being Normalised in the West

https://www.thedefensepost.com/2021/04/06/us-army-facial-recognition-bases/

One might call this The China Effect. Already the UK is using facial recognition software and US law enforcement agencies are certainly using the software to scan through ID photo databases and social media.

China Tensions and a Suspicious Fire

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/9/25/huge-fire-breaks-out-at-huawei-facility-in-china

The context for this potentially controversial fire is one of military drills, cat and mouse confrontations between the Chinese and American navies in the South China Sea and growing tensions over Taiwan.

Palantir Goes Mainstream

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/sep/25/palantir-valuation-shares-new-york-stock-exchange-debut

Palantir, the Orwellian data-analytic company founded by the apostate sodomite Peter Thiel continues to flourish and has expanded its footprint during the Trump era – and it's time to cash in and get plugged into the mainstream.

Covid-19: The Age of Masks and Facial Recognition

https://www.cnet.com/health/facial-recognition-firms-are-scrambling-to-see-around-face-masks/

It's one of the rare blessings of the Covid-19 era. My wife and I were talking about this a couple of months ago when the new reality started to settle on American shores. We were talking about it because as the pandemic was spreading, everyone was talking about tracking apps and government surveillance. Facial recognition had already been in the news for some time as it has been proliferating over the past couple of years.

Tech Resistance in the Face of Orwellian Surveillance

One might say it's a case of fighting technology with technology or perhaps one could view it as a type of counter espionage. While most of the public willingly surrenders their information to the state and/or the corporate entities which exist in a symbiotic relationship with it – some of us are more than a little concerned.

Hungary, the UK and the Politics of Huawei

https://www.euractiv.com/section/5g/news/hungarys-emergency-infrastructure-hardware-built-by-huawei/

Washington is not pleased that Budapest is collaborating with Beijing when it comes to its 5G infrastructure. This is part of a larger struggle with China over technology and global 'tech' infrastructure. Despite US machinations and even threats, China continues to make inroads into Europe.

Wal-Mart and Facial Recognition

https://www.forbes.com/sites/retailwire/2017/07/27/walmarts-facial-recognition-tech-would-overstep-boundaries/#2aa099c945f8

Recently while out with family members I found myself once again in the great temple of consumption also known as Wal-Mart. As indicated in previous writings I find a particular fascination with what's happening up at the check-out area and while standing there and observing, I noticed large CCTV monitors taking in the transaction area as well as the areas in which people queue up or stand in line.

Palantir: The Electric Eye in the Skynet

https://theintercept.com/2019/05/02/peter-thiels-palantir-was-used-to-bust-hundreds-of-relatives-of-migrant-children-new-documents-show/

The apostate and sodomite Peter Thiel has big plans for the future. He wants to be part of the state surveillance apparatus which in the end will spy on all of us. At this point it's clear Thiel has Deep State connections. Just how embedded he is within the larger machine and circles of power is anyone's guess.

Palantir and Cambridge Analytica

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2018/mar/28/palantir-employee-cambridge-analytica

Why anyone would believe anything said by the people associated with Palantir is beyond me. This nefarious company (headed by billionaire apostate turned sodomite Peter Thiel) is essentially on record as having no regard for the law, Constitutional, Parliamentary, Common or otherwise. A roguish organisation connected to the Deep State, Palantir represents a means of manipulation and control through intelligence gathering and algorithmic prediction.

Indian Biometrics and the Privatisation of Government Data Collection

https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-india-economy-biometric/india-probes-report-on-breach-of-national-identity-database-idUKKBN1ET1KM

New Delhi insists biometric data is fully safe and secure. Why should the people trust this is the case? If hackers were able to break into the UID system with such ease or an insider was able to sell the data undetected, either way it has been made clear the government has no real operational system control let alone security.

The Establishment's Pro-Robotics Propaganda and its Manipulation of the Political Spectrum

http://www.politico.eu/article/germany-should-welcome-robot-overlords-global-policy-lab/

We are told in this article to welcome the robot revolution and to not be concerned with either the technological implications... which are not really addressed... or the social impact.

In fact robots replacing workers are viewed as a solution to workplace problems and by implication it could even help with the social tensions regarding immigrants!

What we really have here is a Right-wing piece that's meant to promote the interests of the capitalist class.

Microsoft, Ireland and the EU

https://iapp.org/news/a/european-commission-weighs-in-on-microsoft-ireland-case/

Europe is socialist. Socialism means the government regulates and controls everything.

That's what I was taught growing up. These messages came not only from the public education system but from within my own Right-wing home.

Of course I later came to question this and understand that it's not that simple. Socialism can mean regulation and control and certainly does when it comes to certain aspects of business and society.

Fiendish Facebook

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/sep/19/facebooks-war-on-free-will

This article/extract should be read by all. Franklin Foer does well in explaining the transformational nature of power in our new social dynamic and how people [sic] like Zuckerberg are able to wield it.

The Smartphone Generation

https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2017/09/has-the-smartphone-destroyed-a-generation/534198/

Some of you will have already read this article from The Atlantic. Written by an unbeliever and full of worldly and thus flawed wisdom it is nevertheless worthwhile.

Palantir the Harbinger of Doom

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/30/palantir-peter-thiel-cia-data-crime-police

Always cast as a means to stop figures like Bernie Madoff and child molesters, computer programs like Palantir actually represent an attempt by the Deep State to recapture the Internet.