It’s an exhausting, Darwinian life he is describing — endlessly adapting to a changing, pitiless world.
I Concur. I think this valley is the most unequal in the United States. The wealth gap is amazing. People, not even many on the cusp of high tech are finding it hard to live here. Housing is out of sight and the congestion is killing (not lierally) many every day. High tech will casue a rise of the new Luddites.
Think about driver less cars. Driver less trucks will cause ovre , what, 300,000 or more jobs, good paying jobs, (all you may need is a high school diploma).
Just because something can be done, does not mean that it should be done.
Think. Unintended consequences.
I Concur. I think this valley is the most unequal in the United States. The wealth gap is amazing. People, not even many on the cusp of high tech are finding it hard to live here. Housing is out of sight and the congestion is killing (not lierally) many every day. High tech will casue a rise of the new Luddites.
Think about driver less cars. Driver less trucks will cause ovre , what, 300,000 or more jobs, good paying jobs, (all you may need is a high school diploma).
Just because something can be done, does not mean that it should be done.
Think. Unintended consequences.
47
All platforms, such as FaceBook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Google have to learn that they have become general news and information distributors. As such, they all have to start to grapple with traditional journalistic ethics questions - something that most tech companies have tried to stay away from because it is very labor intensive and does not lend itself to the instant publishing / re-tweeting / gratification that is now rampant on the internet because instant news generates traffic which generates revenue. I personally very much doubt that tech companies will institute review boards that will prevent obviously bad / wrong information from being republished, so I expect that we will see more and more bad information drowning out the few thoughtful, true pieces... which will put even more pressure on the few good sources of news... We all should think about the long term consequences to our democracy.
53
Can't wait to see Laura Ingraham as Press Secretary wrangle with the know-it-all Liberal Media on her President's behalf. I hope Donald finds a slot for Brent Bozell, too. Make the useful idiots & ink-stained wretches publish accurate fish wrap for a change, obviating the need for more apologia from the NYT Editorial Board, and saving long-tons of newsprint.
And promise "No Extradition" to Julian Assange.
And promise "No Extradition" to Julian Assange.
6
Great essay. Thank you, Noam Cohen. The many ironies of these tech companies need exposing. Badly. Here's a recommendation: For anyone interested in social justice, Noam Chomsky's latest video, "Requiem for the American Dream," is a must-see. Also on this topic but from a more personal level, read Sebastian Junger's book "Tribe." Although they come at the topic from very different perspectives, the video and the book both serve to expose how all this disruption and other capitalist strategies are working to undermine the very social fabric the tech giants and others claim to promote.
33
This fake news narrative would be hilarious if it weren't so insulting.
15
Democrats looking high and low for palatable reasons for Hillary's Hindenburg landing need only remember: You ran a 20th-century product in a 21st-century environment. When Donald avoided all advertising, and surged, I knew he'd win. Worse, Hillary had an albatross named Bill around her neck.
You put her up as ineluctable, when she was only inevitable, cause "it was her turn." Again. Back to the future? No way, San Jose.
You put her up as ineluctable, when she was only inevitable, cause "it was her turn." Again. Back to the future? No way, San Jose.
17
This would make sense if the bulk of Silicon Valley types were conservative Republicans. But they are not. They are liberal/progressive Democrats. Face reality!
7
Teapot Dome then and Trump Tower now?
5
#0 years of investigations, bad oress, and lies allowed to fester about the Clintons to the point where they are accepted as fact didn't help either. Nevermind that the accusations were proved false every time, the " appearance" was bad. So thanks to all of the press, including the NYT for that.
31
The Facebook sharing of anti-Hillary fake news stories did result in one good thing. It showed us exactly what many of our family, friends, acquaintance believe.
As for Silicon Valley politics - the ones we are hearing from are the CEOs and owners. They are members of the uber rich who will profit from the tax plans of President-Elect Trump, as well as any cost-savings by changes to the medical care system as in eliminating any tax-payer assistance to the uninsurable, poor or elderly.
After all, the fastest way for the rich to get richer is to eliminate the programs that support anybody not in that top 1%. All a candidate or political party has to do is convince the bottom 99% that they will get a tiny tax break, even if that tax break is just an illusion.
As for Silicon Valley politics - the ones we are hearing from are the CEOs and owners. They are members of the uber rich who will profit from the tax plans of President-Elect Trump, as well as any cost-savings by changes to the medical care system as in eliminating any tax-payer assistance to the uninsurable, poor or elderly.
After all, the fastest way for the rich to get richer is to eliminate the programs that support anybody not in that top 1%. All a candidate or political party has to do is convince the bottom 99% that they will get a tiny tax break, even if that tax break is just an illusion.
20
Blame whoever is needed, but those who didn't vote in areas throughout the nation and especially in so called swing states are the people who put Mr Trump and whoever he appoints in office. If nothing else this election should highlight the importance of voting.
I personally do not think Mr Trump will be our best President and, if he delgates his authority to idealogues, even a very good one, but he has a mind and can head our nation, probably well, as we get ourselves together.
Certainly many will disagree, but as far as my experience among men he hasn't given any indication, beyond an authoritarian persona, that he is less than acceptable.
Tolerable?
He is arguably just another rich guy who has gone more public than most and has brought along a lot of willing open eyed voters and slobbering sycophants with him.
He doesn't frighten me, but the changes his Cabinet, his Congress and most unfortunately his Judicial may bring, can both mentally and financially cripple many, if not most, of our citizenry throughout their lifetime.
He is our President and I wish him and all of us well.
I personally do not think Mr Trump will be our best President and, if he delgates his authority to idealogues, even a very good one, but he has a mind and can head our nation, probably well, as we get ourselves together.
Certainly many will disagree, but as far as my experience among men he hasn't given any indication, beyond an authoritarian persona, that he is less than acceptable.
Tolerable?
He is arguably just another rich guy who has gone more public than most and has brought along a lot of willing open eyed voters and slobbering sycophants with him.
He doesn't frighten me, but the changes his Cabinet, his Congress and most unfortunately his Judicial may bring, can both mentally and financially cripple many, if not most, of our citizenry throughout their lifetime.
He is our President and I wish him and all of us well.
10
Mr. Cohen:
when upwards of 100 million eligible voters do not participate,
it becomes problematic to 'blame' a single source.
as DJT evolves into a 21st Century "Nixon 2.0",
it will behoove all of us to recalibrate an appropriate response
as quickly and efficiently as possible.
to the barricades, perhaps?
much good cheer, sir.
4
Of course, Silicon Valley Helped Created Trump. You haven't mentioned about Silicon Valley's relentless pursuit of cheap labor from illegal immigration and the corrupt H-1B programs. The illegal immigration causes a lot of anger from Americans in middle America. And the H-1B is used to import cheap educated labor overseas to come in and oppress American professionals, especially the ones in high-tech. It's no wonder by many highly-educated American professionals voted for Trump. Nobody wants his way of earning a living taken away from him. Silicon Valley supports for these corrupt programs do just that.
70
Not on Facebook. Not a Twitter user. Took down LinkedIn page (never used it ). Only comment section I can stand to read is NYT, thank you. Need news? Don't like to read? PBS News hour.
Imagine if people just stopped using social media. A day? a week? For the next four years? Just a crazy little thought. The Donald tweeting to......no one. Upset that the number of followers suddenly drops off....he stays in his room and refuses to come out. It seems so easy. You can quit social media from the comfort of your own home. Now that is what I call disruption!
Imagine if people just stopped using social media. A day? a week? For the next four years? Just a crazy little thought. The Donald tweeting to......no one. Upset that the number of followers suddenly drops off....he stays in his room and refuses to come out. It seems so easy. You can quit social media from the comfort of your own home. Now that is what I call disruption!
165
Good People, The Con Don is not President yet. The Electoral College voters have not finalized their votes yet. Here is a link to an excellent article regarding how they can find their courage and true love for America and prevent the catastrophe-in-waiting we face. There is a link in the article that lists GOP EC voters in each the states that matter. Please Good People, do the right thing and contact these decision makers. America and OUR democracy count on it. Thank You.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/president-trump-isnt-a-done-deal-ele...
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/president-trump-isnt-a-done-deal-ele...
14
This all speaks to the US (1st amendment) free speech fallacy. The US is the only country where people talk about unfettered free speech as always right. Stop and think about statements like "The cure for false speech is not laws but more free speech". It makes no sense at all. How does a poor individual or minority counter wealthy corporations and bigots in this picture?
Unfettered free speech gave us Citizens United. It backstops hate speech and racism. It means no federal libel laws. Someone can accuse you and drag your name through the mud. You can get fired and lose everything. Unless you are rich you can't really do anything about it (unlike most other countries). Anyone can express hate and lie in the US as much as they want -- money wins, not truth or justice.
Ultimately -- it gave us President Trump.
The unfettered free speech fantasy relies on another fantasy -- that the majority is fair and open-minded and will counter oppressive speech and acts. We know this is not true. In a Democracy, the majority can elect bigots and make laws to suppress minorities. Only the courts and the Constitution protect minorities and individuals against the mob. Now, as standards of decency are cast aside and the right wing is taking the supreme court this final check is at risk.
Democracy without checks and balances is mob rule. American free speech has no checks and balances and now mob rule is upon us.
Unfettered free speech gave us Citizens United. It backstops hate speech and racism. It means no federal libel laws. Someone can accuse you and drag your name through the mud. You can get fired and lose everything. Unless you are rich you can't really do anything about it (unlike most other countries). Anyone can express hate and lie in the US as much as they want -- money wins, not truth or justice.
Ultimately -- it gave us President Trump.
The unfettered free speech fantasy relies on another fantasy -- that the majority is fair and open-minded and will counter oppressive speech and acts. We know this is not true. In a Democracy, the majority can elect bigots and make laws to suppress minorities. Only the courts and the Constitution protect minorities and individuals against the mob. Now, as standards of decency are cast aside and the right wing is taking the supreme court this final check is at risk.
Democracy without checks and balances is mob rule. American free speech has no checks and balances and now mob rule is upon us.
18
On any contentious issue, when I am looking for statistics or other straightforward information, I never rely on either of the two contending sides of a contentious issue. That includes the most contentious issues -- such as abortion and guns -- where both sides distort the truth.
I generally don't trust the liberal or conservative newspapers, though they are less contentious. When I consult the Times, I'll also consult a conservative source. If they both say the same thing I know I'm safe. By trial and error, I have settled on Pew Research, and government sites like the CDC and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. I also like a number of magazines, including the Atlantic, the Economist, Mother Jones and several business magazines. When researching a new issue, I can usually identify a reliable site based on its boring layout and footnotes. And for the basics, Wikipedia is invaluable.
Sometimes I skip to the 4th or 5th Google page just because of the contentious names of the sites. Bottom line, finding reliable, unbiased information on the internet is work. But there has never been a resource like the internet, and the last thing I want is for Google to censor my sources. This editorial asks Google to dumb down its information so as not to confuse the gullible. Untrue sources sometimes tell me what is out there and what is being said. That can be valuable information. Google should not dumb down its listings. If that earns them money, they've earned it.
I generally don't trust the liberal or conservative newspapers, though they are less contentious. When I consult the Times, I'll also consult a conservative source. If they both say the same thing I know I'm safe. By trial and error, I have settled on Pew Research, and government sites like the CDC and the Bureau of Justice Statistics. I also like a number of magazines, including the Atlantic, the Economist, Mother Jones and several business magazines. When researching a new issue, I can usually identify a reliable site based on its boring layout and footnotes. And for the basics, Wikipedia is invaluable.
Sometimes I skip to the 4th or 5th Google page just because of the contentious names of the sites. Bottom line, finding reliable, unbiased information on the internet is work. But there has never been a resource like the internet, and the last thing I want is for Google to censor my sources. This editorial asks Google to dumb down its information so as not to confuse the gullible. Untrue sources sometimes tell me what is out there and what is being said. That can be valuable information. Google should not dumb down its listings. If that earns them money, they've earned it.
6
Oh good ... on top of all the other hate-mongering that Trump is fomenting, now we are going to add tech-phobia to the fire. It's ironic that these technophobes are using the platforms enabled exactly by those whom they attack!
It's like attacking Climate Change to save coal miner jobs when there are far more jobs (and more being created) in the "alternative/clean" energy industry.
Instead of attacking the geese that have been (and keep on) laying the economy's golden eggs, let's talk about responsible solutions to fake/false news.... Besides blocking accounts of those initiating it, the social media companies (or perhaps an independent - non-governmental - agency) could red flag stories as soon as they are discovered.
They might also require "news" agencies to be "registered" (and vetted) before posts from their sites are allowed -- establishing identity, responsibility, and ultimately liability for veracity of their reporting.
Or, perhaps there could even be user ratings (after the fashion of Amazon.com's book rating system) that provides "fact check emojis" to articles. Surely there is a creative solution available here.
It's like attacking Climate Change to save coal miner jobs when there are far more jobs (and more being created) in the "alternative/clean" energy industry.
Instead of attacking the geese that have been (and keep on) laying the economy's golden eggs, let's talk about responsible solutions to fake/false news.... Besides blocking accounts of those initiating it, the social media companies (or perhaps an independent - non-governmental - agency) could red flag stories as soon as they are discovered.
They might also require "news" agencies to be "registered" (and vetted) before posts from their sites are allowed -- establishing identity, responsibility, and ultimately liability for veracity of their reporting.
Or, perhaps there could even be user ratings (after the fashion of Amazon.com's book rating system) that provides "fact check emojis" to articles. Surely there is a creative solution available here.
9
Silicon Valley is ground central for enough sins.
Blaming it for the intellectual makeup try that is best found at Harvard is par for the course of the intellctually bankrupt.
No one forbade Hillary or her minions from saying something on social media to win over voters. Bernie proved it can be done for those whose koolaid consumption is so high they need an example to see the obvious.
Losers lost. Winners win. Grow up. Stop coronating candidates with sky high unfavorables living in the 1990s. Might win.
Blaming it for the intellectual makeup try that is best found at Harvard is par for the course of the intellctually bankrupt.
No one forbade Hillary or her minions from saying something on social media to win over voters. Bernie proved it can be done for those whose koolaid consumption is so high they need an example to see the obvious.
Losers lost. Winners win. Grow up. Stop coronating candidates with sky high unfavorables living in the 1990s. Might win.
9
".......no one — not your employer, not the government — is going to catch you when you fall.” This is a very, very sad and painful statement. What is wrong with taking care of each other? I work in healthcare and yes, we catch people when they fall. For all his wealth, Mr Hoffman sounds like a lonely man who lacks the understanding that we are in this together and that helping each other rise together is a lot more fun and rewarding than constantly trying to beat everyone.
19
Sounds to me like the NYT and the "mainstream media" are simply upset and envious.
They used to be able to control the entire national narrative. Now, real people, are putting real concerns and unfiltered opinions for all to see on the Internet platforms.
And guess what?
Readers like what they see on those platforms - unfiltered opinions from their fellow citizens - much more than the censored main-stream-media liberal narrative.
Citizens 1 x 0 Main Stream Media - get used to it. You can't put that genie back in the bottle.
They used to be able to control the entire national narrative. Now, real people, are putting real concerns and unfiltered opinions for all to see on the Internet platforms.
And guess what?
Readers like what they see on those platforms - unfiltered opinions from their fellow citizens - much more than the censored main-stream-media liberal narrative.
Citizens 1 x 0 Main Stream Media - get used to it. You can't put that genie back in the bottle.
13
The only silver lining to this election is that the NYTimes has realized that it provides something that Facebook etc. cannot: fact verification and editorial.
I am happy to pay for that.
However the times must ASAP disassociated itself from Facebook. Why go broke giving Facebook your content only for the truth you work so hard to provide is diluted and distorted in an echochamber of infotainment distorted by algorithms and advertorial opportunism coupled with totalitarian level of privacy invasion.
The younger hip generation in SV doesnt use fb or instagram. Hopefully they are the vanguard of things to come.
I am happy to pay for that.
However the times must ASAP disassociated itself from Facebook. Why go broke giving Facebook your content only for the truth you work so hard to provide is diluted and distorted in an echochamber of infotainment distorted by algorithms and advertorial opportunism coupled with totalitarian level of privacy invasion.
The younger hip generation in SV doesnt use fb or instagram. Hopefully they are the vanguard of things to come.
20
Since the election I've now read that it's everybody's fault that Trump became the 45th president. Maybe it's time to address the question about what everybody should do to strengthen the democratic institutions (including the NGO's) that are threatened instead.
7
More than that, Mr. Trump campaigned on restoring jobs and manufacturing, which Silicon Valley derides as the old economy.
-------------------------
Not true at all, unless you think the Valley is only Facebook and Apple.
SAP, HP, Oracle, Cisco, Juniper Networks, 3COM, and dozens of others are heavily vested in telecom manufacturing, supply chain management, CAD/CAM and solids modeling workstations, logistics, machining, etc. at all manufacturing companies, esp. in the automotive and aerospace/defense sectors. In 1994, all of AT&Ts answering machines for North America were made in Guadalajara, next door to Black & Decker, in maquiladora (twin) plants per NAFTA. All of Canon's printers were made in Tijuana area, and Allen-Bradley was dominant in border town Reynosa, Mexico. I doubt it's changed since then. Bring the jobs home.
-------------------------
Not true at all, unless you think the Valley is only Facebook and Apple.
SAP, HP, Oracle, Cisco, Juniper Networks, 3COM, and dozens of others are heavily vested in telecom manufacturing, supply chain management, CAD/CAM and solids modeling workstations, logistics, machining, etc. at all manufacturing companies, esp. in the automotive and aerospace/defense sectors. In 1994, all of AT&Ts answering machines for North America were made in Guadalajara, next door to Black & Decker, in maquiladora (twin) plants per NAFTA. All of Canon's printers were made in Tijuana area, and Allen-Bradley was dominant in border town Reynosa, Mexico. I doubt it's changed since then. Bring the jobs home.
7
Excellent article that gets at the illiberal side of Silicon Valley's libertarian corporate culture. This analysis should be extended to two other areas: 1) the 24/7 total workplace environment based on teamwork but also on very long days under the all-pervading authority of the company in which employees have even less no job security than in traditional workplaces; and 2) the spreading of right-wing political culture in Silicon Valley that claims that this non-democratic corporate governance model is one for government itself (on this see Corey Pein's May 2014 online article in The Baffler).
15
1. Gullible people existed long before Facebook. I remember one colleague, a very intelligent and capable woman, who insisted on forwarding silly and hysterical emails with terrible advice about what women should do if they get attacked on the street. I asked her whether she'd vetted it and she said, "No, I just thought it might do some good."
2. "Disruption" is neither good nor bad. I agree that the US auto industry was ossified, but I don't celebrate disruption on a daily basis because it usually means losing my job or even my entire livelihood overnight. To hear billionaires brag about this as if it were some sort of victory is galling to say the least. And when they start donating hundreds of millions to charity instead of paying their damn workers, I really think their priorities are messed up.
2. "Disruption" is neither good nor bad. I agree that the US auto industry was ossified, but I don't celebrate disruption on a daily basis because it usually means losing my job or even my entire livelihood overnight. To hear billionaires brag about this as if it were some sort of victory is galling to say the least. And when they start donating hundreds of millions to charity instead of paying their damn workers, I really think their priorities are messed up.
87
Donald Trump is the reincarnation of Ronald Reagan without any of the acting or political experience or talent or gift for rhetorical racist misogynist ethnic sectarian xenophobic euphemism.
Silicon Valley is full of ethnic sectarian diversity. Steve Jobs biological dad is an Arab Muslim. Sergey Brin is from Russia. Jerry Yang is from Taiwan.
Trump is mass media reality plus real estate. An incestuous mix of Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Broadway instead of Silicon Valley.
Silicon Valley is full of ethnic sectarian diversity. Steve Jobs biological dad is an Arab Muslim. Sergey Brin is from Russia. Jerry Yang is from Taiwan.
Trump is mass media reality plus real estate. An incestuous mix of Madison Avenue, Hollywood and Broadway instead of Silicon Valley.
9
Donald Trump is definitely the scariest person to ever take the reins of leadership in the United States of America. But more distressing is the 60 million Americans who actually went out to vote for this street barker. Trump showed absolutely no talent in debating or knowledge of anything related to governing. He was loud crude and demonstrated no ability to control his behavior. And 60 million people one out and put him right next to the nuclear code . That is the most scary part.
18
What a clueless piece! If your college has not made "a critical consumer of information," then go sue them and have your tuition back.
Worse than clueless is the hatred for social media users. Well, "to stew in their own hateful juices" sounds like the author's self-portrait. Yesterday, the deplorables were white working class, and today they are social media users. When does such hatred for others stop?
Worse than clueless is the hatred for social media users. Well, "to stew in their own hateful juices" sounds like the author's self-portrait. Yesterday, the deplorables were white working class, and today they are social media users. When does such hatred for others stop?
2
The hatred stops with the extinction of the species. Damned DNA.
2
Nothing governments can do will stop the disrupters. False "news" will only grow, as the article points out such stories are good for business.
Perhaps an answer, use Google Earth and Maps to locate Jimmy Hoffa, dig him up, bring him back to life. Afterwards he can start the UIU, Union of Internet Users. Only the users can tame Silicon Valley, Jimmy will understand their concerns and formulate a plan to address them.
Let the negotiations begin!
Perhaps an answer, use Google Earth and Maps to locate Jimmy Hoffa, dig him up, bring him back to life. Afterwards he can start the UIU, Union of Internet Users. Only the users can tame Silicon Valley, Jimmy will understand their concerns and formulate a plan to address them.
Let the negotiations begin!
1
Can societies flourish if profit everywhere supersedes professional ethics? Forget ethics, sell people surgery they don't need. Forget ethics, imprison innocent people to fill the cells. Forget ethics, advertise cigarettes. Forget ethics, persecute immigrants. Forget ethics, swindle students out of their tuition. Well, you get the picture. We suffer from a surfeit of profit-mongering capitalism and a deficit of ethics.
135
Good article. America started out as an idea and up until recently, most people shared a common narrative about the country. However, we saw in 1930s Europe how racist xenophobes were able to use the media to manipulate ordinary people. Zuckerberg and friends may be super smart when it comes to IT but you have to question whether they really understand what they are messing with.
100
The irony of this headline...a faux-fact headline pointing the finger at a region of this country.
5
I see the New York Times still is not admitting its failure along with the rest of the news media. I am not reading any Midwest Rust Belt based columnists in it.
It is not being ignored it is not being paid that angers the working class. The increased productivity meant increased profits that all ended up in the bosses hands or the investors portfolios.
What the elites should be happy about is that the Class War was waged in the ballot box rather than on the streets.
It is not being ignored it is not being paid that angers the working class. The increased productivity meant increased profits that all ended up in the bosses hands or the investors portfolios.
What the elites should be happy about is that the Class War was waged in the ballot box rather than on the streets.
10
Isn't that exactly what the Main Stream Media did for Hillary? They lied through commission and omission. They successfully hid the extreme importance of the WikiLeaks releases. And they very well might have dug their own graves. They have practically no credibility and you will see this in shrinking circulation and ratings. Some good has come out of this election already!
8
This is probably true, but I think Mr. President Peace Prize will be working there, commuting from the Kalorama neighborhood. Ah, the Bubble Life on the East Coast and the West Coast!
5
Why is that bad. If it were Hillary you would say it was good. The thing is we have had it. We just don't see it your way. Are you shocked? Why? After writing for years about us deplorables being in a minority and irrelevant just because we put up with your progressive liberal thoughts didn't mean we were gone. I guess you just found that out?
4
I grew up in Silicon Valley, went to Cal, and worked in junior management for a couple of tech firms in the late 1970's. They expected me to routinely work on Saturdays, as well as extra hours during the week. Most managerial employees had baggy eyes and survived on coffee. I quit so I could return to a calling that had more integrity as well as time off, playing poker professionally.
The underlying weakness of geek kingdoms is that its leaders have few social skills, rarely read books, and have no knowledge of history or anything else that does not include income, digital data, or status. All computer symbols are sterile. As McLuhan said, a single word has more emotional and intellectual content than a whole ream of data.
That's how we end up with Republicans like Apple's Tim Cook, or the various politically agnostic types like Gates, Bezos, or (though he may be changing) Zuckerberg. Musk is better, but an outlier. They will mouth the words about climate change or equality, while selling out to every corporate advertiser or account that crosses their paths. Few donate to climate action, either, and prefer empty prevarication. Maybe they have a point there, since "green" NGO's are themselves embedded with corporate cash.
We need real men and women to show us the way. The best ones are dead. Where are their replacements? Not in Silicon Valley. Look in San Francisco (10% voted Trump) or Alameda County (15% Trump). We're not chumps in this part of the Bay.
The underlying weakness of geek kingdoms is that its leaders have few social skills, rarely read books, and have no knowledge of history or anything else that does not include income, digital data, or status. All computer symbols are sterile. As McLuhan said, a single word has more emotional and intellectual content than a whole ream of data.
That's how we end up with Republicans like Apple's Tim Cook, or the various politically agnostic types like Gates, Bezos, or (though he may be changing) Zuckerberg. Musk is better, but an outlier. They will mouth the words about climate change or equality, while selling out to every corporate advertiser or account that crosses their paths. Few donate to climate action, either, and prefer empty prevarication. Maybe they have a point there, since "green" NGO's are themselves embedded with corporate cash.
We need real men and women to show us the way. The best ones are dead. Where are their replacements? Not in Silicon Valley. Look in San Francisco (10% voted Trump) or Alameda County (15% Trump). We're not chumps in this part of the Bay.
21
Jeff Bezos may be many things, but a political agnostic he's not. He's more like Torquemada, and his Democrats comprised a 23-person Get Trump squad at Amazon/WaPo, as is well-known.
5
The MSM, including the Times, published a lot of "fake" news, in continually front-paging the pseudo-scandals of Benghazi and Clinton's handling of emails. There was little real news in these affairs, just partisan propaganda
96
My takeaway from this is that the real problem is more and more people are getting their news from social media. I am not on any social media platform but when I go out with friends, they are constantly checking their phones for FB updates and to post stuff on line. I was actually upset that a friend of mine posted a picture of us on her FB page last week. I felt a bit violated and her assumption just reaffirmed for me how much social media has come to dominate people's lives in very unhealthy ways.
When I was growing up, I remember my mom and other adults reminding us that what we saw on TV more often than not wasn't real and should not be taken seriously because it was just entertainment. But I still think it's unfair to blame Silicon Valley and fake news for Trump. The so-called legitimate news media needs to own their culpability, rather than trying to lay blame elsewhere. But ultimately, there are quite a few people who only see and hear what they want anyway.
When I was growing up, I remember my mom and other adults reminding us that what we saw on TV more often than not wasn't real and should not be taken seriously because it was just entertainment. But I still think it's unfair to blame Silicon Valley and fake news for Trump. The so-called legitimate news media needs to own their culpability, rather than trying to lay blame elsewhere. But ultimately, there are quite a few people who only see and hear what they want anyway.
39
Thank you! I was beginning I was the only person not involved in social media. Not having a smart phone helps. I would ban Twitter. It too often seems to be the instant messenger of hate.
I also agree about not blaming all the misleading/fake news on Silicon Valley, and not just because that's where I live! There is a lot of blame to be shared throughout the various media.
I also agree about not blaming all the misleading/fake news on Silicon Valley, and not just because that's where I live! There is a lot of blame to be shared throughout the various media.
12
The exception that proves the rule: Jimmy Wales, founder of Wikipedia, who is apparently worth 43,000 times *less* than Mark Zuckerberg in dollars, and yet more in his thoughtful contribution to civilized society.
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/welcome-to-the-abundance-economy-there-a...
Parents, colleges, and friends are never perfect in their influence, but now more than ever the concept of not being jerk is essential to explain.
https://medium.freecodecamp.com/welcome-to-the-abundance-economy-there-a...
Parents, colleges, and friends are never perfect in their influence, but now more than ever the concept of not being jerk is essential to explain.
10
I hate to say it but many people will just believe what satisfies the lizard part of their brain. Rationing the supply of this kind of news is not the answer. There is no answer other than a more highly evolved citizenry. It will be a long wait unless humanity manages to finally do themselves in.
41
I'm tempted to go back and count the number of articles on this topic in the media since the election, but why bother? Where were the concerns about this during the campaign, when Hillary was being smeared with false or exaggerated claims from every direction? Did the people now raising this issue want her to lose, before they set about cleaning up the false news we were all drowning in for at least 18 months? I would like to start hearing apologies from media people who are now enjoying buyers' remorse. They own this.
18
The Republican party could smear mother Theresa if they had 30 years to do it. They would just make stuff up about how she secretly buried people that she supposed to save. They could turn her into a serial killer if they wanted to. Like Donald Trump, said Republicans are so stupid they would believe anything he says.
8
The late Christopher Hitchens, Democrat apostate, had a personal vendetta against St. Theresa of Calcutta as all-consuming as he did against Henry the K. He called her "a misshapen Albanian dwarf" and other slurs, leading the Vatican to invite him to public hearings on her Saintliness (as all candidate-Saints are vetted). Hitchens' japes were easily refuted.
10-to-1 Chris is an acolyte for St. Theresa today in the discursive parts of Heaven.
10-to-1 Chris is an acolyte for St. Theresa today in the discursive parts of Heaven.
Isn't this just a bit more complex than blaming the narcissists in Silicon Valley? For instance,the mother of all Fake News is Fox and the Clear Channel groups that put Hannity, Rush and the rest in front of gullible, poorly educated rural folks and promote denial of global warming and focus folks hate and fear to control the political system and it appears to have worked. This, to me, is a larger issue. Do the cable networks have a responsibility similar to the ones you suggest for Facebook and Google to referee this kind of lying and false news generation? I agree that fake news is a problem, but the issue is who is responsible for dealing with it. I am thinking some kind of seal in the corner of a the screen that would indicate that the site or program has not been vetted for truth and fact similar to the movie industry ratings. Right now the folks in rural America have no way of knowing that Hannity or Maddow is offering a radical opinion rather than reporting the news. Maybe Tump's idea about changing libel laws, that is to let people sue folks (like him) who knowingly utter false statements would actually be a good idea. A kind of back door reintroduction of the Fairness Doctrine of yore that may have contributed to decency in historic news programs.
8
statement/seal indicating "this program hasn't been vetted for truth/accuracy" is excellent idea! ... BUT key is who? will do the vetting?
1
I have an idea. If the Silicon Valley hotshots would like to help make amends for their role in this mess, someone could write an app that would disable Fox News on their elderly parents' television sets. The set that their not like-minded son and daughter-in-law gave them, as a matter of fact--not that this is personal....
19
I would also like an app and browser add-on that will filter out photos of the Great Dispicable. Please and thank you.
6
20% of Fox News viewers identify as Democrats. Prob'ly 30% now, after Rachel Maddow's meltdown and the exposure of Clinton News Network rigging the debates. Brian Williams is laughing.
Lots to blame here; since the "Fairness Doctrine" was eliminated in the Reagan years fake/hate media has taken over much of the country existing where real news is difficult to come by. Fox, Limbaugh, etc. dominate rural US as we learned driving across the country listening to the car radio everywhere. Crazy. Newstands were just as bad. I realize it can't come back with a GOP government that depends upon it gone, along with voter surpression, but loss of the "Fairness Doctrine" should be front and center in civics classes which hopefully, will be reinstated in all our schools.
32
Most people don't process information in a factual intellectual manner, they process it in an emotional, sociopsychological manner. This is evident by the way they are believing anything that is put in front of them, and when you repeat it often enough it will become part of their narrative. It is more about the combination of how a person is being brought up, educated and has learned to process and observe the world around them. This country has failed so miserably with all of it, this is the result. We still have to learn an amazing amount, we are so behind. Just read this article about scapegoating Silicon valley. We are back to cookie cutter problems and solutions. When do you think you are going to see that issues are all incredibly complex. These needs and deserve a lot of attention and work, not a 1-2-3 solution which are useless.
Americans have yet again failed to actually think about their candidates, and mostly were feeling their way to the most important jobs in the land. No wonder this is the result. Keep on blaming the other and nothing will change. Get to work in your community, in your town. Inform yourself and don't get so easily discouraged, keep on going. There are always like minded people around you. Take care
Americans have yet again failed to actually think about their candidates, and mostly were feeling their way to the most important jobs in the land. No wonder this is the result. Keep on blaming the other and nothing will change. Get to work in your community, in your town. Inform yourself and don't get so easily discouraged, keep on going. There are always like minded people around you. Take care
7
Yes, fake news stories surged on social media in the last months of the campaign. But what about you? Conventional media gave the Buffoon-in-Chief 5 billion dollars in free advertising, at last count. They gave Hillary Clinton, in 84% of her coverage, a negative tone. We heard endlessly about emails and dribbles or nothing about his conflicts of interest, ties to Russia, taxes, cheating, and so on. His is a long list but we didn't find it here. The Media, along with Comey, the Russians, and some fabulous voter suppression efforts gave us a sociopath, but ... look, squirrel!
115
Yeah thanks NYT for the email scandal you invented.
Republicans really ran with that one didn't they.
Republicans really ran with that one didn't they.
9
They gave Hillary Clinton, in 84% of her coverage, a negative tone.
--------------------
91% of the media's coverage of Trump was negative. He was a Russian agent, unmasked, they claimed. And so on. The day before the election they were crowing, "Racist housing discrimination in the 1970s!" Not true at all. The lawsuit was against his father, not Donald, and it was dismissed for lacking merit.
The Liberal DNC Media failed to mention those details.
--------------------
91% of the media's coverage of Trump was negative. He was a Russian agent, unmasked, they claimed. And so on. The day before the election they were crowing, "Racist housing discrimination in the 1970s!" Not true at all. The lawsuit was against his father, not Donald, and it was dismissed for lacking merit.
The Liberal DNC Media failed to mention those details.
4
The problem with the internet is anonymity. Absolutely anything can be posted without attribution of any kind. Of course, things get posted that are false, but some angry types want it. This is where false stories gain traction. Certain segments of the population have no problem seeing false news, as long as it re-inforces their beliefs. (Fox "News"). It's a dopamine rush, it makes them feel good by validating their intrenched dogma, (AKA, raciest or xenophobic beliefs.)
17
I agree that hard work and innovation should be rewarded, but the idea that we must always be devouring our fellow man is poisonous to the human spirit.
54
Republican leadership was consistent. They kept their promise to act in ways intended to thwart president Obama from helping the USA. This included bringing in their FBI operative Comey and employing false messaging through social media. They are attempting to dismantle the democratic structure of our country. This hurts everyone.
60
Just glad I don't have to buy the American made cars of the 80's.
3
Should Facebook curate the news, deciding what is fake and what is real? Sounds a bit like China, the USSR or Orwell's Oceania. Are people so stupid and malleable that we need Facebook to tell us how to think? This is the paternalistic attitude that Trump supporters rebel against. They aren't looking for some nostalgic 1950s version of America. They just want a little respect and dignity, and for coastal elites to quit calling them "flyover land" while telling them how to live and think.
17
There's a subtext to this analysis that weary feminists might recognize.
Both the Silicon Valley boys, and the Trump crowd,
are fans of warfare ... going for the jugular, engaging in merciless competitive capitalism. American business machismo.
Years ago we lived in Sweden for six months, and found ourselves enfolded in a generous state-funded system of good daycare and good schools. But one day I was called in for conference with our son's third-grade teacher, who couldn't understand the boy. "He wants to be king!" he explained to me, and I told him this was just his personality ... it had nothing to do with his training in America as a little American.
Hmm. Now I wonder. (That boy grew up to become an avid techie, PhD computer science.)
I thought women voters would save us from Trump. I was wrong. Women vote by party, not gender, and many of them are fierce.
But there are some countries in the world that use taxes and government to fund good healthcare, daycare, and equitable public schools. I tend to think of them as relatively "feminine," since they recognize that raising children is not easy.
Yes, this is a wandering comment. And yet ... now we have Paul Ryan and Trump threatening to gut Medicare and the Affordable Care Act? And the Silicon Valley titans spreading fake news for profit?
The USA is a merciless nation.
Both the Silicon Valley boys, and the Trump crowd,
are fans of warfare ... going for the jugular, engaging in merciless competitive capitalism. American business machismo.
Years ago we lived in Sweden for six months, and found ourselves enfolded in a generous state-funded system of good daycare and good schools. But one day I was called in for conference with our son's third-grade teacher, who couldn't understand the boy. "He wants to be king!" he explained to me, and I told him this was just his personality ... it had nothing to do with his training in America as a little American.
Hmm. Now I wonder. (That boy grew up to become an avid techie, PhD computer science.)
I thought women voters would save us from Trump. I was wrong. Women vote by party, not gender, and many of them are fierce.
But there are some countries in the world that use taxes and government to fund good healthcare, daycare, and equitable public schools. I tend to think of them as relatively "feminine," since they recognize that raising children is not easy.
Yes, this is a wandering comment. And yet ... now we have Paul Ryan and Trump threatening to gut Medicare and the Affordable Care Act? And the Silicon Valley titans spreading fake news for profit?
The USA is a merciless nation.
175
Read some evolutionary psychology if you want to understand why men are so aggressive and competitive -- although less so than chimps (our nearest ancestors). It's human nature.
Question: Does the Media ever blame itself for the rise of Donald Trump??? The Media gave Donald Trump at least a billion dollars if not more in free media but they blame "Fake Media" for his success! The Media needs to get a grip and understand that they are complicit if not responsible for the election of Donald Trump. The Media wanted Donald Trump to be the nominee because they were sure that he was going to be the one that a very weak candidate like Hillary Clinton could beat him. Well: surprise, surprise, surprise! He won.
All the Media need do is look in their own back year, in the own writings about Donald Donald Trump, the fawning, the attention and suck it up!
All the Media need do is look in their own back year, in the own writings about Donald Donald Trump, the fawning, the attention and suck it up!
113
First Rule of News Media: they never blame themselves. Years ago Ted Koppel conducted some "town hall" discussions on whether the media was at fault for some development in the news that I can't recall at the moment. What I do remember is that he always reached the same conclusion, that journalism was doing its job, and the rest of us just didn't understand. My once high regard for him dropped further each time.
In the years since I've rarely seen a mainstream journalist come any closer to acknowledging blame or suggesting that maybe old models of how to conduct journalism need renovations. Pundits are even worse. When their prognostications turn out wrong they just switch tracks without pausing a beat and hope no one will notice. We need better.
In the years since I've rarely seen a mainstream journalist come any closer to acknowledging blame or suggesting that maybe old models of how to conduct journalism need renovations. Pundits are even worse. When their prognostications turn out wrong they just switch tracks without pausing a beat and hope no one will notice. We need better.
38
The media has been known to investigate itself thoroughly in the past. Then I .F. Stone died, and it's had a free ride since.
3
It is a Darwinian ecosystem out there and The Donald was the 800 pound predator in the room. Everyone was playing polite rules when he was not.
20
No mention of the far-left hate groups? Guess it's all peace and love over there.
2
Which ones?
7
The problem is not "fake news" but the fact that people believe it to be true, that they are not critical of the new so-called social media. Partly people will believe that they want to believe. But there is something in the novelty and magic of new media that blinds people to its content; it is the perfect tool for propaganda, and Trump is just the first to harness it, with the same old message of fear and blame. Hitler used the then-new media of radio and microphone amplification to spread his message to the masses, and for whatever reasons, and people believed what he said, even though we know it wasn't true.
38
And yet, Mr. Trump is the personification of Me First, Greed is Good, 1980's hedonism. Arguably, that's where today's dog-eat-dog, Ayn Randian culture began to thrive. Irony is always God's favorite type of humor.
7
I'm fairly certain Ayn Rand was pro-education. I think she'd have nothing but disdain for the ignorance and lies of Donald Trump.
1
After a presentation by Tim Berners-Lee in the 90s I asked him what the future of the web was. He stated it was now in a state of information chaos natural to its beginning. The next step was to help people distinguish valid from invalid information. Just a personal anecdote.
8
A truth that everyone keeps forgetting: a road can be travel in both directions. What works for you one day may very well work against you the next day. Sometimes the puppy you pet turns around and bites your hand off.
4
People who promote constant disruption and perpetual cut-throat competition as a desirable way of life should seriously take a pause to reflect on the true values of life. They should certainly not impose their gloomy views on the rest of us.
I value the benefits of technology for its potential to enrich my life, not for its ability to devoid it of any meaning. I suppose that in a few year my AI-powered voice assistant might well be able to write independently comments such as this one (while I'm too busy multitasking), based on my past comment history. My AI-assistant will also be located in the cloud, preferably close to the NYTimes.com server, so that my comment will arrive a few milliseconds earlier than otherwise possible. According to certain quantitative metrics, this shall be viewed as progress. Maybe. But what's the point?
In any case, I firmly believe that people need time to adapt to changing conditions and that society as a whole needs time to adapt as well, that is if we want to promote quality of life first.
I value the benefits of technology for its potential to enrich my life, not for its ability to devoid it of any meaning. I suppose that in a few year my AI-powered voice assistant might well be able to write independently comments such as this one (while I'm too busy multitasking), based on my past comment history. My AI-assistant will also be located in the cloud, preferably close to the NYTimes.com server, so that my comment will arrive a few milliseconds earlier than otherwise possible. According to certain quantitative metrics, this shall be viewed as progress. Maybe. But what's the point?
In any case, I firmly believe that people need time to adapt to changing conditions and that society as a whole needs time to adapt as well, that is if we want to promote quality of life first.
12
The tech companies smugly celebrate what Joseph Schumpeter termed "creative destruction," the process by which capitalist economies grow through the displacement of older industries by newer, more innovative ones. Thus railroads replaced overland travel by horse-drawn wagons, only in turn to face stiff competition from automobiles and airplanes.
What people like Hoffman overlook when they stress the need for an industry to adapt to changing conditions are the constraints on the capacity of a business to meet the challenges of a different technology. However efficient and streamlined railroads became, they had to run on tracks, whereas travel by air or car faced only the limits imposed by the location of airports and the existence of roads. Automobiles, moreover, offered the individual personal control over the route traveled, never a possibility with trains.
Google and Facebook may dominate now, but new technologies will eventually undermine their appeal. This reality benefits the consumer but threatens the worker. In his clumsy, totally inadequate, way, Trump sought to address this issue during the campaign. The U.S. has never developed an effective program to help workers adjust to the impact of the rise and fall of industries. The accelerated pace of change renders such a program more urgent now than ever, and the first party to tackle this problem will attract the support of white collar as well as blue collar employees. No one is safe from creative destruction.
What people like Hoffman overlook when they stress the need for an industry to adapt to changing conditions are the constraints on the capacity of a business to meet the challenges of a different technology. However efficient and streamlined railroads became, they had to run on tracks, whereas travel by air or car faced only the limits imposed by the location of airports and the existence of roads. Automobiles, moreover, offered the individual personal control over the route traveled, never a possibility with trains.
Google and Facebook may dominate now, but new technologies will eventually undermine their appeal. This reality benefits the consumer but threatens the worker. In his clumsy, totally inadequate, way, Trump sought to address this issue during the campaign. The U.S. has never developed an effective program to help workers adjust to the impact of the rise and fall of industries. The accelerated pace of change renders such a program more urgent now than ever, and the first party to tackle this problem will attract the support of white collar as well as blue collar employees. No one is safe from creative destruction.
13
@James Lee- An intelligently argued construct for advancing OUR future in the U.S. Thank you.
1
Hopefully this election will pull the plug on the Silicon Valley hype machine, or at least persuade The Times and the rest of the media to quit amplifying its self-justifying blather about the coming utopia.
7
The republicans and alt-right have been demeaning the mainstream (lamestream) media for a long time now. By delegitimizing the established media, and all of its processes and self-policing, the right wing has opened the door for Breitbart and other fake news sources to thrive and expand. I must add that, put together will a "dombdowned" electorate and hate-filled falsehoods, the country is vulnerable to a dictatorship of thoughts and feelings across a wide swath of Americans. For that you can thank Fox News, Rush, Alex Jones and the rest. Amazing how people will vote against their own self-interest, frightening too.
25
No, Fox News and a lazy print/broadcast media created Trump. Treating Trump's tweets like news was the media's fault not Tweeter's.
8
Trump attacked Amazon for tax avoidance? Pot meet kettle.
13
Whenever I read screeds like Reid Hoffman's ("Competition is fierce. The world is changing. . . . And if you fail to adapt no one — not your employer, not the government — is going to catch you when you fall.”) I wonder, "If that's the way you think, why not just get rid of people entirely?" What is it that can adapt tirelessly and has no need to be caught if it fails? Only a machine. Isn't that where thinking like Hoffman's ultimately leads?
I think it was Aristotle who remarked, in what now looks like a prophecy, that what a rich man really wants isn't slaves, but automata.
I think it was Aristotle who remarked, in what now looks like a prophecy, that what a rich man really wants isn't slaves, but automata.
9
The very qualities, traits, myths, and values that we believe made America great are what is killing us now.
Rugged individualism, self determination, individual liberty at the expense of the common good, that frontier spirit, everyone rising and falling on their own merits.
Now we live in a country of over three hundred million people living in fixed borders competing in a global economy.
No more frontiers to conquer, no more unlimited resources, no more free land to claim. no more slavery.
We still worship wealth accumulation above all else, still believe everyone can be rich or they are "losers", and still believe some people are more equal than others.
Capitalism may well be the best method to deliver goods and services but it is based on greed and must be tempered by good government and societal pressures. in the end it is like a game of Monopoly, someone ends up with all the money.
The Silicon Valley crowd are not saints. They feel they are the solution but they are only part of the problem.
Rugged individualism, self determination, individual liberty at the expense of the common good, that frontier spirit, everyone rising and falling on their own merits.
Now we live in a country of over three hundred million people living in fixed borders competing in a global economy.
No more frontiers to conquer, no more unlimited resources, no more free land to claim. no more slavery.
We still worship wealth accumulation above all else, still believe everyone can be rich or they are "losers", and still believe some people are more equal than others.
Capitalism may well be the best method to deliver goods and services but it is based on greed and must be tempered by good government and societal pressures. in the end it is like a game of Monopoly, someone ends up with all the money.
The Silicon Valley crowd are not saints. They feel they are the solution but they are only part of the problem.
14
If the folks in Silicon Valley want to disrupt things in a more positive way, how about moving from Silicon Valley to a more rural location in a state that's hurting, and helping train some of the local people to participate in the "new economy"? After all, one of the supposed benefits of the internet age is the ability to work anywhere. Why must all these jobs be concentrated in cities? It could have the added benefits of helping build the infrastructure of more isolated communities, and increasing social interaction between people of different backgrounds and ideologies.
A bit of a pipe dream, I realize, but until people *really* start to think outside of the box, all of the problems that this election has laid bare will just keep being exacerbated.
A bit of a pipe dream, I realize, but until people *really* start to think outside of the box, all of the problems that this election has laid bare will just keep being exacerbated.
13
@Lisa, yes! I grieve for the decaying towns I've seen in Western New York, Pennsylvania, and Maine that once supported a wonderful quality of life and could do so again. There are lovely old homes at bargain prices, open land, and often beautiful natural surroundings for recreation. And these are in the prosperous Northeast. This must be even more true in the so-called flyover country. I wish companies including those in Silicon Valley would realize they could lower their taxes and overhead by helping to repopulate and rebuild these communities. Start in areas near a university. Encourage your tech staffs to lead normal lives in community settings - it will keep the technology you devlop more relevant to the rest of us.
9
Lisa, I think they will - as soon as we taxpayers make it all nice for them. I don't think it's too far-fetched to imagine a that the infrastructure of decaying communities like Detroit or my hometown in upstate New York will be repaired at public expense. Then once we've paid for it, the tech companies will move in with their own staff, forcing out the working class and minority people who live there now, just as I see them doing here in Seattle. I can't see these companies moving to Detroit and suddenly having their workforce representative of a city that is 83% African-American....
1
"Rampant individualism and a disregard for traditional institutions." Thank you for truly pinpointing all that is wrong with these Silicon Valley Master's of the Universe. To your observation that their views are brutally Darwinian, I would add they smack of a perverse Leninism, too.
What exactly is produced by Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn? Who decided that increased networking, instant mass communication with no filters, and a breakdown of traditional norms of civility are good things? And let's not forget that every time an executive at one of these companies defends their actions, it is no different than a Bank CEO defending his billion dollar profit making company.
Almost everything these companies do, while championing individualism, helps to diminish the actual autonomy of most individuals. For example, Google is producing a "great" new product, driverless cars. I keep hearing how wonderful this is because it will save so many lives. If we all stay in our homes and live vicariously online and through social media we will be even less likely to die in any type of accident (personally I would die of boredom). But what else are we going to strip away from the vast majority of people who are not the super elites? (Who I'm sure will continue to speed around in their $200K sports cars which they get to control). Soon most of us will not know how to drive, or spell, or write at all, or have jobs outside the service industry....what a brave new world.
What exactly is produced by Facebook, or Twitter, or LinkedIn? Who decided that increased networking, instant mass communication with no filters, and a breakdown of traditional norms of civility are good things? And let's not forget that every time an executive at one of these companies defends their actions, it is no different than a Bank CEO defending his billion dollar profit making company.
Almost everything these companies do, while championing individualism, helps to diminish the actual autonomy of most individuals. For example, Google is producing a "great" new product, driverless cars. I keep hearing how wonderful this is because it will save so many lives. If we all stay in our homes and live vicariously online and through social media we will be even less likely to die in any type of accident (personally I would die of boredom). But what else are we going to strip away from the vast majority of people who are not the super elites? (Who I'm sure will continue to speed around in their $200K sports cars which they get to control). Soon most of us will not know how to drive, or spell, or write at all, or have jobs outside the service industry....what a brave new world.
35
I see some truth in your reply. My children went to very good schools where the teaching of cursive handwriting was abandoned. I find myself saddened and angered by this development. It is a loss that has minimal impact, I suppose, but I see it as another step to dumbing down and lack of effort by our schools making this choice. Not only does it seem crass, it shows a degradation in civility and tradition. Printing words was always seen by me as a step toward learning script that represents an adult norm and an opportunity to express ones individuality. It is mature and creative. I am seeing more digressive examples like this in our society and it concerns me. I suppose I always have the choice to teach my children to scribe in cursive and resist this new "norm" but that does not address the impact on society as a whole. My children are not sophisticated or lived long enough to see the impact and it's meaning. These types of changes will continue and we will not be better for it in my opinion. Many things would benefit from "disruptive" approaches to change but it seems to me that we are short sighted due to the loss of perspective on the whole with the focus being on the quick and easy fix that permeates our society. I often think about the vulnerability of technology and what would happen if it went dark due to some hostile country deciding to be "disruptive" with our infrastructure. I will be better prepared for such an event. My children and many more, will not.
11
Silicon Valley is the biggest delusion and bubble there is, in the US.
It's built upon the illiterate, narrow-minded and shallow tech fantasies of 30-somethings whose greed and rapacity is wholly engulfed by their fanatic, zealot sense of random mission that Tech is Good.
It's not. It's unproductive, illusory, drives and is driven by deep mental illness (just witness the nature of "discourse" online, and the lies these people tell each other daily about how awesome they are), and really hasn't contributed anything if worth to culture or civilization.
We will soon reach a point where we see that in this category, above all, the Emperor Has No Clothes.
And then the delusion of tech, and all the speculative bubble wealth that's expanded out of it..... will collapse suddenly, utterly, and for all time.
The future will look back in great sadness at how the human species so completely wasted its potential by succumbing to the twisted dreams of a few, sick nerds.
The sooner we free ourselves from their influence, and presence, the better.
It's built upon the illiterate, narrow-minded and shallow tech fantasies of 30-somethings whose greed and rapacity is wholly engulfed by their fanatic, zealot sense of random mission that Tech is Good.
It's not. It's unproductive, illusory, drives and is driven by deep mental illness (just witness the nature of "discourse" online, and the lies these people tell each other daily about how awesome they are), and really hasn't contributed anything if worth to culture or civilization.
We will soon reach a point where we see that in this category, above all, the Emperor Has No Clothes.
And then the delusion of tech, and all the speculative bubble wealth that's expanded out of it..... will collapse suddenly, utterly, and for all time.
The future will look back in great sadness at how the human species so completely wasted its potential by succumbing to the twisted dreams of a few, sick nerds.
The sooner we free ourselves from their influence, and presence, the better.
44
Whew. One wonders if you hammered this out with a chisel and had it delivered on horseback...
1
The discomfort, now, and the anti-trust legislation, soon, is going to make these globalist lizards' heads spin. As their stock prices crater, another part of their anatomy is likely to tighten up. Oh, and bring the cash home from your Swiss banks...or else.
10
The problem with the advances in Silicon Valley are the lack of focus on family values, wholesomeness and God that many Americans (myself included) still believe are a core part of our nation.
Relentlessly obsessing with 'disruption' and money at all costs is actually not what America is about and why millions supporter Mr. Trump. Yes, we love economical success, but we also love to have 4th of July BBQ's with neighbors, go to church on Sundays and teaching our kids about sharing and family values.
Relentlessly obsessing with 'disruption' and money at all costs is actually not what America is about and why millions supporter Mr. Trump. Yes, we love economical success, but we also love to have 4th of July BBQ's with neighbors, go to church on Sundays and teaching our kids about sharing and family values.
7
The only thing to add is mono-culture. What's been happening for all of this century is the de-diversification of the economy. Of course competition is cut throat and adaptation is highly prized. It's because we're all supposed to be marching to the same tune, and the tune changes at random. There's only one value, it's efficiency and economy and people be damned. That's mono-culture and it has happened many times in history, right before the revolution.
10
Bay Area soft technologists are a breed apart. They know no mother, father, child, brother or sister. They toil very long hours in front of computers and interface with machines rather than actual people. They are Frankensteins consumed by their oversize fantasies of "disruption" and greed for power. Their culture is alien to most human civilization as empathy, responsibility and justice have no place in their relentless pursuit of wealth and power. Show me a Bay Area technologist - "Silicon Valley" is outdated; most silicon-based technology is made in Asia now - who'd put anything before personal profit.
8
Trump's campaign was a carefully crafted playbook based on every demagogue device invented by humanity including the labeling of oponents, "crooked Hillary" and the attack on the press. Google demagogue and you will see a clear outline of Trump's design built by his strategist campaign manager. This M.O. was learned by Trump at a young age from Roy Cohn, his mentor and father surrogate.
Now that the campaign succeeded, a bone will be thrown to the white working stiffs who Trump manipulated with his demagogue play book and Trump's strategist will get down to the real business at hand, dismantling social safety net programs. The high tech industry will be used to pull this off to the extent necessary just as Trump used Twitter to great advantage to maintain interest and guarantee press coverage. Never mind Melania's comment that she will reign in Don's twitter use.
Trump's superbly orchestrated use of demagogue technique to win the election will be used again to manipulate the success of his administration, moving the country to the right.
Wall Street is ecstatic. The dollar is strengthening and stocks have recovered!
Now that the campaign succeeded, a bone will be thrown to the white working stiffs who Trump manipulated with his demagogue play book and Trump's strategist will get down to the real business at hand, dismantling social safety net programs. The high tech industry will be used to pull this off to the extent necessary just as Trump used Twitter to great advantage to maintain interest and guarantee press coverage. Never mind Melania's comment that she will reign in Don's twitter use.
Trump's superbly orchestrated use of demagogue technique to win the election will be used again to manipulate the success of his administration, moving the country to the right.
Wall Street is ecstatic. The dollar is strengthening and stocks have recovered!
28
The technology companies did not rip away all adherence to decency in Trump supporters. They did that all by themselves. No one forced them suspend all demand for morality. That all occurred without a microprocessor even being involved. You can label them as elites, and you do, and many others do the same based simply on the fact that we insist on using our brains when evaluating candidates. A lot of folks gambled a critical bit of our future based on gut feelings. And now we all have an acid stomach.
14
I expect we'll soon be accessing data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics and other government reporting agencies by Twitter and Facebook in the near future, so that Trump can sustain his fantasies about Making America Great Again.
Remember his campaign claim that 93 million Americans were unemployed? Well, he can have that fixed right up with a little straight talk from the White House Facebook page instead of those bumbling bureaucrats over at BLS.
Millions will be returning to work, millions more deported, trade deficits will shrink by billions, the national debt will shrink by trillions and a lot more magic will replace all of those dreary statistics.
Remember his campaign claim that 93 million Americans were unemployed? Well, he can have that fixed right up with a little straight talk from the White House Facebook page instead of those bumbling bureaucrats over at BLS.
Millions will be returning to work, millions more deported, trade deficits will shrink by billions, the national debt will shrink by trillions and a lot more magic will replace all of those dreary statistics.
58
Facebook, Google, et al have to devote resources to keeping out fake news the same way newspapers/broadcast journalism have to weed out fake advertisements, the same way Email providers have to try to prevent spam, the same way software provider have to try to prevent viruses exploiting their software - and for the same reason - to keep their products/platforms trustworthy, instead of being reviled/derided.
196
By all measures FB, Google, et al are doing a very poor/negligible job vetting lies and blatant propaganda from their platforms. They deserve/earn revulsion & derision!
7
Furthermore, these companies are designing the end of work, with all the value going to a lucky few. Driver-less cars, automation, etc. Soon it won't just be under-educated whites angry about their jobs, everyone will be out of job except for the programmers. That'll be a lot of idle hands sitting around.