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Month: April 2024

Big Wins for Big Tech.

Big Wins for Big Tech.

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Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixabay

For the rest of us, not so much…

There were two big stories in tech this past week, neither of which is good news for startups. It’s also difficult to rate which of them is the lesser of two evils.

First came the announcement that OpenAI’s Sam Altman and other tech leaders join the federal AI safety board, and as Engadget put it so correctly, “It’s like turkeys being appointed to the Christmas (or Thanksgiving) oversight board. “Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO, Microsoft chief Satya Nadella, Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai are joining the government’s Artificial Intelligence Safety and Security Board, according to The Wall Street Journal. They’re also joined by Nvidia’s Jensen Huang, Northrop Grumman’s Kathy Warden and Delta’s Ed Bastian, along with other leaders in the tech and AI industry. The AI board will be working with and advising the Department of Homeland Security on how it can safely deploy AI within the country’s critical infrastructure. They’re also tasked with conjuring recommendations for power grid operators, transportation service providers and manufacturing plants on how they can protect their systems against potential threats that could be brought about by advances in the technology.” Read More...

An Homage to Earth Day

An Homage to Earth Day

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Image by Ericve from Pixabay

Climate engineering is nothing new. We’ve been allowing Bill Gates et all to crisscross the skies with chemtrails to block out the sun in order to reduce global warming, or so goes the unproven hypothesis. “Controversial spraying method aims to curb global warming,” CBS News reported in 2018.

Odd, as four years later, “CNBC report on climate research didn’t confirm ‘chemtrails’ theory,” AP reported, contending that “The story reported on a federal plan to research technology such as “stratospheric aerosol injection,” the concept of placing materials in the atmosphere to reflect sunlight away from Earth. Experts say the idea is being investigated and not currently in use.”

Well, look! Up in the skies! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! No, it’s superscientist Bill Gates crisscrossing the skies with chemtrails! “A Bill Gates Venture Aims To Spray Dust Into The Atmosphere To Block The Sun. What Could Go Wrong?” Forbes reported the year before. “Widespread research into the efficacy of solar geoengineering has been stalled for years due to controversy. Opponents believe such science comes with unpredictable risks, including extreme shifts in weather patterns not dissimilar to warming trends we are already witnessing.” Read More...

The Power of AI: Who Is Truly Hallucinating?

The Power of AI: Who Is Truly Hallucinating?

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Image by OpenClipart-Vectors from Pixabay

It’s a tough funding environment right now and although we’ve often reminded founders that some of the most successful companies launched during the toughest times in funding, that fact often gets lost in the tough-times funding headlines.

The current exception seems to be if/when founders have ‘AI’ someone front and center in their pitches. As we all know at this point because the hype machine/tech press impresses it upon us every two or three headlines, AI is going to change the world, replace most jobs, eliminate entire professions.

Including coding itself, if Devin is any indication. Devin is “An AI startup that’s not even 6 months old says it’s worth $2 billion Cognition Labs is building an AI tool for writing code — and seeking a valuation six times its current level,” said Quartz. Read More...

The Police Blotter of Tech

The Police Blotter of Tech

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Image by 愚木混株 Cdd20 from Pixabay

Big Tech never shrinks from pushing the envelope, or as the motto goes, ask forgiveness, not permission. We suppose that when you get away with it long enough and often enough, the lines don’t blur. They simply cease to exist.

Ask forgiveness is really understating the sentiment. In reality, their true approach is ‘why stop there?’

TikTok’s troubles just got worse: The FTC could sue them, too, Politico reported. Read More...