This is really good. I would still put Facebook in the top 5 of the evil list, I think. It continues to play a nefarious role in countries such as Ethiopia, Brazil, etc. The lack of moderation continues to contribute to the spread of disinformation and hate speech with sometime lethal consequences.
I fully agree that NSO group and other companies in the surveillance business should be high on the list. It’s such a murky industry that governments have completely failed to regulate, including because their own authorities sometimes make use of dual-use surveillance tech.
I guess for me, the unit of analysis is difficult. I would consider Russian, Iranian, and DRPK hacker orgs as evil. Ditto the ransomware “companies,” however they’re constituted. I don’t have much problem with the modified list, although as a completely hypnotized Apple polisher I am biased on some of these. So are we thinking companies, or state-based actors, or just certain products? I mean, how is PowerPoint not a time-sucking virus? Sorry, I spent all of 45 seconds responding, and I defer to your more thoughtful use of hours on this idea...
Another terrific post, Kate! You have me totally hooked on the (yes, slippery) subject of technology, about which I know pretty much nothing except what I'm learning from The Klonickles. As I think I wrote to you in a comment on your previous installment, you are giving me inspiration for my own upcoming Substack publication, titled "But Not Enough About Me." (You were my first subscriber -wow, thanks!!) If you do read my first post, when it comes out (soon, I hope), you may note that I use the word "zeitgeist"; I swear to you that I didn't copycat your own use of that word in this post! I also note that you refer to something being "phenomenological" - and I must confess that, despite my best efforts (including some Googling just now), I've never been able to pin down what that means, though I think I do get a vibe. Anyhow, congrats on putting out another Maximal Publishable Unit! I _love_ what Molly Brady said about "disruptive," and I send my wishes for fast healing to dear Nena.
I loved reading this! I'm surprised Boston Dynamics isn't on the list. They're already contracting with police departments and have the potential to do a lot of harm if they aren't already
I first came across the concept of the MPU in the 80s. A professor in the UNC Physiology Dept called it an LPU (or Least Publishable Unit). It was a thinly veiled criticism of a department colleague and his lab. The idea stuck with me. My calculus professor in college devised exams based on the concept of the LGU (Least Gradable Unit) where he would break a problem down into micro steps and grade each step. If you made a mistake on step 2/5, then you got the subsequent steps wrong by definition. A grade of 85 on a reasonable exam of the material could easily become a 70 or worse on one of his exams depending on where you screwed up.
This is really good. I would still put Facebook in the top 5 of the evil list, I think. It continues to play a nefarious role in countries such as Ethiopia, Brazil, etc. The lack of moderation continues to contribute to the spread of disinformation and hate speech with sometime lethal consequences.
I fully agree that NSO group and other companies in the surveillance business should be high on the list. It’s such a murky industry that governments have completely failed to regulate, including because their own authorities sometimes make use of dual-use surveillance tech.
Thank you very much for this episode, I hope Nena is feeling better!
My word for the day is "Reductive."
Palantir IMO remain super evil.
I guess for me, the unit of analysis is difficult. I would consider Russian, Iranian, and DRPK hacker orgs as evil. Ditto the ransomware “companies,” however they’re constituted. I don’t have much problem with the modified list, although as a completely hypnotized Apple polisher I am biased on some of these. So are we thinking companies, or state-based actors, or just certain products? I mean, how is PowerPoint not a time-sucking virus? Sorry, I spent all of 45 seconds responding, and I defer to your more thoughtful use of hours on this idea...
Surprised In-Q-Tel doesn’t get a look.
https://www.gaia.com/article/what-is-cia-in-q-tel
Another terrific post, Kate! You have me totally hooked on the (yes, slippery) subject of technology, about which I know pretty much nothing except what I'm learning from The Klonickles. As I think I wrote to you in a comment on your previous installment, you are giving me inspiration for my own upcoming Substack publication, titled "But Not Enough About Me." (You were my first subscriber -wow, thanks!!) If you do read my first post, when it comes out (soon, I hope), you may note that I use the word "zeitgeist"; I swear to you that I didn't copycat your own use of that word in this post! I also note that you refer to something being "phenomenological" - and I must confess that, despite my best efforts (including some Googling just now), I've never been able to pin down what that means, though I think I do get a vibe. Anyhow, congrats on putting out another Maximal Publishable Unit! I _love_ what Molly Brady said about "disruptive," and I send my wishes for fast healing to dear Nena.
I definitely giggled at "please don't quote me" for Palantir. Pretty appropriate.
I loved reading this! I'm surprised Boston Dynamics isn't on the list. They're already contracting with police departments and have the potential to do a lot of harm if they aren't already
omg sending so much love & healing to sweet nena 💓
I first came across the concept of the MPU in the 80s. A professor in the UNC Physiology Dept called it an LPU (or Least Publishable Unit). It was a thinly veiled criticism of a department colleague and his lab. The idea stuck with me. My calculus professor in college devised exams based on the concept of the LGU (Least Gradable Unit) where he would break a problem down into micro steps and grade each step. If you made a mistake on step 2/5, then you got the subsequent steps wrong by definition. A grade of 85 on a reasonable exam of the material could easily become a 70 or worse on one of his exams depending on where you screwed up.