we did it guys, we created a new gilded age

"By 2021, the top 1% income share has reached an all-time high of 27.4% much higher than the previous record of 23.9% in 1928"

https://eml.berkeley.edu/~saez/saez-UStopincomes-2021.pdf

A streaming service without ads for under $10 was a zero interest rate phenomenon. Unless you’re Apple in which case the losses are a rounding error.

https://www.theverge.com/2023/9/25/23889917/youtube-premium-lite-subscription-discontinued-retired

Nice house ya got there… it’d sure be a shame if sumpin’ happened to it if you didn’t pay that subscription fee…

“Amazon will start charging for formerly free Alexa Guard smoke and security alert”

https://www.engadget.com/amazon-will-start-charging-for-formerly-free-alexa-guard-smoke-and-security-alerts-184602106.html

#Amazon
#Alexa
#Surveillance

@GhostOnTheHalfShell @davidzipper The worst thing about 'self-driving' cars is that big tech will likely lobby for even less pedestrian accessibility. I'd like to see one of them navigate a busy mixed use street in an average European city that isn't just a bunch of 'car first' blocks.

GOOD NEWS! #Trump got another #gagOrder.

Trump Hit With Surprise Gag Order in Colorado Disqualification Case.
Judge Sarah Wallace Issues Order Prohibiting Threats and Intimidation.

This is good to see. I believe this is the 3rd. Here is the order.
https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23990046-9_22_23-protective-order

The bee lives less than 40 days, visits at least 1,000 flowers and produces less than a teaspoon of honey. For us it is only a teaspoon of honey, but for the bee it is a life. Thank you, bees!

Elon Musk’s grandfather “believed that apartheid South Africa was destined to lead ‘White Christian Civilization’ in its fight against the ‘International Conspiracy’ of Jewish bankers and the ‘hordes of Coloured people’ they controlled.”

Damn, why didn’t Ashlee Vance or Walter Isaacson mention that part?

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2023/09/joshua-haldeman-elon-musk-grandfather-apartheid-antisemitism/675396/

#tech #elonmusk

⏱️ Time of discovery 🔭 of #asteroids ☄️ which passed within 1 #lunar distance from #Earth in 📆 2023

After closest approach 37.90%
< 24 hours before 20.70%
up to 7 days before 34.50%
> one week before 6.90%
> 7 weeks before 0.00%
> one year before 0.00%

List of #asteroid #close approaches to #Earth 🌏 in 📆 2023 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_asteroid_close_approaches_to_Earth_in_2023

#AsteroidThreat

Picture : :ccby: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:2020_QG_flyby_spinview.gif

Easily one of the finest XKCDs #FuckCars https://xkcd.com/2832/

Awesome paper via @garymarcus :
LLMs can't do reverse inference:
For synthetic data (Mary is John's mother) the ability to reverse (John is thus Mary's son) was ~0% !
https://owainevans.github.io/reversal_curse.pdf

@IDIC @BlackAzizAnansi
I keep this clip handy for just such an occasion… ☮️

Right To Repair this…

“Google Has No Repair Option for Cracked Pixel Watch Screens" https://www.theverge.com/23874281/google-pixel-watch-cracks-no-repairs-warranty

#RightToRepair
#Alphabet
#Google
#Wearabes

Apple World Trade Center. Big line and growing.

“Amazon’s generative-AI-powered Alexa is as big a privacy red flag as old Alexa”
https://arstechnica.com/?p=1969800

#Amazon
#Alexa
#OligarchBlitkrieg
#AIBlitzkrieg
#Surveillance
#SrveillanceCapitalism
#Privacy
#Democracy

#BioSurveillance has never looked better…

”Fitbit's radically redesigned app is ready for public consumption” https://www.engadget.com/fitbits-radically-redesigned-app-is-ready-for-public-consumption-171433809.html

#Health
#HealthTech
#DigitalHealth
#Google
#Alaphabet
#FitBit
#Privacy
#Sureveillance
#SurveillanceCapitalism
#Wearables
#BigTech

#Google throws #California $93M to make location #tracking lawsuit disappear https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/15/google_location_tracking_settlement/ "As we often note when these sorts of stories happen, Google's fine equates to around half a percent of its Q2 2023 net income of $18 billion." FWIW I try to keep my cheap Android phone as private as I can, using it without an account and replacing Google apps with FLOSS whenever possible. #SurveillanceCapitalism #privacy #Android

The #GOP “Lying Industrial Complex" will not be deterred...

"There’s Videotape! Annals of Feral Lauren Boebert" – Talking Points Memo

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/theres-videotape-annals-of-feral-lauren-boebert

#MentalHealth
#USPoli
#Legal
#Law
#Justice
#USPolitics
#Democracy

(50 seconds)

@hotdogsladies

FrankTJMackey.com would do boffo business

@chockenberry @counternotions

This one comes dangeroulsy close to Pablo Ferro territory…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pablo_Ferro

#Apple
#AppleWatch

“Good Business Is Where You Find It”

#AI #ML #BigData
#ArtificialIntelligence
#LLM #GenerativeAI
#USpoli
#Democracy