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Beiträge, die mit SILICONVALLEY getaggt sind
Habryka was writing not long after Sam Bankman-Fried, a major funder of AI research, had begun a spectacular downfall that would end in his conviction for $10bn of fraud. Habryka speculated that when a community is defined by a specific, high-stakes goal (such as making sure humanity isn’t destroyed by AI), members feel pressure to conspicuously live up to the “demanding standard” of that goal.
Habryka used the word “crazy” in the non-clinical sense, to mean extreme or questionable behavior. Yet during the period when Ziz was making her way toward what she would call “the dark side”, the Berkeley AI scene seemed to have a lot of mental health crises.
“This community was rife with nervous breakdown,” a rationalist told me, in a sentiment others echoed, “and it wasn’t random.” People working on the alignment problem “were having these psychological breakdowns because they were in this environment”. There were even suicides, including of two people who were part of the Zizians’ circle.
Wolford, the startup founder and former rationalist, described a chicken-and-egg situation: “If you take the earnestness that defines this community, and you look at civilization-ending risks of a scale that are not particularly implausible at this point, and you are somebody with poor emotional regulation, which also happens to be pretty common among the people that we’re talking about – yeah, why wouldn’t you freak the hell out? It keeps me up at night, and I have stuff to distract me.”
A high rate of pre-existing mental illnesses or neurodevelopmental disorders was probably also a factor, she and others told me."
https://www.theguardian.com/global/ng-interactive/2025/mar/05/zizians-artificial-intelligence
#SiliconValley #Transhumanism #EffectiveAltruism #Rationalism #AI
https://www.theguardian.com/global/ng-interactive/2025/mar/05/zizians-artificial-intelligence
How a group of Silicon Valley math prodigies, AI researchers and internet burnouts descended into an alleged violent cult
#ZIZIANS #CULT #AI #SILICONVALLEY #INTERNET #VIOLENCE #PRESS
👍 Une contre-histoire d’Internet
Par Félix Tréguer
▶️ Une fresque historique remarquable présentée sous l’angle des combats pour les libertés, à contre-courant de l’idée d’un progrès linéaire du libéralisme qui caractérise l’histoire dominante des médias.
https://cltr.blogspot.com/2024/03/une-contre-histoire-dinternet.html
#Internet #histoire #entreprise #politique #société #capitalisme #néolibéralisme #libertés #démocratie #SiliconValley #libéralisme #média
But their critique of tech-enabled consumerism only goes so far. In one of the book’s many unintentionally funny moments, they single out the early retail website eToys, a darling of pre-dot-com-bubble Silicon Valley, and castigate it for the “shallowness” of its ambition and “abdication of everything beyond the light hedonism of the moment.” But they’re quick to clarify: “To desire, even a toy, is to be human.” The point of refashioning the government in the image of a Silicon Valley start-up, they write elsewhere, is to ensure it delivers “the goods and services that are essential to our lives.” How did we get from “late capitalism’s hordes” to “goods and services”? It helps to remember that Palantir also runs a commercial business accounting for nearly half of its revenue.
(...)
This tonal seesawing—for every Karpian truth-bomb, a lawyerly qualification; for each saber rattled, a pitch-deck cliché—is symptomatic of this book’s generic incoherence. [I]t reads as though you asked an AI chatbot to write a set of Gladwellian think pieces in defense of American techno-militarism, with as many smart-sounding yet ultimately vacuous quotes as possible."
https://newrepublic.com/article/191786/alex-karps-war-west-palantir
#USA #Militarism #SiliconValley #Pentagon #TechnoMilitarism #BigTech
Alex Karp’s War for the West
In “The Technological Republic,” the Palantir CEO exhorts Silicon Valley to embrace techno-militarism in the service of furthering American global supremacy.The New Republic
https://www.newyorker.com/culture/infinite-scroll/techno-fascism-comes-to-america-elon-musk
#TechnoFascism #USA #BigTech #SiliconValley #Japan #PoliticalEconomy
Maison Marcel
Discover MARCEL by Marcel Katz, a luxury collectible sunglass brand. Italian craftsmanship and sustainable materials. Milan | Miami collectible sunglasses.Maison Marcel
Maison Marcel
Discover MARCEL by Marcel Katz, a luxury collectible sunglass brand. Italian craftsmanship and sustainable materials. Milan | Miami collectible sunglasses.Maison Marcel
While it’s a memoir of Swisher’s career as a #journalist who was practically embedded in Silicon Valley from the industry’s earliest days (with a contact book that featured everyone from #SteveJobs to #Musk), Burn Book also offers insights into the entrepreneurs and investors, and the backstories behind companies including #Amazon, #Yahoo and #Google, notably detailing the dysfunctional tech bros behind the scenes. She’s regarded as Silicon Valley’s “most feared” but also “most liked” journalist.
Burn Book is also, Swisher says, “a warning, in many ways” of what’s happening in the US now.
And just what the hell is going on? “It’s a constitutional crisis – that’s what we’re calling it here,” Swisher says.
She is shocked by Musk’s new role.”
Bugger I missed Kara talking at my Alma Mater, guess this article and the book will do.
#KaraSwisher / #startup / #SiliconValley <https://smh.com.au/culture/books/kara-swisher-on-tech-s-sad-little-victimised-arrested-development-men-20250224-p5leny.html> #PayWall
Kara Swisher on tech’s ‘sad, little, victimised, arrested-development men’
Kara Swisher’s memoir about her decades spent interviewing the biggest names in the tech industry was fascinating when it was released a year ago. Now that the US is seemingly run by tech billionaires, it’s essential reading.Kylie Northover (The Sydney Morning Herald)
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/25/reuters-google-meta-face-penalties-for-anti-competitive-behaviour-towards-south-african-news-media/
The group, who are withholding their identity for fears of being targeted, includes former Silicon Valley and US technology leaders. They describe themselves as former followers of the neo-reactionary movement, also known as the ‘Dark Enlightenment’ – a burgeoning Internet philosophy which seeks to abolish the drive for greater equality and the very existence of democracy itself.
The extraordinary whistleblower memorandum was published on Friday 7 February through Dave Troy, an American technologist and investigative journalist.
The memo describes Elon Musk, the eponymous billionaire CEO of Tesla – now a US Government official in charge of the new Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) – as attempting to exploit his position in the Trump administration to exert unilateral control of the entire US federal Government. It says that this is happening at the expense of both Donald Trump and the Republican Party. "
https://bylinetimes.com/2025/02/07/silicon-valley-whistleblowers-warn-elon-musk-hijacking-republicans-to-control-entire-us-government/
#USA #Trump Musk #DOGE #DarkEnlightenment #SiliconValley
Silicon Valley Whistleblowers Warn Elon Musk ‘Hijacking’ Republicans to Control Entire US Government – Byline Times
Former followers of the ‘Dark Enlightenment’ say a planned 'neo-reactionary' hollowing out of government is happening in real timeNafeez Ahmed (Byline Times)
https://www.lemediatv.fr/emissions/2025/gaza-les-gourous-de-la-silicon-valley-derriere-le-projet-fou-de-trump-iK90CTwqSJO_1IcH_9G5aA
Gaza : les gourous de la Silicon Valley derrière le projet fou de Trump ?
Mercredi, le monde, sidéré, apprenait la proposition américaine d’occupation de la Bande de Gaza et de déportation de ses habitants, au mépris du droit international et de la morale la plus élémentaire.Le Stagirite (Le Média)
Silicon Valley Syrian engineers host tech conference in Damascus amid rebuilding efforts - EUROPE SAYS
DAMASCUS/ISTANBULA group of Syrian IT engineers in the US gathered Friday with students and industry professionals at aEUROPE SAYS (EUROPESAYS.COM)
2004: Don’t be evil
2018: OK, be evil but at least don’t kill people
2025: Fuck it, kill people
https://www.independent.co.uk/business/google-drops-pledge-not-to-use-ai-for-weapons-b2692533.html
#Google #BigTech #AI #SiliconValley #USA #capitalism #fascism
Google drops pledge not to use AI for weapons
The tech giant has unveiled an update to its AI principles, which removes references to not pursuing work on weapons and surveillance.Martyn Landi (The Independent)
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/23/engadget-google-reportedly-made-sure-israels-military-had-access-to-its-ai-tools/
https://ctxt.es/es/20250101/Politica/48313/Sophia-Goodfriend-972-Magazine-Silicon-Valley-armas-israel-fondos-inversion-EEUU.htm
> "Gaza y el regreso de Trump impulsan la colaboración en tecnología de vigilancia y de guerra controlada por IA entre la industria de defensa israelí, grandes empresas estadounidenses y fondos de capital riesgo"
Esta parte ma encuentro estremecedora:
> «La visión de futuro empresarial de Palantir la sintetizó su CEO Alex Karp en el Fórum de Defensa Ronald Reagan, que se celebró en Simi Valley, en California, solo unos días antes de la cumbre de Tel Aviv. “La gente quiere vivir en paz, quiere marcharse a su casa... no quiere escuchar vuestra ideología woke pagana”, exclamó. “Quieren saber que están a salvo, y estar a salvo implica que el otro tenga miedo: así es como se consigue que alguien esté a salvo”.»
#SiliconValley #Guerra #Militarismo #Palantir #Israel #Genocidio #Gaza #IA #Google
#SouthCarolina #SCPol #SCPolitics #Technology #AI #SiliconValley
https://youtube.com/shorts/sCQ39uytHFs
- YouTube
Auf YouTube findest du die angesagtesten Videos und Tracks. Außerdem kannst du eigene Inhalte hochladen und mit Freunden oder gleich der ganzen Welt teilen.youtube.com
https://jiteshbalakrishnan.blog/2025/01/08/living-a-fulfilling-life-the-quest-for-longevity/
Living a Fulfilling Life: The Quest for Longevity - JB
Is immortality a gift or a curse? As we chase our fascination of living longer, are we prepared for the moral dilemmas it presents?JB
Enjoy!
https://www.threads.net/@tomwarrenuk/post/DEhmjjDN8HY
#meta #mastodon #socialWebFoundation #BigTech #SiliconValley #moderation #freezePeach
https://rbfirehose.com/2025/01/04/mediapost-google-sends-promised-funds-to-canadian-journalism-collective/
https://rbfirehose.com/2024/12/13/engadget-australia-demands-big-social-platforms-pay-local-news-publishers/
The tech industry has had quite a year with its billionaires revealing who they really are for all to see. Who will be the WORST PERSON IN TECH?
🗳️ Voting is now open: https://forms.gle/XYERvxNFTBV1XV6A8
#tech #techwontsaveus #siliconvalley
Worst Person in Tech 2024 - Round One
The end-of-year contest from Tech Won’t Save Us to let YOU choose the worst person in the tech industry is back! Here's how it works: Every day I’ll post the matchups and you'll have 12 hours to vote.Google Docs
"In a new white paper I co-authored with Cecilia Rikap, Cédric Durand, Edemilson Paraná, and Paolo Gerbaudo, we make the case that countries have another option. Instead of being forced to choose between the US and China, governments should work together to make the necessary investments to build physical infrastructure and develop digital platforms and services that serve their people and the planet, instead of the dominant geopolitical forces.
We lay out a series of policy proposals that envision a wholly different vision for digital technology — one that returns power to governments and their citizens outside the United States and China, and that ensures technological development is reoriented toward public flourishing instead of maximizing the profits of tech companies and the power of the countries they’re headquartered in. Tech discourse often positions the government as an inherent threat to people’s rights, while far too often letting corporations off the hook. But if we’re ever to seriously challenge the power of major tech companies, the power of government will need to play an essential role.
Our proposal is an ambitious one — and a radical one as well. But given the circumstances, it’s time to be bold..."
https://disconnect.blog/why-we-must-reclaim-digital-sovereignty/
#DigitalSovereignty #BigTech #SiliconValley #Imperialism
Why we must reclaim digital sovereignty
A new white paper envisions a radically different technological futureParis Marx (Disconnect)
#Ireland #SiliconValley #digitalImperialism #institutionalCorruption #climateCrisis #climateChange #BigTech #DataCentres https://mastodon.green/@gerrymcgovern/113559988974673492
Gerry McGovern (@gerrymcgovern@mastodon.green)
In Ireland, data centers already use more metered electricity than all urban households. That’s not all. Their backup and emergency generators caused 135,000 tons of CO2 over the last 5 years.Mastodon.green
"Last week, a tweet by Stanford researcher Yegor Denisov-Blanch went viral within #SiliconValley. “We have data on the performance of >50k engineers from 100s of companies,” he tweeted. “~9.5% of software engineers do virtually nothing: Ghost Engineers.”"
Are Overemployed ‘#GhostEngineers’ Making Six Figures to Do Nothing?
https://www.404media.co/are-overemployed-ghost-engineers-making-six-figures-to-do-nothing/ #TechIndustry #Engineers #BullshitJobs
Are Overemployed ‘Ghost Engineers’ Making Six Figures to Do Nothing?
"We have data on the performance of >50k engineers from 100s of companies. ~9.5% of software engineers do virtually nothing: Ghost Engineers.”Jason Koebler (404 Media)
That might well be the Trump administration’s mantra, too. But investors should remember that techno-libertarianism often peaks before a fall. In 2006, Richard Haass, a former George W Bush state department official, wrote a piece arguing for corporations to be elevated to near nation state status. Companies such as Microsoft and Goldman Sachs had a role to play in “regional and global deliberations”, as the “near monopoly power” of states was eroded.
The great financial crisis made that notion both passé and politically toxic, at least for a time. Now, we are about to see what private monopoly power in the guise of government looks like. I wonder how long the dream — or perhaps nightmare — will last before the world once again wakes up."
https://www.ft.com/content/13cc2796-6e91-4002-92e6-3a31cf2dfeb3
#USA #Trump #TechnoLibertarianism #Libertarianism #Privatopia #SiliconValley #Monopolies
The return of the techno-libertarians
Silicon Valley billionaires are selling a dream of unfettered markets — but reality is not so certainRana Foroohar (Financial Times)
All of the above will accelerate a trend that had already been underway; big tech companies more aggressively and openly pursuing defense department contracts, and work with agencies their employees may once have deemed unethical, like ICE. As I noted after the election, for many Silicon Valley elites, the days of taking employees’ ethical concerns and protests into account are fading happily into the past. Big tech has been quick to fire dissenting workers already, and now there’s a more explicit authoritarian creep into the sector."
https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/tech-under-trump-part-1
#USA #Trump #Oligopolies #Palantir #BigTech #SiliconValley #Musk #WarMachine
Tech under Trump, part 1
The election has already transformed the outlook for Silicon Valley. Here's how.Brian Merchant (Blood in the Machine)
"Whatever its source, the broligarchs’ sense of their innate superiority has led many of them to positions on taxation quite similar to Trump’s. In 2016, the Republican presidential nominee bragged about avoiding tax payments for years—“That makes me smart,” he crowed from the debate stage. The broligarchs have quietly liberated themselves from one of the only certainties in life. As ProPublica reported in 2021, Musk paid zero federal income taxes in 2018 and a de facto tax rate of 3.3 percent from 2014 to 2018, during which his wealth grew $13.9 billion. Thiel used a government program intended to expand retirement savings by middle-class Americans to amass $5 billion in capital-gains income, completely tax-free. The Trump-friendly broligarchs’ political ascendancy turns the rallying cry of the Boston Tea Party on its head, achieving representation with minimal taxation.
In their hostility to taxation and regulation, the men who rule Wall Street and Silicon Valley resemble earlier generations of wealthy capitalists who enjoyed outsize influence on American politics. Even some tech barons who supported Kamala Harris clamored for the firing of Federal Trade Commission Chair Lina Khan, who favors vigorous antitrust enforcement. But the broligarchs are distinct from old-school American oligarchs in one key respect: Their political vision seeks to undermine the nation-state system globally. Musk, among others, has set his sights on the privatization and colonization of space with little or no government involvement. Thiel and Andreessen have invested heavily in creating alternatives to the nation-state here on Earth, including libertarian colonies with minimal taxation."
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2024/11/broligarchy-elon-musk-trump/680788/
#USA #Trump #Musk #Billionaires #BigTech #SiliconValley
What the Broligarchs Want From Trump
Tremendous power is flowing to tech and finance magnates.Brooke Harrington (The Atlantic)
20R00mz/HARRIS at main · mi6paulino/20R00mz
Contribute to mi6paulino/20R00mz development by creating an account on GitHub.GitHub
#github mastadon #microsoft #siliconvalley #foia #journalism #nyc #boston #nft #digitalart #google #llm #llama #meta #gemini #charity # #philanthropy #
#github mastadon #microsoft #siliconvalley #foia #journalism #nyc #boston #nft #digitalart #google #llm #llama ##michaelpaulino #michaelpaulinostudios