Sunday, September 4, 2022

Do Facebooks employees like Mark Zuckerberg? Who knows, but his AI does not.

 

 

Facebook's own AI chat bot calls Mark Zuckerberg a 'bad person'
https://www.tweaktown.com/news/87946/facebooks-own-ai-chat-bot-calls-mark-zuckerberg-bad-person/index.html

Notably, BlenderBot 3 is just a "conversational prototype" that is designed to converse like a human on nearly any topic that it's prompted with.
::

As for its thoughts on Zuckerberg, the BBC asked the chatbot, and it replied by saying, "Our country is divided, and he didn't help with that at all. His company exploits people for money, and he doesn't care. It needs to stop!"

Friday, September 6, 2019

I'm stopping for now.

This blog was taking more time than I realized. I will try it again in a month or so.

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Facebook breaks out the Jugglers, Clowns, & Lobbyist for Libra

When I first got in the computer industry in Silicon Valley it was quite common to visit a convention. After a while we knew when we started to see the jugglers & clowns, there will be no more technical information. And for that matter getting any real information on the product will henceforth be almost impossible to get.


Coingeek.com reports

Lobbying firm FS Vector LLC has registered as having a relationship with Facebook as their customer since August 5, 2019. This can be confirmed on ProPublica, a lobbying disclosure database website. They specifically listed their reason for lobbying for Facebook as "Issues related to blockchain policy," with John Collins as their representative.
By that token, lobbyists generally provide two services.
  1. Talk in the ear of legislators.
  2. Make stealth donations to the campaign legislators.
As the article sort-of confirms

While public opinion also doesn’t seem to be on Libra’s side, getting a few key members of congress to suddenly “change their mind,” with the help of a savvy lobbyist, could make for a big change in momentum. Considering the billions Facebook has to gain from Libra should it ever happen, spending a few million on lobbying right now is a worthwhile expense.
 If you see Rep Maxine Waters change her mind, you'll know why.

SOURCES

Facebook hires lobbying firm to save Libra
https://coingeek.com/facebook-hires-lobbying-firm-to-save-libra/
by Derek Tonin - 27 August 2019




Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Facebook & My Prediction: Dummies Guide to Facebook Depression

Years back I had a friend tell me how wonderful Facebook was. The response was, ~it's nothing more than a self-publishing platform like we've had for decades - with features.~

So now more than a decade after he told me that and everone's cousin is on Facebook, we are starting to hear the expected stories.

  • Facebook manipulates and is dangerous
  • Your depression is because of Facebook
  • Facebook Depression: A Simple (But Complete) Guide 

The last is a real article, and it makes a sound statement:

It is merely a tool. And like any tool, it can be used for good reasons, and for bad ones.
I must then ask, how long before we see:

Dummies Guide to Facebook Depression.

I can tell you now, it won't be long.

Consider what this article states

Research suggests that excessive social media use can cause people to feel depressed and isolated, have low self-esteem, and feel envious of others. There’s even an unofficial term for this. It’s called "Facebook Depression." It’s not an official diagnosis, but that doesn’t mean it’s not a real thing.

To be clear, this isn’t the same thing as clinical depression, (...). Facebook Depression is more about depressed mood, negative thoughts, irritability, anger, and a compromised sense of self-worth.
The expected remedies are the same we saw 20+ years ago for AOL & Compuserve.

  • Set a time limit.
  • Spend more time with actual people.
  • Don't be afraid of a social media detox.
  • Get some fresh air!
  • Do some writing or artwork.
  • Take a few minutes to meditate.
  • Reconnect with your inner child.
     
Crayons anyone?


SOURCES

Facebook Depression: A Simple (But Complete) Guide
https://goodmenproject.com/guy-talk/facebook-depression-a-simple-but-complete-guide/ 
by Randy Withers - August 26, 2019






Tuesday, August 27, 2019

EU Regulators, Trump Admin, & Congress put the screws on Facebook over Libra and the Libra Association

Foxbusiness described the issue as
Antitrust regulators in the European Union launched a probe into Libra earlier this week to examine whether the payments service could hurt competition and grant an unfair advantage over rivals. The move followed a bipartisan backlash to Libra in the United States, where President Trump, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell and House Financial Services Committee Chairman Maxine Waters, D-Calif., are just a few leading officials to raise questions about Libra’s potential to harm the U.S. economy.
When POTUS Trump & Maxine Waters are on the same page, you know something is up. We could say Rep Waters as the Chair the House Banking Committee is corrupt, but that would be unfair — self-serving sure, corrupt we could not qualify.

None the less, the parties enjoining int he critzim of Facebook and their finacial allies is impressive.

The allies being, as Foxbusiness (who referenced Financial Times) said
members of the Libra Association, a Switzerland-based organization composed of 28 entities, including Visa, Uber and Spotify, who are set to invest in the cryptocurrency platform and oversee its operations

Why worry about this?

The first reason is obvious. Setting up in Switzerland should raise anyone's flags. Granted it would be worse if it happened some random third-world countries that nobody thinks about like Trinidad, but all these companies are publicily traded. So as you guessed it, this is the new game.
A company in Trinidad apparently sold ballpoint pens to a sister company for $8,500 (£6,600) apiece, resulting in more profit booked in low-tax Trinidad and less in higher-tax regimes elsewhere. - BBC
The second reason is not as obvious to everyone. Libra, like a lot of the public crypto-currencies keeps a public ledger. This means if anyone knew your "public crypto-key" they would know it was you. And in Facebook's case, they have all your public information.


SOURCES

Facebook Libra backers consider dropping out of project amid regulatory scrutiny: Report
 https://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/facebook-libra-backers-consider-dropping-out 
By Thomas Barrabi - August 23, 2019

How much of the world's wealth is hidden offshore? https://www.bbc.com/news/business-40442595 By Tim Harford - 31 July 2017
A company in Trinidad apparently sold ballpoint pens to a sister company for $8,500 (£6,600) apiece, resulting in more profit booked in low-tax Trinidad and less in higher-tax regimes elsewhere.