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☆ What JD Vance's rise tells us about the influence of Peter Thiel — and Silicon Valley in the age of Donald Trump
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-26 | by ( Peter Kafka | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

Without Peter Thiel, Vance does not get anywhere near the US Senate. And in Silicon Valley, the conservative movement is much stronger, and more muscular than it was before. AdvertisementThere's this narrative, promoted by people like Thiel, that Silicon Valley is super-liberal. Because Silicon Valley has conservative roots in addition to roots in the counterculture. AdvertisementLike I said, the liberal nature of Silicon Valley has always been sort of overplayed.

Persons: —, I'm, Donald Trump, Vance, Peter Thiel —, Max Chafkin, who's, Thiel, Peter Thiel's, Trump, JD Vance, Narya, It's, supercharge, Bill Pugliano, David Sacks, Peter Thiel, revel, that's, he's, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen, They're, Elon Musk's, Apu Gomes, Steve Jobs, Ben Horowitz Organizations: Service, Republican, Trump, Business, Bloomberg Businessweek, Republican National Convention, YouTube, Ohio Senate, The, Thiel, Twitter Locations: Silicon Valley, Mithril, Narya, Ohio, West Coast, —, America, Silicon, San Francisco

☆ A rash of tech billionaires are pivoting to Trump — but not because they’re MAGA bros
▼ + stars: | 2024-07-18 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

But there’s a small, powerful sect of Silicon Valley billionaires who are carving a path for the maybe-Trumpers and the MAGA-curious in the tech world. David Sacks, the billionaire tech investor, co-hosted a fundraiser last month at his San Francisco home and spoke at the Republican National Convention on Monday. In the last election cycle, the few Trump backers that existed in the Valley largely kept their support under the radar. Their numbers are still small, but they’re no longer hiding, and their wallets are open. And, as Kovacevich notes, just because there are a few big names turning toward Trump, “they’re not speaking for everybody.”“In fact, most of the big company CEOs aren’t terribly involved in partisan politics,” Kovacevich says.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, MAGA, Elon Musk, Trump, David Sacks, San Francisco, Doug Leone, Palantir, Joe Lonsdale, what’s, Adam Kovacevich, ”, “, Biden, Lina Khan, Joe Biden’s, Gary Gensler, who’s, Marc Andreessen, Ben Horowitz, Trump’s, hasn’t, they’ve, Reid Hoffman, Eric Schmidt, aren’t, ” Kovacevich, “ They’re Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Silicon, Wall Street, Trump, America PAC, San, Republican National Convention, Sequoia Capital, Biden, of, Financial Times, SEC, Big Tech, LinkedIn, Google Locations: New York, Silicon

☆ Amazon, Best Buy, Google may soon sell home smart devices with 'hacker-safe' label
▼ + stars: | 2024-06-07 | by ( Bob Woods | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +10 min

"Once a manufacturer receives certification for the Trust Mark, they will need additional time to retool their packaging, as well as shipping updated products from the manufacturer to retailers," he said. In 2024, according to research firm Statista, nearly 70 million homes in the U.S. are actively using smart devices, up more than 10% from last year. Staffers from Consumer Reports attended a White House meeting during which the Cyber Trust Mark program was announced. Barry Mainz, CEO of Forescout Technologies, a cybersecurity provider, says he is a big fan of the Cyber Trust Mark. Steps to take now to protect your home internetThere are actions consumers can take right now, before the Cyber Trust Mark program kicks in, to harden their cybersecurity.

Persons: Biden, Jessica Rosenworcel, Nicholas Leiserson, David Grossman, What's, Stacey Higginbotham, Higginbotham, Grossman, Barry Mainz, Mark — Organizations: Federal Drug Administration, National, Traffic Safety Administration, National Institute of Standards, Technology, NIST, Federal Communications Commission, U.S . Cyber, Energy Star, Cyber, Energy, Google, LG Electronics, Logitech, Samsung Electronics, FCC, Auburn University's, Institute, Consumer Technology Association, Park Associates, Consumer Reports, White, Survey, Consumer, Forescout Technologies Locations: U.S, Washington, Mainz

☆ Welcome to the AI dystopia no one asked for, courtesy of Silicon Valley
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-10 | by ( Allison Morrow | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

AI skeptics — who are legion, and not necessarily part of the fringe tin foil hat crowd — are begging Silicon Valley to take a beat before unleashing AI to the world. Then, the big reveal: It’s all contained in Apple’s new iPad, its thinnest and most powerful ever, thanks to its brand new AI chip. Meanwhile, is anyone else getting inundated with Google’s Pixel ads, which show people giddily using the smartphone’s AI photo-editing software to deceive their online followers? Apple is expected to announce its own ChatGPT-like tools that could be a game changer for your internet searches. The Jeff Goldblums of the AI debate — who include some of the industry’s own pioneers — are not necessarily saying we have to smother AI and pretend it never existed.

Persons: CNN Business ’, Jeff Goldblum’s, “, John, that’s, —, Cher’s, Asif Kapadia, ”, Luke Barnett, Apple, Tim Cook, Apple’s, Siri, I’ll, We’re, Jeff Goldblums, weren’t Organizations: CNN Business, New York CNN, Google, Apple, Space Invaders Locations: New York

☆ Apple remains Buffett's biggest public stock holding, but his thesis about its moat faces questions
▼ + stars: | 2024-05-03 | by ( Kif Leswing | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

That's about four times bigger than Berkshire's second-biggest public stock holding, Bank of America , and makes the company the No. The bet on Apple and CEO Tim Cook has paid off handsomely for Buffett, who said in 2022 that the cost of Berkshire's Apple stake was only $31 billion. "So I called up Warren Buffett. "It's kind of more like an annuity and I think that's what Warren Buffett really sees as well." "When I buy Apple, I know that Apple is going to repurchase a lot of shares," he said in 2018.

Persons: Tim Cook, Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway, behemoth, Buffett, He's, Cook, Apple, Warren, Ted Weschler, it's, Dan Eye, Buffett hasn't, Bernstein, Toni Sacconaghi didn't, Sacconaghi, Clayton Organizations: Warren Buffett Getty, CNBC, Berkshire, Apple, Bank of America, Buffett, Consumer Intelligence Research Partners, iPhone, Washington Post, Oracle, Fort Pitt Capital Group, Microsoft, The, Apple Watch, DOJ, Clayton Homes Locations: Omaha , Nebraska, Berkshire, Omaha, Cupertino , California, U.S

☆ I'm a mom of 3 kids and I don't allow screens at home. I might be making my children weird, but I have no regrets.
▼ + stars: | 2024-03-02 | by ( Emma Armstrong | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

I'm a tech-literate digital immigrant, but I don't let my three children have screens. It is possible to raise kids screen-free and still operate happily in our world. Despite these obstacles, I chose to keep my kids screen-free: they don't have iPads, smartphones, or computers and don't watch TV. Raising your kids screen-free is not as radical as you would think. I can't even remember why I started doing itPeople in our lives have been surprised about keeping our kids screen-free — possibly because they have to confront their own kids' use of screens.

Persons: —, I'm Organizations: Service, CDC

☆ Don't be an AI Luddite, says Jim Cramer
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-22 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Don't be an AI Luddite, says Jim Cramer'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer gives advice on investing in AI after Nvidia reported stellar quarterly results.

Persons: Jim Cramer Organizations: Nvidia

☆ How a violent 1800s uprising against machines could foreshadow our future with AI
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-05 | by ( Katie Notopoulos | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

AdvertisementI asked Merchant for his perspective on how history informs how we should think about AI and labor. AdvertisementTake the clothworkers: skilled weavers made really high quality cloth and framework knitters made stockings that were nice and durable. Just about everyone loses except the factory owners, who profit from churning out more shoddily made stuff at a rate that the skilled workers can't compete with. AdvertisementBased on your understanding of history, what are the chances that AI helps people by lowering the gap between lower skilled and higher skilled workers? Now, as then, the vast, vast majority of the time, AI absolutely cannot replicate a good writer or worker's output.

Persons: —, Insider's Aki Ito, Brian Merchant, Merchant, Aki Ito, Aki, coders, Ian, it's Organizations: Big Tech, Service Locations: England

☆ A modern etiquette guide for group chats
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-09 | by ( Michael Venutolo-Mantovani | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

A recent poll of 1,005 US adults found the average American spends 26 minutes a day reading and responding to group chats. For us to survive and thrive as humans, it's time to agree on the Definitive Etiquette of the Group Chat. The ultimate appeal of group chats — their necessity, really — is that they've become the only social media that's actually social. Group chats can become overwhelming, of course, especially as they creep into other apps and especially as they often duplicate participants. Don't talk about the group chat outside the group chat.

Persons: who's, Sam Bankman, Fried, siphoning, Emily Post, they've, Mark Zuckerberg, Twitter, Hua Hsu, e Organizations: Bank, Democratic, Street, Wall, Mets, New York Giants, Facebook, Adidas, Nazi, Yorker Locations: Bankman, Silicon, Indonesia, American, Business, Politics, Netherlands, Rome, Tucson, le

casey newton[CHUCKLES]:: And it would be so funny if the AI actually already was deceptive and was just like, oh, yeah, Kevin, you’ve already figured us out. But I also think it’s part of this sort of undercurrent of the conversation, especially around AI right now. Marc Andreessen — he is clearly so angry at all of the people who criticize technology, technology companies, tech investors. And he is just really, really going after that crowd with this piece. brent sealesYou know I don’t really know.

Persons: kevin roose Casey, casey newton What’s, kevin roose, casey newton, hasn’t, kevin roose I’m, I’m, KEVIN, casey newton Yes, Kevin Roose, ” casey newton, Casey Newton, Marc Andreessen, Casey, we’ve, kevin roose Totally, Claude chatbot, Claude, Anthropic’s, chatbot, Anthropic hadn’t, Anthropic, Kevin, — they’re, roose, Meta, it’s, I’ve, Bard, casey newton It’s, there’s, you’ve, casey newton Yeah, didn’t, Kevin — I’m, it’ll, Kevin —, Andreessen Horowitz, Uncle Marc, ”, “ you’re, Tucker Carlson, Jesus Christ, casey newton Well, kevin roose Oh, he’s, McCarthy, —, Nick Land, casey newton Totally, You’re, Daron Acemoglu, Simon Johnson, It’s, Marc Andreessen —, they’re, Nietzschean supermen, Nietzschean, Marc, casey newton Heck, Andreessen, Marc Andreessen decries, Marc Andreessen’s, CASEY, kevin roose That’s, you’re, Nat Friedman, who’s, Daniel Gross, John, Patrick Collison, Toby Lutke, Shopify, Aaron Levie, Brent Seales, — casey newton, There’s, Luke Farritor, ” brent seales, brent seales, that’s, Seales, haters, brent seales That’s, you’ll, casey newton Yep, brent seales —, brent seales We’d, brent seales They’re, They’re, Luke, Brent, brent seales Pliny, Elder, Jesus, brent seales What’s, casey newton Right, we’re Organizations: YouTube, The New York Times, Facebook, Google, Intelligence, America, AIs, Stanford, Communist, Netscape, Fox News, Communist Party, Technology, Venture, Twitter, acc, kevin roose Venture, Companies, Meta, University of Kentucky, British Locations: ”, Anthropic, China, Florida, California, United States, Europe, Romanian, interpretability, Valley, America, Silicon, Silicon Valley, Vesuvius, Rome, Greece, Herculaneum, Venice, Roman

☆ The job Americans would most like to see replaced by robots
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-27 | by ( Joseph Bien-Kahn | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +26 min

In a survey of jobs Americans would most like to see replaced by robots, the umpire would surely rank near the top. (The MLB league official tells me that legalized gambling has not been a factor in implementing ABS.) Frustratingly, the subjective has infiltrated what initially felt like a technological problem: What does the perfect strike zone even look like anyway? The MLB league official agrees, telling me the Jetson Robot Home Plate Ump is not in their plans. "Growing up, my parents would go, 'Oh, the umpire's strike zone was small!'

Persons: Jordan Pacheco, Pacheco, John McEnroe, —, Billy Beane, maniacally, Houston, it's, Ben Hurian, Paul Hawkins, Goltz, Tyler Le, Justin Goltz, he's, there's, rears, Tyler Fitzgerald, Fitzgerald, who's, FanGraphs, Bagwell crouch, Miguel Yajure, Phillip Evans, Evans, X, they'd, Dylan Yep, what's, we're, Rob Manfred, — England's, Calvin Baker, Baker, Drew Strotman, Billy Evans, Strotman, Greg Maddux, MIT grads, steph, klay thompson, alf, hite, mudge, hird, ove, ahn Organizations: Lexington Legends, Twitter, Major League, ump, MLB, Sony, NASCAR, Triple, Albuquerque, Colorado Rockies, Astros, Companies, English Premier League soccer, Rugby, NFL, NBA, ABS, Sutter Health Park, Cats, San Francisco Giants, River, Reno Aces, AAA, Atlantic League, Big, of Fame, Seton Hall Sports, MIT, hawkeyes, ust Locations: OKC, California, Sacramento, uman

☆ How to Change Your Mind-Set About Aging
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-20 | by ( Holly Burns | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

From the crotchety neighbor to the clueless Luddite, negative stereotypes of aging are everywhere. To change your negative age beliefs, you first need to become more aware of them, Dr. Levy said. “People can strengthen their positive age beliefs at any age,” Dr. Levy said. In one 2014 study, 100 adults — with an average age of 81 — who were exposed to positive images of aging showed both improved perceptions of aging and improved physical function. Find aging role models.

Persons: Becca Levy, Levy, ” Dr, you’re, ”, Regina Koepp Organizations: Yale

☆ Adapting to a World Where Adapters Run Amok
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-02 | by ( Joe Queenan | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Illustration: Mark MatchoI was very excited to get working on my new laptop, but then realized that I could not easily transfer files from my old computer because the new device did not have a USB port allowing access to my external hard drive. Seemingly, old-fashioned USB ports are technologically retrograde and stupid, and only a Luddite like me would expect a sleek new laptop to include one.

Persons: Matcho

☆ Stephen King won't forbid AI from training on his writing, and he's not afraid of AI ... yet
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

King said that he's not opposed to programmers using his works to teach AI about creativity. Thousands of other authors have objected to their work being used in AI without permission. Uploading the works of others to computers, or "state-of-the-art digital blenders" as he put it, can teach AI how to produce better art. AdvertisementAdvertisementKing said that forbidding programmers from using his to teach AI is essentially pointless. Or a Luddite trying to stop industrial progress by hammering a steam loom to pieces," King wrote.

Persons: Stephen King, King, he's, Margaret Atwood, James Patterson, Sam Altman, OpenAI, Mark Zuckerberg, Sundar Pichai, King Canute Organizations: The Atlantic, Morning, Authors, Apple

☆ It Is Impossible to Break Your Phone Addiction Now
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-15 | by ( Paris Marx | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +12 min

In many ways, we've so thoroughly integrated the devices into our lives, it's become impossible to break free. It's not just people's personal lives that are affected, but their work lives, too. To enter the store, customers need to download a separate app, connect it to their Amazon account, load a credit card, and swipe into the location. Instead, it lets customers register to scan their own items while they shop and pay from their phone. When internet connections aren't reliable, phone batteries run low, or you don't have a smartphone, these changes actually make everything much harder.

Persons: Steve Jobs, —, it's, Lola Shub, would've, we're, Shub, we've, rehire, they've, Paris Marx Organizations: Luddite, Club, The New York Times, Amazon, Tesco, Washington Examiner, National Zoo, team, Washington Nationals, Apple, Google, Australia, Transportation Locations: Brooklyn, New York City, London, United Kingdom, United States, Washington , DC, Canada, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Paris

☆ San Francisco drives tech; will it drive away robot taxis?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-07 | by ( Greg Bensinger | Thomson Reuters | Greg Bensinger Joined Reuters As A Technology Correspondent In Focusing On The World'S Largest Technology Companies. He Was Previously A Member Of The New York Times Editorial Board | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +7 min

[1/3] A Cruise self-driving car, which is owned by General Motors Corp, is seen outside the company?s headquarters in San Francisco where it does most of its testing, in California, U.S., September 26, 2018. Futuristic test vehicles from Cruise and Waymo are a common sight in some parts of San Francisco. The vote comes at a critical time for San Francisco, which is grappling with thousands of tech job losses, firms leaving the city, and COVID-era work-from-home policies that have contributed to a hollowed out downtown. loadingRamón Iglesias, another San Francisco resident, said that though he’d seen the videos and some erratic behavior from the cars, he supports the expansion and worries any further obstacles could drive tech companies away. “We have a very strong Luddite segment here in San Francisco and you see places like Las Vegas and Miami go out of their way to embrace tech,” said Iglesias, a data scientist.

Persons: Heather Somerville, Waymo, ”, Kyle Vogt, X, ” Cruise, San Francisco, Cruise, Julia Ilina, Mike Smith, Ramón Iglesias, he’d, Iglesias, “, London Breed, Greg Bensinger, Peter Henderson, Diane Craft Organizations: General Motors Corp, REUTERS, FRANCISCO, Motors, San, San Francisco County Transportation Authority, Cruise, California Public Utilities Commission, Las, Ford, Tesla, Francisco, FIRST, ”, London, Thomson Locations: San Francisco, California, U.S, Francisco, San, San Francisco County, State, dazzled, Dallas, Miami, Las Vegas, Los Angeles

☆ David Rosenberg doubles down on his recession call - and reveals the wild pushback he's faced
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-01 | by ( Theron Mohamed | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

David Rosenberg is sticking with his recession call, despite many other experts backing down. In a client memo, he shared some of the extreme pushback he's received for his gloomy forecasts. David Rosenberg, a leading economist who called both the dot-com and housing crashes, remains fully convinced the US economy is headed for a recession. Recession indicators including the inverted yield curve, The Conference Board's Leading Economic Index, and the New York Fed's recession model are still flashing red. "The impatience and tempestuousness out there do not surprise me, either, having called the markets and the economy for nearly 40 years," he continued.

Persons: David Rosenberg, he's, Michael Burry, Warren Buffett, Merrill, Rosenberg, Merrill Lynch Organizations: Service, Internet, Conference, Biden, North Locations: Wall, Silicon, Houston, York, North American

☆ Why 'Oppenheimer' director Christopher Nolan doesn't use a smartphone
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-18 | by ( Nicolas Vega | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Director Christopher Nolan is well known for avoiding computer generated effects in his films when possible, preferring instead to capture all the action in-camera. "If I'm generating my material and writing my own scripts, being on a smartphone all day wouldn't be very useful for me." Nolan also prefers to hand deliver his scripts to actors rather than sending them digitally. While he said this has given him a reputation for working "in secrecy," Nolan said the truth is anything but. Dating back to his 2000 breakout hit "Memento," Nolan has written every one of his films save for 2002's "Insomnia."

Persons: Christopher Nolan, Nolan, Tenet, It's, Oppenheimer Organizations: Hollywood

☆ Elon Musk, who wants to put chips in people's brains, says the Unabomber — who died last week — 'might not be wrong' that tech is bad for humanity
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( Pete Syme | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ted Kaczynski, the Unabomber, died in prison on Saturday. Elon Musk tweeted that he "might not be wrong" in his belief that technology is bad for humanity. Musk has long sought massive technological advancements like self-driving cars and brain chips for humans. Elon Musk said Saturday that the Unabomber "might not be wrong" in his belief that technology is bad for humanity. Ted Kaczynski died earlier that day after spending more than 25 years in prison for a terrorist campaign that killed three people and injured 23 others.

Persons: Ted Kaczynski, Elon Musk, Musk, Kaczynski —, Associated Press —, Neuralink, Tucker Carlson, he's, Twitter Organizations: American Airlines, Associated Press

☆ Opinion | Cloisters U.: The Sounds of Silence in a College Class
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-11 | by ( ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

To the Editor:Re “Universities, Meet Monasteries,” by Molly Worthen (Opinion guest essay, May 28):Dr. Worthen’s essay resonated deeply with me. I am a tutor and the incoming dean of St. John’s College, Santa Fe, one of the oldest colleges in America, a college with an enduring commitment to seminar-style discussion and the close reading of the Great Books. Without fanfare, year after year, St. John’s continues to offer a program of study that requires little more than a great book, a seminar table and the participants around that table. St. John’s is not a monastery, but it does provide a cloister where devices and the pull of the virtual world have no place. The education requires the students to be present to their thoughts, to the comments of their classmates, to the beauty of the texts.

Persons: Molly Worthen, John’s, Worthen Organizations: “, John’s, St Locations: Santa Fe, America

☆ Netflix Will End Its DVD Service After 25 Years
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-18 | by ( Nicole Sperling | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

After 25 years, Netflix is ending its DVD-by-mail business. Before it was upending the entertainment industry and ushering in the streaming era, Netflix was a company whose business model revolved around sending DVDs through the mail in easily recognizable red-and-white envelopes. At its peak, in 2010, roughly 20 million subscribed to the DVD service. But the practice has long felt anachronistic, and the company said on Tuesday that it will ship its final DVDs to customers on Sept. 29. “To everyone who ever added a DVD to their queue or waited by the mailbox for a red envelope to arrive: thank you.”

☆ Gen Z's desire to limit screen time leads to resurgence of 'dumb phones' in the US: 'I love how low stimulus it is'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Influencers and members of Gen Z are swapping smartphones for "dumb phones" that can only call and text, CNBC reported. The trend has since expanded to influencers who are documenting their journey of winding down screen time with the use of dumb phones. "What we're trying to do with the Light phone isn't to create a dumb phone, but to create a more intentional phone — a premium, minimal phone — which isn't inherently anti-technology," Hollier told the outlet. TikToker Alex Purdy used a Light brand dumb phone for a month and shared an update with followers in January. In the video, Purdy mentioned some issues with receiving texts, but ultimately encouraged commenters to get one of their own.

☆ Why teens are giving up their smartphones and joining the 'Luddite Club'
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Avery Hartmans | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

They're giving up social media and relying on face-to-face conversations in an effort to free themselves from the attention-hogging tyranny of smartphones. Download Insider's app here. Shub is now part of the Luddite Club, a group of New York City teens who meet at their local library. Decade-old Tesla Roadsters are selling for over $100,000. Why Tesla Roadsters are becoming hot collectibles.

☆ I was a 'screenager' addicted to my smartphone. So my friends and I ditched them and founded the Luddite Club.
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-23 | by ( Lola Shub | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

That's why a bunch of my friends and I started the Luddite Club. The Luddite Club began in 2021, led by my friend Logan. The three of us felt like a group, and that's when the Luddite Club was officially born. We have a rule to never take out your phone, even your flip phone, in the company of others. We're hoping to create mini "take a book, leave a book" libraries around Prospect Park in Brooklyn, with signs painted by the Luddite Club.

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