by
Alec J. Ross
View all notes
[...] Not only does Japan have an economic need and the technological know-how for robots, but it also has a cultural predisposition. The ancient Shinto religion, practiced by 80 percent of Japanese, includes a belief of animism, which holds that both objects and human beings have spirits. As a result, Japanese culture tends to be more accepting of robot companions as actual companions than is Western culture, which views robots as soulless machines. [...]
ok I call BS on this, just seems way too simplistic. this seems to back me up: http://www.homejapan.com/robot_myth
[...] As Sebastian Thrun explained in a TED talk, his best friend was killed in a car accident, spurring his personal crusade to innovate the car accident out of existence: "I decided I'd dedicate my life to saving 1 million people every year."
talk about thinking undialectically
[...] With the pressure on insurance companies and health care providers to lower costs, I worry that there will be market forces pushing robots into the operating room at times when a patient is better served by a human being. Robots can eventually improve outcomes in health care, but it would be a human failing if we rush to Doctor Robot due to financial considerations alone.
I think the way you fix that is well-funded universal healthcare, buddy
As the technology continues to advance, robots will kill many jobs. They will also create and preserve others, and they will also create immense value--although as we have seen time and again, this value won't be shared evenly. Overall, robots can be a boon, freeing up humans to do more productive things--but only so long as humans create the systems to adapt their workforces, economies, and societies to the inevitable disruption. The dangers to societies that don't handle these transitions right are clear.
he does recognise this at least
later on, he connects the 2015 Baltimore riots to economic anxiety due to globalisation/automation rather than racist police brutality. I'm on the fence with what he's trying to say here (it feels like glossing over the actual police brutality aspects a bit?) but the point is not invalid
[...] There needs to be investment in growing fields like robotics but also a social framework that makes sure those who are losing their jobs are able to stay afloat long enough to pivot to the industries or positions that offer new possibilities. Many countries, particularly those in Northern Europe, are strengthening the social safety net so that displaced workers have hopes of reemerging in a new field. That means taking some of the billions of dollars of wealth that will be produced from the field of robotics and reinvesting it in education and skills development for the displaced taxi drivers and waitresses. The assumption with robots is that they're all capex, no opex, but the capex you spend on robots doesn't get rid of the opex that people still require. We need to revise that assumption to account for the ongoing costs of keeping our people competitive in tomorrow's economy. We aren't as easy to upgrade as software.
this is a step in the right direction, but still limiting
[...] In Lysenko's scientific view, if you plucked all the leaves off a tree, the next generation of trees would also be leafless, a remarkably Marxist-Leninist approach to science.
the temerity of this guy
Jack is also driving for Square to help combat the inequality that has proliferated alongside innovation. He makes a point of holding Square events in cities like Detroit and St. Louis that have suffered as manufacturing jobs have left the United States. He views Square as a product that can help these struggling areas incubate new businesses. [...]
the fuck? not having a payments platform is the least of their problems. classic example of not grasping at the root of things
[...] underemployment for young engineers. Radicalization, unemployment, and engineering skills are a nasty combination. Many suicide bombers and bomb makers that Hamas has produced have come with this background. The best way for the West Bank to not end up like Gaza is through economic integration and well-being.
I mean it would probably help, but he doesn't mention Israel's role in this at all which is telling
[...] When I last checked, there were more than 600 castles available, with prices often approaching $10,000 a night. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but the techno-utopianism behind its origins and narrative has long been passed by economic reality. In some cases, the sharing economy has turned what might have once been a casual favor into a financial transaction. That is hardly the stuff of "sharing." In most cases, sharing-economy businesses are just businesses. Brian and Joe didn't share their spare air mattresses; they rented them out. To the extent that there is an underlying ideology, it is not about sharing or creating community around the breakfast table; it is the economic theory of neoliberalism, encouraging the free flow of goods and services in a market without government regulation.
[...] Uber is developing a ride-sharing model that aspires to take 1 million cars off the streets of London while creating 100,000 jobs. Even if it comes near a fraction of this goal, it is still all for the good for reducing carbon emissions and for employment.
his critique of Airbnb is good, his praise of Uber not so much
[...] "Before Uber there was in Milan, Italy, in Lyon, France, two or three mini-cab companies that used to compete [...] They've all ceased to exist. The same thing will happen all over the world. You will still have drivers. But that's the most unskilled job in the line. The rest of the money will flow to Uber shareholders in Silicon Valley. So a huge chunk of the Italian GDP just moved to Silicon Valley. With these platforms, the Valley has become like ancient Rome. It exerts tribute from all its provinces. The tribute is the fact that it owns these platform businesses. Every classified ad in Italy used to go into a town newspaper. Now it goes to Google. Pinterest will basically replace magazine sales. Now Uber dominates transport."
[...]
This is an alarming trend, and to an extent, Charlie is right. There's value leaving local hubs and heading to Silicon Valley. But the drain is mitigated by a few factors. First, there is the near-inevitable fact that the large platforms in Silicon Valley will be going public. Their ownership will be much more distributed than those locally owned cab companies, and many of the beneficiaries of those early investments are pension funds that invest in the big venture capital and private equity funds. Those pension funds manage the retirement funds for people in the working class like teachers, police officers, and other civil servants. This doesn't fully account for the loss, and it doesn't negate the irony that the people driving cars for Uber don't have pensions, but it's worth noting in the face of Charlie's predictions. Also important is the fact that there is indeed new value being created in local hubs whenever platforms like Airbnb become an option.
quoting someone named Charlie Songhurst, who makes some good points in criticising tech (the tributary metaphor is especially compelling) even if I think he's wrong about pinterest
Ross' response is absolutely awful, though. pension funds? really? notwithstanding my own individual qualms with the current pension system, how on earth is this going to help people who lose their jobs NOW, most of whom won't have bigger pensions as a result? i dont even know where to begin with this. plus he presupposes the necessity of VC firms in general