Thought-provoking Things Worth Sharing - Issue #152
Are the "tech bros" going to ruin the internet?
During the Vice-Presendential debate there was a now-infamous moment where one of the moderators corrected J.D. Vance, and he responded “The rules were that you guys weren’t going to fact-check me.”
Whether you think he had a point (for the record, those were the rules - but IMHO those should never have been the rules.), the statement was very telling.
His entire strategy was based on the fact that no one would be able to point out when he lied. However you may feel about politics, I think that’s exactly the same position that many tech leaders are taking about the internet.
You’re not allowed to fact-check me. So, I’m going to just make the wildest claims I can think of.
Consider:
Hurricane Helene and the ‘Fuck It’ Era of AI-Generated Slop
Welcome to this week’s collection of thought-provoking things. For each issue, I’ll share information about careers and workplace culture, mental health in the workplace, talent development, and important information about privacy, security, and legal tech.
You can find out all about me here - Mike McBride Online.
To quote:
Something very disheartening is happening with this particular image, however. A specific segment of the people who have seen and understand that it is AI-generated simply do not care that it is not real and that it did not happen.
It also seems like the first time that the social networks just gave up trying to keep fake images and fake information from spreading. I’ve seen a lot of fake stuff over the last couple of weeks, and not much of an effort to flag it as fake from the tech companies themselves.
We clearly live in a world where identifying fake information created to interfere in an election is somehow being declared election interference itself.
This is not a positive trend. But, it makes sense when you consider who runs tech companies now:
Is it possible that fighting harrassment and fake information is just too “beta” for the tech-bro’s? Alpha males don’t need protection from those things, so no one does? After all, they are too busy changing the world with AI to worry about how it’s misuse is causing real harm to human beings other than themselves.
They can’t be bothered with DEI efforts, or government regulations, they are the modern day cowboys, building the brave new world. The rest of us should just shut up and thank them.
The tech world is full of ridiculously wealthy, white men. Men who have zero lived experience in being anything other than wealthy, white, and male.
That lack of lived experience is a danger to everyone else.
And it is only going to get worse - Meta’s new “Movie Gen” AI system can deepfake video from a single photo.
If nothing can be considered real, the people who control the technology control the information.
Careers and the Workplace
Linked - Vast Majority of CEOs Ready to Make Remote Workers' Lives As Miserable As Possible
After years of remote working successfully, they want to go back to rewarding people for nothing more than being in the office more than other employees.
That's it. It's how they've always done it, and they would like to return to that because it was easier.
On a similar note - The Elite's War on Remote Work Has Nothing to Do with Productivity. (It's about debt on zombie office towers.)
As an introvert, I still think it is a chore - Networking doesn’t have to be a chore — here are 3 ways to make it more enjoyable and effective.
Artificial Intelligence
Over 40% of lawyers now use AI to accelerate their work. Yet, there is much hesitation due to concerns about the accuracy of responses.
Speaking of doubts - From Deepfakes to Digital Doubt: How AI Is Challenging the Future of Evidence.
Maybe this is why we need policies in our workplaces. - What Organizations Should Include in Their Artificial Intelligence Policy [Part 2]
Then again, maybe AI can help with these issues - 4 ways AI is transforming audit, risk and compliance.
If you are in legal and thinking about AI, keep this in mind too - Technology Competence in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.
Mental Health in the Workplace
Linked - Here’s how to celebrate World Mental Health Day 2024
I'm sure some CEOs out there read that and think we're supposed to be drained and used up. That just shows how dedicated we are to our work. That ignores the fact that work is only part of our lives. They ignore the damage that does to society when we have adults who are uninvolved with their kids' lives, disconnected from their community, uninformed about what is happening in the world, and lacking many meaningful friendships because work requires them to have nothing left to give to those endeavors.
That's why having a workplace that accounts for those impacts on employees' lives is so important.
On that same note - Tackling Mental Health issues at the Workplace
Let’s face it: these are challenging times - How to Support Your Employees Through Challenging Times
The tech world always brags about doing more with less, but there is a breaking point. - Cybersecurity hiring slows, pros' stress levels rise
Privacy, Security, and Legal Tech
Linked - China Possibly Hacking US “Lawful Access” Backdoor
I don't know how many times security experts told law enforcement that building a "backdoor" for them to access encrypted systems would end up with that same backdoor being used by bad actors.
They didn't care.
My new browser of choice - ARC
Simply put, I can't log in and out of accounts all day, and I also don't want to deal with my computer running out of memory. I spent many years walking that thin line. So, I was intrigued when I saw someone talking about a new browser they were using that was easy to use with multiple profiles and optimized for memory usage. I was skeptical but intrigued enough to give it a try.
If you haven’t noticed this, you aren’t paying attention. - How foreign influence campaigns manipulate your social media feeds.
That’s all, folks. If you found something interesting in this week’s newsletter, please share it with your friends. It’s the best way to help support the effort I put in each week to share this with you.