LyrArc Article Gist
BBC says "tech's seedy side exposed" by Musk- Altman trial 2026. Let's face it there is a seedy side, and a much less benevolent side to Tech than it likes to show. The overspending on AI is a sign of misplaced priorities when so much of US infrastructure is dilapidated, much of it from before 1945, that badly needs to be rebuilt. Much of the promise of hardware from Tech that would change education is a failure so much so that Sweden is shifting on a nationwide effort in its schools to a program - "from screens to binders" that gives children binders with notebooks to write in and books to read, removing screens altogether, and for good reasons of the educators of Sweden. Tech in its grandiose style pretends it is about the technological revolution when it is simply the companies Amazon, Google, Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, three of which are from the last 15 years. The technological revolution and the scientific revolution date back to Copernicus and Newton and the hundreds, thousands of scientists and pioneers of the industrial revolution of the last 250 years, and the men of vision and wisdom that gave us the British and American Constitution, the principles of self-government of civilized societies. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
Questions China faces on AI- 17% high youth unemployment and 200 million young people in the gig economy in low wage demanding work. Chinese Communist party wants to see a stable China that can pursue industrial progress for decades like the European Union and the US. For this reason it is not going to let this level of dissatisfaction with high youth unemployment and low wage demanding work for young people to go to the next level. For this reason it will carefully make investments in AI -not the hyper investments in AI that are taking place in the US. The competition with China is going to take place on many fronts, and the industrial bloc created by the EU with India and Nordics has a 15 year plan during which it and the US are likely to far exceed anything China does at a slower rate of growth. As in the US choices will have to be made in China, investment in one area means disinvestment in other areas that have equal or more priority. Today's capital markets are in complete dysfunction in the US operated by a few banks and tech company leaders, similar to the situation prevailing in pharmaceuticals and healthcare. Investment priorities and planning are needed. It is a major error to say US cannot plan that capitalism does not have planning, because it is absolutely true that planning goes on at every level in American companies with Xerox, IBM, Oil Companies and other large companies, all having a Long Range Plan as well as planning for individual projects and investments in plants. If a good infrastructure plan, project by project, state by state, and at the local level, is not put in place this will simply not take place. If no good reindustrialization plan, project by project, state by state, and at the local level, is not put in place, this will simply not take place. In that case the competition with China would surely be lost before it had begun. Yet that is surely not the case, as every good American company has a long term plan. And this plan looks at all the potential investments the Nation can and should make in priorities and in the interests of the Nation and the People. All have to compete for resources and AI surely would not get the lions share of resources in China, or in the US, in a fair and well run market system where planning rightly takes place, because it would displace the very basic structure of a fair and well balanced economy that serves the American people, or the people of European Union and India, or the people of China. ...

LyrArc Article Gist
A yearly fee for use of news media content by tech companies from the  government of prime minister Albanese in Australia would generate 503 million British pounds for local news media companies. This includes media companies News Australia, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, the Guardian Australia, and the Sydney Morning Herald.

LyrArc Article Gist
In the process tech companies in the US also directed massive capital misallocation away from much needed infrastructure, and other essential needs in the US. Some of that capital was also wasted as the productivity of tech invested capital dropped sharply. US president Biden's investment in climate change prevention, chips and science, in infrastructure and to support working families brought America back to much needed national renewal.

LyrArc Article Gist
Binyamin Applebaum of NYT looks at the situation today when tech companies pretend or act like they can perform the role of government. The pandemic has shown the need for a strong government role on many issues facing America and the world such as healthcare and healthcare infrastructure. This has exposed the dangers of the government not being strong enough and having a clear idea and vision for the interests of the public in health, education and infrastructure. A culture change is underway after decades of misallocation of resources and neglect of the public interest, neglect of essential investment in workers, students, and families.

LyrArc Article Gist
Facebook loses 19% of share value on one day, July 26, 2018, following months of publicity about its failure to maintain integrity of news information.

LyrArc Article Gist
Apple's new privacy rules are reducing the extensive tracking of internet users that took place in an unregulated industry for the last decade. Apple has introduced a long overdue privacy change that restricts how users can be tracked on apps such as Facebook, Instagram and other apps. Users are now asked if they want to be tracked and can opt out. US users opt to allow tracking only 16% of the time they see the Apple privacy prompt. This will be one more needed step to protect the privacy of users that had suffered  in the last 10 years from rampant and unrestricted tracking of users.

 

LyrArc Article Gist
The new retail store experience at tech and electronics stores, including new stores of AT&T and Verizon Wireless.

LyrArc Article Gist
This report in WSJ shows tech companies hiring workers from competitors to hoard talent. During the pandemic tech companies went on a hiring spree in the expectation of future needs. As this did not turn out tech companies are now laying off workers.

LyrArc Article Gist
Massive AI overspending weakening balance sheets of Tech companies.

LyrArc Article Gist
When Nvidia reaches 1 trillion dollars valuation for tech AI has become excessive, AI's potential exaggerated to proportions that could hurt the rest of the economy that sustains the world. AI companies and tech companies revel in the attention that hurts other parts of the stock markets. Some of these valuations are now coming back to earth. Tech companies Ai energy needs were shown to be exorbitant at a time when energy conservation for things like airplanes were considered as having caused rapid climate change and strange weather patterns of fast and larger fires and floods. No one thought to think that if you were cutting airplane carbon imprint why would you put rocket boosters on AI based tech's carbon imprint. The words carbon imprint of AI rarely appear in the media. The media like this report in WSJ calls it a vibe shift, but who sent out the vibes that never mentioned AI's carbon footprint in the first place- the very same media.

LyrArc Article Gist
With a redrawing of the tech map and where the jobs are tech jobs shift to mainstream manufacturing, health, banking and retail, says this report in the NYT. These companies invest steadily in tech jobs but did not go into manic hiring sprees in the way Amazon or Alphabet once did. Overall employment in tech occupations increased to 6.39 million in November 2022, a 12% increase over the prior year. Chase, Amex, Nike, Wal-Mart and General Motors offer more stability for tech workers. Overall US tech workers increased from about 3 million workers in 2000 to over double that in 2022. Unemployment is at 2% for tech workers compared to 3.7% for workers overall. The problems at Alphabet and Amazon and layoffs are making it easier for mainstream retail and banking companies to hire tech workers. Chase Bank alone has over 50,000 tech workers.

LyrArc Article Gist
The effects of Tech in the economy dividing the workforce jobs into ones that pay extremely well at tech companies for advanced skills and a sea of other jobs in retail, hospitality, and logistics that may meagre wages. Wages even at tech companies like Amazon in logistics are for the most part low wage. Automation has depressed job creation in many industries putting pressure on wages for less skilled workers.

LyrArc Article Gist
The internet and tech startup scene in Japan as engineers from Toshiba, Panasonic, Sony and other companies start innovative tech companies.

LyrArc Article Gist
Quentin Hardy of the NYT provides this exceptional account of life in the Mid-Market area of San Francisco, close to the Financial District and a few blocks from the offices of Twitter, and of Spotify, Zendesk and other startup companies. Moving just a few blocks from the tech startups offices can take you into a different world with dilapidated housing, drug dealers, and housing for homeless people. Expensive resaurants and markets rub shoulders with poorer shops.

LyrArc Article Gist
Tech heavy S&P 500- for the largest tech companies- gains are now reversing after a rally based on potential for AI. Nvidia with its AI potential alone was 30% of the gain in S&P 500 at one time. The change in the election situation in July 2024 may be one of the causes. Smaller companies in the Russell 5000 are doing better. It is not clear if this is a trend.