High School Redux: Dust Up in the Science Club

June 22, 2023

Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.

One cannot make up certain scenarios. Let me illustrate.

Navigate to “Google Accuses Microsoft of Anticompetitive Cloud Practices in Complaint to FTC.” You will have to pony up to read the article. The main point is that the Google “filed a complaint to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission.” Why? Microsoft is acting in an unfair manner. Is the phrase “Holy cow” applicable. Two quasi or at least almost monopolies are at odds. Amazing.

MidJourney’s wealth of originality produced this image of two adolescents threatening one another. Is the issue a significant other? A dented bicycle? A solution to a tough math problem like those explained by PreMath? Nope. The argument is about more weighty matters: Ego. Will one of these mature wizards call their mom? A more likely outcome is to let loose a flurry of really macho legal eagles and/or a pride of PR people.

But the next item is even more fascinating. Point your click monitoring, data sucking browser at “Send Me Location: Mark Zuckerberg Says He’s Down to Fight Elon Musk in a Cage Match.” Visualize if you will Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg entering the ring at a Streetbeefs’ venue. The referee is the ever-alert Anomaly. Scarface is in the ring just in case some real muscle is needed to separate the fighters.

Let’s step back: Google wants to be treated fairly because Microsoft is using its market power to make sure the Google is finding it difficult to expand its cloud business. What’s the fix? Google goes to court. Yeah, bold. What about lowering prices, improving service, and providing high value functionality? Nah, just go to court. Is this like two youngsters arguing in front of their lockers and one of them telling the principal that Mr. Softie is behaving badly.

And the Musk – Zuckerberg drama? An actual physical fight? No proxies. Just no-holds-barred fisticuffs? Apparently that’s the implication of the cited story. That social media territory is precious by golly.

Several observations:

Life is surprising
Alleged techno-giants are oblivious to the concept of pettiness
Adolescent behavior, not sophisticated management methods, guide certain firms.

Okay, ChatGPT, beat these examples for hallucinatory content. Not even smart software can out-think how high school science club members process information and behave in front of those not in the group.

Stephen E Arnold, June 22, 2023

Written by Stephen E. Arnold · Filed Under Business strategy, Management, News

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Stephen E. Arnold monitors search, content processing, text mining and related topics from his high-tech nerve center in rural Kentucky. He tries to winnow the goose feathers from the giblets. He works with colleagues worldwide to make this Web log useful to those who want to go "beyond search". Contact him at sa [at] arnoldit.com. His Web site with additional information about search is arnoldit.com.