What, Google? Accuracy Through Plagiarism
July 14, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-21.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Now that AI is such a hot topic, tech companies cannot afford to hold back due to small flaws. Like a tendency to spit out incorrect information, for example. One behemoth seems to have found a quick fix for that particular wrinkle: simple plagiarism. Eager to incorporate AI into its flagship Search platform, Google recently released a beta version to select users. Forbes contributor Matt Novak was among the lucky few and shares his observations in, “Google’s New AI-Powered Search Is a Beautiful Plagiarism Machine.”
The blacksmith says, “Oh, oh, I think I have set my shop on fire.” The image is the original work of the talented MidJourney system.
The author takes us through his query and results on storing live oysters in the fridge, complete with screenshots of the Googlebot’s response. (Short answer: you can for a few days if you cover them with a damp towel.) He highlights passages that were lifted from websites, some with and some without tiny tweaks. To be fair, Google does link to its source pages alongside the pilfered passages. But why click through when you’ve already gotten what you came for? Novak writes:
“There are positive and negative things about this new Google Search experience. If you followed Google’s advice, you’d probably be just fine storing your oysters in the fridge, which is to say you won’t get sick. But, again, the reason Google’s advice is accurate brings us immediately to the negative: It’s just copying from websites and giving people no incentive to actually visit those websites. Why does any of this matter? Because Google Search is easily the biggest driver of traffic for the vast majority of online publishers, whether it’s major newspapers or small independent blogs. And this change to Google’s most important product has the potential to devastate their already dwindling coffers. … Online publishers rely on people clicking on their stories. It’s how they generate revenue, whether that’s in the sale of subscriptions or the sale of those eyeballs to advertisers. But it’s not clear that this new form of Google Search will drive the same kind of traffic that it did over the past two decades.”
Might Google be like a blacksmith who accidentally sets fire to his workshop? Content is needed to make the fires of revenue burn brightly. No content, problem?
Cynthia Murrell, July 14, 2023
Microsoft Causing Problems? Heck, No
July 14, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-27.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
I cruised through the headlines my smart news system prepared for me. I noted two articles on different subjects. The two write ups were linked with a common point of reference: Microsoft Corp., home of the Softies and the throbbing heart of a significant portion of the technology governments in North America and Western Europe find essential.
“What’s the big deal?” asks Mr. Microsoft. “You have Windows. You have Azure. Software has bugs. Get used to it. You can switch to Linux anytime.” Thin interesting scene is the fruit of MidJourney’s tree of creativity.
The first article appeared in TechRadar. an online real news outfit. The title was compelling; specifically, “Windows 11 Update Is Reportedly Slowing Down PCs and Breaking Internet Connections.” The write up reports:
KB5028185, the ‘Moment 3’ update, is proving seriously problematic for some users … The main bones of contention with patch KB5028185 for Windows 11 22H2 are instances of performance slowdown – with severe cases going by some reports – and problems with flaky internet connections.
The second story appeared on cable “real” news. I tracked down the item titled “US and Microsoft Sound Alarm about China-Based Cybersecurity Threat.” The main idea seems to be:
The U.S. and Microsoft say China-based hackers, focused on espionage, have breached email accounts of about two dozen organizations, including U.S. government agencies.
Interesting. Microsoft seems to face two challenges: Desktop engineering and cloud engineering. The common factor is obviously engineering.
I am delighted that Bing is improving with smart software. I am fascinated by Microsoft’s effort to “win” in online games. However, isn’t it time for something with clout to point out that Microsoft may need to enhance its products’ stability, security, and reliability.
Due to many organizations’ and individuals’ dependence on Microsoft, the company seems to have a knack for creating a range of issues. Will someone step up and direct the engineering in a way that does not increase vulnerability and cause fiduciary loss for its customers?
Anyone? Crickets I fear. Bad actors find Microsoft’s approach more satisfying than a stream of TikTok moments.
Stephen E Arnold, July 14, 2023
Refining Open: The AI Weak Spot during a Gold Rush
July 13, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-11.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Nope, no reference will I make to sell picks and denim pants to those involved in a gold rush. I do want to highlight the essay “AI Weights Are Not Open Source.” There is a nifty chart with rows and columns setting forth some conceptual facets of smart software. Please, navigate to the cited document so you can read the text in the rows and columns.
For me, the most important sentence in the essay in my opinion is this one:
Many AI weights with the label “open” are not open source.
How are these “weights” determined or contrived? Are these weights derived by proprietary systems and methods? Are these weights assigned by a subject matter expert, a software engineer using guess-timation, or are low wage workers pressed against the task?
The answers to these questions reveal how models are configured to generate “good enough” results. Present models are prone to providing incomplete, incorrect, or pastiche information.
Furthermore, the popularity of obtaining images of Mr. Trump in an orange jumpsuit illustrates how “censorship” is applied to certain requests for information. Try it yourself. Navigate to MidJourney. Jump through the Discord hoops. Input the command “President Donald Trump in an orange jumpsuit.” Get the improper request flag. Then ask yourself, “How does BoingBoing keep creating Mr. Trump in an orange jumpsuit?”
Net net: The power of AI rests with the weights and controls which allow certain information and disallows other types of information. “Open” does not mean open like “the door is open.” Open for AI means a means to obtain power and exert control in my opinion.
Stephen E Arnold, July 13, 2023
What Is the Purpose of a Library? Maybe WiFi?
July 13, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-20.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
The misinformed believe libraries only offer access to free books, DVDs, and public computers in various states of obsoleteness. Libraries are actually a hub for Internet access, including WiFi. The Internet is a necessary tool and many people do no have reliable access either due to low income, homelessness, and rural locations. KQED reports on how San Francisco is handling WiFi access and homelessness at a local library: “What Happens When Libraries Stop Sharing Wi-Fi?”
San Francisco, California is experiencing record high homelessness. Businesses and people are abandoning the city, crime is running rampant on the streets, and law enforcement’s hands are tied. Homeless people regularly visit libraries to use the computers and the WiFi. Libraries usually keep their WiFi on 24/7 so their parking lots and outside areas are active hotspots.
The Eureka Valley/Harvey Milk Memorial Branch Library turns off its WiFi at night. This is the only San Franciscan library that shuts off its WiFi, because homeless people visited the library after hours and the surrounding neighborhood had an increase in crime. Pulling the WiFi plug is another way San Francisco clears sidewalks and prevents people sleeping in areas.
“ ‘Neighbors in that area have been dealing with repeated encampments, open-air drug sales and use, harassment of local businesses and all-around problematic situations going on for a decade at this point,” said [Supervisor Rafael Mandelman]. ‘It reached its nadir in the pandemic in 2020. There were encampments on both sides of the street, the sidewalk was impassable, and the historic AIDS mural had been wildly defaced. Neighbors were being threatened. It was bad.’ ”
The library faced homeless people camping on the roof, hacking into their electricity, and breaking into a closet. After the library shut off the WiFi, emergency services were called less in the area. However, it is not 100% attributed to the WiFi shutdown. Some homeless people in the area found permanent housing, a mural was repainted, and other services were enacted.
While WiFi is an essential service. If the people and places that bring the service are harmed it is ruined for everybody. It is an ethical conundrum but if crime, drugs, debris, and homeless encampments make an area dangerous, then measures must be taken to resolve the problems.
Whitney Grace, July 13, 2023
Business Precepts for Silicon Valley: Shouting at the Grand Canyon?
July 13, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-25.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
I love people with enthusiasm and passion. What’s important about these two qualities is that they often act like little dumpsters at the Grand Canyon. People put a range of discarded items into them, and hard-working contractors remove the contents and dump them in a landfill. (I hear some countries no longer accept trash from the US. Wow. Imagine that.)
During one visit many years ago with the late industrial photographer John C Evans, we visited the Grand Canyon. We were visiting uranium mines and snapping pictures for a client. I don’t snap anything; I used to get paid to be in charge of said image making. I know. Quite a responsibility. I did know enough not to visit the uranium mine face. The photographer? Yeah, well, I did not provide too much information about dust, radiation, and the efficacy of breathing devices in 1973. Senior manager types are often prone to forgetting some details.
Back to the Grand Canyon.
There was an older person who was screaming into or at the Grand Canyon. Most visitors avoided the individual. I, however, walked over and listened to him. He was explaining that everyone had to embrace the sacred nature of the Grand Canyon and stop robbing the souls of the deceased by taking pictures. He provided other outputs about the evils of modern society, the cost of mule renting, and the prices in the “official” restaurants. Since I had no camera, he ignored me. He did yell at John C Evens, who smiled and snapped pictures.
I asked MidJourney to replicate this individual who thought the Grand Canyon, assorted unseen spirits, and the visitors were listening. Here’s what the estimable art system output:
I thought of this individual when I read “Seven Rules For Internet CEOs To Avoid Enshittification.” The write up, inspired by a real journalist, surfs on the professional terminology for ruining a free service. I find the term somewhat offensive, and I am amused at the broad use the neologism has found.
The article provides what I think are similar to the precepts outlined in a revered religious book or a collection of Ogden Nash statements. Let me point out that these statements contain elements of truth and would probably reduce philosophers like A.E.O. Taylor and William James to tears of joy because of their fundamental rational empiricism. Yeah. (These fellows would have told the photographer about the visit to the uranium mine face too.)
The write up lays out a Code of Conduct for some Silicon Valley-type companies. Let me present three of the seven statements and urge you to visit the original article to internalize the precepts as a whole. You may want to consider screaming these out loud in a small group of friends or possibly visiting a local park and shouting at the pedestal where a Civil War statue once stood ignored.
Selected precept one:
Tell your investors that you’re in this for the long haul and they need to be too.
Selected precept two:
Find ways to make money that don’t undermine the community or the experience.
Selected precept three and remember there are four more in the original write up:
Never charge for what was once free.
I selected three of these utterances because each touches upon money. Investors provide money to get more money in return. Power and fame are okay, but money is the core objective. Telling investors to wait or be patient is like telling a TikTok influencer to wait, stand in line like everyone else, or calm down. Tip: That does not work. Investors want money and in a snappy manner. Goals and timelines are part of the cost of taking their money. The Golden Rule: Those with the gold rule.
The idea of giving up money for community or the undefined experience is okay as long as it does not break the Golden Rule. If it does, those providing the funding will get someone who follows the Golden Rule. The mandate to never charge for what was once free is like a one-liner at a Comedy Club. Quite a laugh because money trumps customers and the fuzzy wuzzy notion of experience.
What’s my take on these and the full listing of precepts? Think about the notion of a senior manager retaining information for self preservation. Think about the crazy person shouting rules into the Grand Canyon. Now think about how quickly certain Silicon Valley type outfits will operate in a different way? Free insight: The Grand Canyon does not listen. The trash is removed by contractors. The old person shouting eventually gets tired, goes to the elder care facility or back to van life, and the Silicon Valley steps boldly toward enshittification. That’s the term, right?
Stephen E Arnold, July 12, 2023
Understanding Reality: A Job for MuskAI
July 12, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-26.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid
I read “Elon Musk Launches His Own xAI Biz to Understand Reality.” Upon reading this article, I was immediately perturbed. The name of the company should be MuskAI (pronounced mus-key like the lovable muskox (Ovibos moschatus). This imposing and aromatic animal can tip the scales at up to 900 pounds. Take that to the cage match and watch the opposition wilt or at least scrunch up its nose.
I also wanted to interpret the xAI as AIX. IBM, discharger of dinobabies, could find that amusing. (What happens when AIX memory is corrupted? Answer: Aches in the posterior. Snort snort.)
Finally, my thoughts coalesced around the name Elon-AI, illustrated below by the affable MidJourney:
Bummer. Elon AI is the name of a “coin.” And the proper name Elonai means “a person who has the potential to attain spiritual enlightenment.” A natural!
The article reports:
Elon Musk is founding of his own AI company with some lofty ambitions. According to the billionaire, his xAI venture is being formed “to understand reality.” Those hoping to get a better explanation than Musk’s brief tweet by visiting xAI’s website won’t find much to help them understand what the company actually plans to do there, either. “The goal of xAI is to understand the true nature of the universe,” xAI said of itself…
I have a number of questions. Let me ask one:
Will Elon AI go after the Zuck AI?
And another:
Will the two AIs power an unmanned fighter jet, each loaded with live ordnance?
And the must-ask:
Will the AIs attempt to kill one another?
The mano-a-mano fight in Las Vegas (maybe in the weird LED appliqued in itsy bitsy LEDs) is less interesting to me than watching two warbirds from the Dayton Air Museum gear up and dog fight.
Imagine a YouTube video, then some TikToks, and finally a Netflix original released to the few remaining old-fashioned theaters.
That’s entertainment. Sigh. I mean xAI.
Stephen E Arnold, July 12, 2023
Open AI and Its Alignment Pipeline
July 12, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-15.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Yep, alignment pipeline. No, I have zero clue what that means. I came across this felicitous phrase in “OpenAI Co-Founder Warns Superintelligent AI Must Be Controlled to Prevent Possible Human Extinction.” The “real news” story focuses on the PR push for Sam AI-Man’s OpenAI outfit. The idea for the story strikes me as a PR confection, but I am a dinobaby. Dinobabies can be skeptical.
An OpenAI professional explains to some of his friends that smart software may lead to human extinction. Maybe some dogs and cockroaches will survive. He points out that his company may save the world with an alignment pipeline. The crowd seems to be getting riled up. Someone says, “What’s an alignment pipeline.” A happy honk from the ArnoldIT logo to the ever-creative MidJourney system. (Will it be destroyed too?)
The write up reports a quote from one of Sam AI-Man’s colleagues; to wit:
“Superintelligence will be the most impactful technology humanity has ever invented, and could help us solve many of the world’s most important problems. But the vast power of superintelligence could also be very dangerous, and could lead to the disempowerment of humanity or even human extinction,” Ilya Sutskever and head of alignment Jan Leike wrote in a Tuesday blog post, saying they believe such advancements could arrive as soon as this decade.
There you go. Global warming, the threat of nuclear discharges in Japan and Ukraine, post-Covid hangover, and human extinction. Okay
What’s interesting to this dinobaby is that OpenAI made a decision to make the cloud service available. OpenAI hooked up with the thoughtful, kind, and humane Microsoft. OpenAI forced the somewhat lethargic Googzilla to shift into gear and respond.
The Murdoch article presents another OpenAI wizard output:
“Currently, we don’t have a solution for steering or controlling a potentially superintelligent AI, and preventing it from going rogue. Our current techniques for aligning AI, such as reinforcement learning from human feedback, rely on humans’ ability to supervise AI. But humans won’t be able to reliably supervise AI systems much smarter than us and so our current alignment techniques will not scale to superintelligence,” they wrote. “We need new scientific and technical breakthroughs.”
This type of jibber jabber is fascinating. I wonder why the OpenAI folks did not do a bit of that “what if” thinking before making the service available. Yeah, woulda, shoulda, coulda. It sounds to me like a driver saying to a police officer, “I didn’t mean to run over Grandma Wilson.”
How does that sound to the grand children, Grandma’s insurance company, and the judge?
Sounds good, but someone ran over Grandma Wilson, right, Mr. OpenAI wizards? Answer the question, please.
The OpenAI geniuses have an answer, and I quote:
To solve these problems, within a period of four years, they said they’re leading a new team and dedicating 20% of the compute power secured to date to this effort. “While this is an incredibly ambitious goal and we’re not guaranteed to succeed, we are optimistic that a focused, concerted effort can solve this problem,” they said.
Now the capstone:
Its goal is to devise a roughly human-level automated alignment researcher, using vast amounts of compute to scale it and “iteratively align superintelligence.” In order to do so, OpenAI will develop a scalable training method, validate the resulting model and then stress test its alignment pipeline.
Yes, the alignment pipeline. What a crock of high school science club yip yap. Par for the course today. Nice thinking, PR people. One final thought: Grandma is dead. CYA words may not impress some people. To a high school science club type, the logic and the committee make perfect sense. Good work, Mr. AI-Men.
Stephen E Arnold, July 12, 2023
Amazon Is Winning the Product Search Derby… for Now
July 12, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-19.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Google cannot be happy about these numbers. We learn from a piece at Search Engine Land that now “50% of Product Searches Start on Amazon.” That is even worse for the competition than previously predicted. In fact, Google’s share of this market has slipped to less than a third at 31.5%. What’s Google’s solution to this click loss? Higher ad pricing? Or maybe an even higher ad-to-real content ratio?
The search racers are struggling to win traffic related to products. What has Amazon accomplished? Has Google’s vehicle lost power? What about Microsoft, a company whose engine is Bing-ing?
We also learn just 14% of respondents start their searches at retail or brand websites, while social media and review sites each capture a measly 2%. But that could change as Generation Z continues to age into independent shoppers. That group is the most likely to launch searches from social media. They are also most inclined to check online reviews. Reviews with photos are especially influential. Writer Danny Goodwin cites a recent Pew survey as he writes:
“Reviews and ratings can make or break a sale more than any other factor, including product price, free shipping, free returns and exchanges, and more. Overall, 77% of respondents said they specifically seek out websites with reviews – and this number was even higher for Gen Z (87%) and millennials (81%). Ratings without accompanying reviews are considered untrustworthy by 56% of survey respondents. Where people read reviews and ratings:
- Amazon: 94%
- Retail websites (e.g., Target, Wal-Mart): 91%
- Search engines: 70%
- Brand websites (the brand that manufactures the product: 68%
- Independent review sites: 40%
User-generated photos and videos gain value. Sixty percent of consumers looked at user-generated images or videos when learning about new products.
- 77% of respondents said they trust customer photos and videos.
- 53% said user-generated photos and videos from previous customers impacted their decision whether to purchase a product.”
So there you have it—if you have a product to market online, best encourage reviews. With pics, or it didn’t happen. Videos are a significant marketing factor. What happens if Zuck’s Threads pushes into product search, effectively linking text promotions with Instagram? And the Google? Let’s ask Bard?
Cynthia Murrell, July 12, 2023
On Twitter a Personal Endorsement Has Value
July 11, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-24.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
The high school science club managers are engaged in a somewhat amusing dust up. First, there was a challenge to a physical fight, a modern joust in which two wizards would ride their egos into glory in Las Vegas, a physical metaphor for modern America. Then the two captains of industry would battle in court because … you know… you cannot hire people another company fired. Yesterday, real journalists crowed from many low rise apartment roof tops that a new social media service was growing allegedly at the expense of another social media company. The numbers prove that one company is better at providing a platform to erode cultural values than another. Victory!
Twitter… endorsed by those who know. Thanks, MidJourney, you output an image in spite of your inappropriate content filter. Good work.
Now I learn that one social media outfit is the bestie of an interesting organization. I think that organization has been known to cast aspersions on the United States. The phrase “the great Satan” sticks in my mind, but I am easily confused. I want to turn to a real news outfit which itself is the subject of some financial minds — Vice Motherboard.
The article title makes the point: “Taliban Endorses Twitter over Threads.” Now that is quite an accolade. The Facebook Zucker service, according to the article, is “intolerant.” Okay. Is the Taliban associated with lenient and tolerant behavior? I don’t know but I recall some anecdotes about being careful about what to wear when pow-wowing with the Taliban. Maybe that’s incorrect.
The write up adds:
Anas Haqqani, a Taliban thought-leader with family connections to leadership, has officially endorsed Twitter over Facebook-owned competitor Threads. “Twitter has two important advantages over other social media platforms,” Haqqani said in an English post on Twitter. “The first privilege is the freedom of speech. The second privilege is the public nature & credibility of Twitter. Twitter doesn’t have an intolerant policy like Meta. Other platforms cannot replace it.”
What group will endorse Threads directly and the Zuck implicitly? No, I don’t have any suggestions to offer. Why? This adolescent behavior can manifest itself in quite dramatic ways. As a dinobaby, I am not into drama. I am definitely interested in how those in adult bodies act out their adolescent thought processes. Thumbs up for Mr. Musk. Rocket thrusters, Teslas, and the Taliban. That’s the guts of an impressive LinkedIn résumé.
Stephen E Arnold, July 11, 2023
Adolescent Technology Mavens: From the Cage to the Court House
July 11, 2023
![Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]](http://arnoldit.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t1-14.gif "Vea4_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_thumb_t[1]")
Note: This essay is the work of a real and still-alive dinobaby. No smart software involved, just a dumb humanoid.
Ladieees and gentlemennnnn, in this corner we have the King of Space and EVs. Weighing 187.3 pounds, the Musker brings a devastating attitude and a known world class skill in naming things. With a record of three and one, his only loss was a self-inflicted KO fighting a large blue bird. Annnnd in this corner, we have the regulator’s favorite wizard, Mark the Eloquent. Weighing in at 155.7 pounds, the Zuckster has a record of 3 and 3. His losses to Cambridge Analytica, the frightening Andrea Jelinek, chair of the European Data Protection Board, and his neighbor in Hawaii who won’t sell land to the social whirlwind.
Where are these young-at-heart wizards fighting? In Las Vegas for a big pile of money? Nope. These estimable wizards will duke it out in the court house. “Scared Musk Sends Legal Threat to Meta after Threads Lures 30 Million on Launch Day” states as fresh-from-the-playground news:
Musk supplemented his tweet [https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1676770522200252417] with a legal threat against Meta that echoed despair and fear in the face of his potent adversary. The lawsuit alleges Meta of enticing Twitter’s former employees — many of whom Musk dismissed without honoring severance promises — to contribute to Threads, a move that Twitter asserts infringes upon its intellectual property rights.
One big time journalist took issue with my describing the senior managers of certain high technology firms as practicing “high school science club management methods.” I wish to suggest that rumored cage fight and the possible legal dust up illustrates the thought processes of high school science club members. Yeah, go all in with those 16-year-old decision processes.
The threads are indeed tangled.
Stephen E Arnold, July 11, 2023
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