Tag: luddites

NYT on data brokers

Sift knew, for example, that I’d used my iPhone to order chicken tikka masala, vegetable samosas and garlic naan on a Saturday night in April 3 years ago. It knew I used my Apple laptop to sign into Coinbase in January 2017 to change my password. Sift knew about a nightmare Thanksgiving I had in California’s wine country, as captured in my messages to the Airbnb host of a rental called “Cloud 9.”

Enemies of civilization

From alarmists touting an artificial intelligence apocalypse to activists fighting against genetically improved foods, this report highlights 10 of the year’s most egregious cases of neo-Luddism in action.

  1. Alarmists tout an artificial intelligence apocalypse.
  2. Advocates seek a ban on “killer robots.”
  3. States limit automatic license plate readers.
  4. Europe, China, and others choose taxi drivers over car-sharing passengers.
  5. The paper industry opposes e-labeling.
  6. California’s governor vetoes RFID in driver’s licenses.
  7. Wyoming outlaws citizen science.
  8. The Federal Communications Commission limits broadband innovation.
  9. The Center for Food Safety fights genetically improved food.
  10. Ohio and others ban red light cameras.

US luddites

We have one hell of a luddite problem to contend with. The silly nonsense in San Francisco is just a first taste of widespread future shock. There’s an interesting essay on these shocks that I come back to again and again.

66% think it would be a change for the worse if prospective parents could alter the DNA of their children to produce smarter, healthier, or more athletic offspring.
65% think it would be a change for the worse if lifelike robots become the primary caregivers for the elderly and people in poor health.
63% think it would be a change for the worse if personal and commercial drones are given permission to fly through most US airspace.
53% of Americans think it would be a change for the worse if most people wear implants or other devices that constantly show them information about the world around them. Women are especially wary of a future in which these devices are widespread.

Computer Illiteracy

Not too long ago, most people I knew continued to harbor a certain social prejudice well after the major social prejudices had fallen out of favor among the thinking set. This prejudice was not against a person, or a stereotype. It was against the computer. No one ever spoke openly of this prejudice. It was transmitted subtly: a gentle roll of the eyes when someone cautiously suggested that a quick Google search might resolve the conversational impasse; a derisive snort when the token geek in the room offered to show the group what he or she was working on. When a friend said in mixed company that her local movie theater used to project video game play on the big screen for public viewing, there was an unmistakable ‘only in Maine’ undercurrent to the response.

Poor rekha, having computer refusenik friends. The few I had I re-trained them years ago. Nothing beats fact checking a conspiracy nut cab driver on the spot.