Forgot to add the absolutely necessary reference to the surprisingly and pleasantly decipherable piece by Gilles Deleuze: “postscript on the societies of control.”
https://theanarchistlibrary.org/library/gilles-deleuze-postscript-on-the-societies-of-control Regards / Saludos / Grato Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them (equal preference) > On Aug 27, 2020, at 12:35 PM, Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes > <[email protected]> wrote: > > Well, “Big Oil” is full of “Big Tech!”😈 > > FRACKING > How about the MACONDO platform responsible gir the huge oil spill from the > ocean floor in 2010 or was it 2019? > > But yeah now the meaning of “BIG TECH” has been hijacked by “Information > Technology” but it’s really MARKETING the new king, not it’s enabler, which > is “big tech.” > > The huge valuation of “big tech” has more to do with a new “golden age” of > marketing than with other things, which of course are at play especially with > the monster of Amazon which now has it all: Prime Air, etc etc doesn’t need > no farking anybody else full demand and supply Chain vertical monolithic > integration. And the guy owns The Washington Post to boot. That’s why I read > The Guardián, watch unicorn RIOT Via periscope, and get latest news from my > Social network not newspapers or corporate news media > > Regards / Saludos / Grato > > Andrés Leopoldo Pacheco Sanfuentes > Pronouns: He/Him/They/Them (equal preference) > >>> On Aug 27, 2020, at 12:25 PM, Yosem Companys <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >> >> >> >> >> August 27, 2020 >> Big Oil faded. Will Big Tech? >> >> >> Lydia Ortiz >> >> By Shira Ovide >> Less than a decade ago, Exxon Mobil was the most valuable company in the >> world. On Monday, it’s being kicked out of the Dow Jones industrial average >> after nearly a century of inclusion in the stock index. >> >> I’m mentioning an energy company in a technology newsletter for two reasons: >> First, as wild as it feels to have a handful of American technology >> superpowers rule the economy and the stock market and influence world >> events, oil superpowers like Exxon were in a similar position not very long >> ago. >> >> And second, while it’s hard to imagine Big Tech losing relevance, most >> people didn’t predict that demand for fossil fuels would start to wane, >> until it did. That’s part of the sweeping changes that ushered out the era >> of Big Oil and started the Big Tech age. Today all of Exxon is worth less >> than Jeff Bezos. >> >> Exxon’s star faded because the world changed, and it didn’t. The question is >> whether what happened to Exxon is a warning about the potential >> vulnerability of today’s tech superpowers — or if it’s the opposite: a sign >> of how Big Tech is invincible in ways that Exxon wasn’t. >> >> The 2012 book “Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power” described how >> the company at its peak helped steer U.S. foreign policy, supported >> sometimes authoritarian leaders in oil-rich countries and shaped people’s >> views on important issues like climate change to suit its interests. Its >> author, Steve Coll, called Exxon the world’s most powerful unelected force, >> and I’ve wondered for years whether big tech companies are the new Exxon. >> >> Apple wouldn’t be the company it is today without its savvy diplomatic >> skills in the United States and China to advance its own business interests. >> Facebook is so influential that it’s a tool used both against and by >> authoritarian governments. Google shapes how government regulators and the >> public think about antitrust laws. It’s an imperfect comparison, but big >> tech companies are private empires in some of the same ways as the old Exxon. >> >> But not long after Coll’s book was published, Exxon’s influence and riches >> started to decline. The status of the world’s most valuable company shifted >> to Apple. Exxon and other oil giants mostly missed out on the fracking boom, >> and on the move away from fossil fuels. Exxon still has influence like it >> did in the old days, but it’s not the same. >> >> “Time has marched on and these big companies have not been nimble enough,” >> Clifford Krauss, a New York Times energy correspondent, told me when I asked >> about the comparison between Big Oil and Big Tech. >> >> One fundamental difference is that Big Oil’s fate relies on demand for a >> product that the companies can’t control. The tech industry doesn’t seem to >> have this essential vulnerability. >> >> I’ve said here before that many tech executives live in fear of their >> companies dying or becoming irrelevant. They’re not thinking about Exxon but >> about a history of technology in which evolutionary changes have ruined >> seemingly invincible industry leaders. But while it’s possible to imagine >> some of the individual tech powers losing relevance — maybe — it’s much >> harder to imagine the tech industry overall growing less potent or essential. >> >> I’ll leave you with two notes of symbolism about Exxon giving way to a >> dominant tech industry. Exxon is being dropped from the Dow Jones index >> because of a technical change necessitated by Apple’s stock getting too >> expensive. And Exxon’s spot is being taken by a tech company: Salesforce.com. >> >> If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, please sign up here. >> >> >> >> Tech empires can use their power for good >> >> Apple is changing its rules to make it harder for apps to track what we do >> on our phones. Google is also remaking its popular Chrome web browser with a >> similar goal of limiting the perpetual digital tracking that is a staple of >> our online lives. >> >> I’ve said before that digital data surveillance is out of control, and Apple >> and Google might be powerful enough to single-handedly change the rules for >> digital privacy. Sometimes we want powerful companies to assert their >> authority. It should still make us nervous that they have this much >> authority. >> >> Here’s what is happening with Apple: Very soon, most people with iPhones >> will start to see pop-up messages in apps that ask permission to let the app >> log everything they do on other apps and websites. Apps want this >> information, in part, to personalize the advertisements we see and to figure >> out if we’re responding to them. >> >> I suspect that a lot of people are going to say heck no when they get these >> messages, meaning fewer companies will be able to compile digital dossiers >> on us. (There is a good explanation from Recode on what Apple is doing and >> the potential effects.) >> >> Companies tend to find workarounds for most data privacy guidelines, and >> Apple’s latest change won’t slow down the biggest digital data hogs of all, >> Google and Facebook. But I think Apple is taking a good step to put more >> guardrails around companies that try to follow our every move online and in >> the real world. >> >> It is also a reminder that in the absence of effective government policy in >> the United States to limit digital privacy intrusions, we have Apple and >> Google remaking how the digital world works without input or oversight on >> this important policy issue. >> >> I’m glad that these powerful companies are flexing their muscle for what I >> think is a worthy mission. It also makes me queasy. >> >> >> >> Before we go … >> >> Common sense tips to fight the data surveillance machine: My colleague Brian >> X. Chen walks through questions we should ask ourselves when we get all >> those pop-up requests from apps that want to track what we do. The bottom >> line: It takes a lot of research and work on our part to be informed >> consumers in the digital surveillance economy. >> The weird saga of TikTok is even weirder than you thought: Mike Isaac and >> Andrew Ross Sorkin of The New York Times have great back-room details about >> the U.S. government forcing TikTok to sell at least part of the app company >> over concerns that it’s a potential conduit for Chinese spying and >> propaganda. This will be ugly for awhile with everyone involved trying to >> maximize what they get out of this drama. >> Related: TikTok’s C.E.O. quit after just a few months on the job. This soap >> opera is not what he signed up for. >> >> >> >> >> We want to hear from you. Tell us what you think of this newsletter and what >> else you’d like us to explore. You can reach us at [email protected]. >> >> If you don’t already get this newsletter in your inbox, please sign up here. >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> -- >> Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable from any major commercial >> search engine. Violations of list guidelines will get you moderated: >> https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to digest >> mode, or change password by emailing [email protected].
-- Liberationtech is public & archives are searchable from any major commercial search engine. Violations of list guidelines will get you moderated: https://lists.ghserv.net/mailman/listinfo/lt. Unsubscribe, change to digest mode, or change password by emailing [email protected].
