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I would also pair this article with "Stolen Focus" ( a book I am currently reading -- fascinating read ) [0] . I am only 10% in and the book is captivating. Read the book to understand the "whys" of this article .

[0]https://www.amazon.com.au/Stolen-Focus-Attention-Think-Deepl...



Human agents + AI empowered . Gives a new definition for Agentic AI , no ? :-P


Cue the book "The Code Breaker" [0]. I read it a long time ago and such an incredible book and journey by Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuel Charpentier. Do check it out

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Code_Breaker


I've been thinking that they probably are smart enough to know this but see utility in spewing such lies. Because optics implies higher valuation. It's follow the money as usual :(


If you’re talking about Mary Buffett, it is his ex daughter-in-law. How to read financial reports like Warren Buffett is the book (I think)


Thats the one, thank you


I read the book. It’s a very interesting read. A few things stood out ( no spoilers )

- Casual indifference at exec level to atrocities happening because of FB/ Meta.

- Money/power does make you insensitive

- Tech bro view of the world permeates most decisions that Meta takes.

- Casual sexual harassment for women ( follows from the tech bro worldview I guess )

- US centric world view influencing how execs treat world leaders.

All in all worth a read or two!


> - Money/power does make you insensitive

This is something I try to be acutely aware of in myself. Not that I have any level of wealth worth mentioning.

I started working at a company where they just give me stuff. I can go to work in clothes my employer gave me, eat my meals there, use the phone they pay the plan for, etc.

It does affect you. I first noticed it when I went to buy some triviality. Something small I needed for something or the other. Something that would have been just given to me at work. The line to checkout was long and while waiting, I just thought "Why can't I just fucking go? It's not even $10. What does it matter?"

So now I try and be mindful of what I receive and to be sure to acknowledge it at least mentally.


I don’t think I ever connected that “Lean In” was from a C-suite member of Facebook and I certainly didn’t know how morally bankrupt it was. The case is made pretty well in the book that Sheryl does not practice what she preaches.


From the book, it appears that Sheryl used Meta as a platform for promoting her own image and book rather than do the things that prevented a lot of bad. It’s beyond sad


Sounds like she got sued over it. But not over propositioning direct reports for sex in front of her entire team.


Ugh. I’ve blocked it from my memory. Deplorable. At some point, it’s just power play. Not even lust.


Maybe I'm jaded, but this is how I understand all US technology companies to be run. In fact, I'd be surprised if all of those things weren't true for most of the enormous "tech bro" companies coming from SV.


I would put Meta, the Elon Musk companies, Uber, and some others in a separate category from Amazon, Apple, and Google. To be sure, Amazon, Apple, and Google have done some very immoral things, but there does seem to be something in the culture of those companies that understands that they wield enormous power and that sees value in acting responsibly - even if it's just because they think being cartoonishly evil isn't in their long-term interest. I do think there's been a change in ethos from the Jobs/Bezos/Page/Brin generation of leadership to the Musk/Zuckerberg generation.


There's a reason the Silicon Valley TV show's humor was so biting.


The casual indifference part really got to me too.


Then you realize that Facebook has been extraordinarily active banning Palestinian posts and accounts over the last year. So the "casual indifference" is at the very least selectively applied.


> Kaplan fires off an email stating that he's just realized that refugees don't have any money

Maybe they just realized that Palestinians don't have any money.


@ideashower, In principle, I agree . But the overlords won't care or will quash it down. This way, the employee collective wields some power in a legal way and the overlords have to work harder to quash it down


@nextts: I think that even having a single share is beneficial in that it enables the platform as a whole from becoming another venting place. Having shares means skin-in-the-game so I wouldn't go down the route of not having shares


https://rankandfile.me

At the moment, I am validating demand for Rank And File, a platform for employee activism. Think Institutional Investors but instead of suits, it is employees who own a large number of shares in their own company and act as a collective.

R&F aims to provide a private forum for employees to discuss company policies and act as a platform where employees can connect with legal experts and activists who will help them


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