Showing posts with label tech robber barons. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tech robber barons. Show all posts

Wednesday, December 31, 2025

Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic; The Guardian, December 31, 3025

 and , The Guardian; Elon Musk’s 2025 recap: how the world’s richest person became its most chaotic

"One of Musk’s final feuds of the year came from a more unusual source – famed 87-year-old author Joyce Carol Oates, whose cutting observation about him on X received more than 5.6m views.

“So curious that such a wealthy man never posts anything that indicates that he enjoys or is even aware of what virtually everyone appreciates – scenes from nature, pet dog or cat, praise for a movie, music, a book (but doubt that he reads); pride in a friend’s or relative’s accomplishment; condolences for someone who has died; pleasure in sports, acclaim for a favorite team; references to history,” Oates posted in November.

A day later, after Musk made a show of enthusiastically replying to several clips of movies on X, he responded to Oates’s critique.

“Oates is a liar and delights in being mean,” Musk posted. “Not a good human.”"

Sunday, December 28, 2025

Bernie Sanders calls for pause in AI development: ‘What are they gonna do when people have no jobs?’; The Independent, December 28, 2025

John Bowden  , The Independent; Bernie Sanders calls for pause in AI development: ‘What are they gonna do when people have no jobs?’

Senator’s warnings come as Trump renews calls to ban states from regulating AI

"“This is the most consequential technology in the history of humanity... There’s not been one single word of serious discussion in Congress about that reality,” said the Vermont senator.

Sanders added that while tech billionaires were pouring money into AI development, they were doing so with the aim of enriching and empowering themselves while ignoring the obvious economic shockwaves that would be caused by the widespread adoption of the technology.

“Elon Musk. [Mark] Zuckerberg. [Jeff] Bezos. Peter Thiel... Do you think they’re staying up nights worrying about working people?” Sanders said. “What are they gonna do when people have no jobs?"

When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control; The Guardian, December 23, 2025

 , The Guardian; When the AI bubble bursts, humans will finally have their chance to take back control

"In the absence of global governance, we will depend on the integrity of robber barons and authoritarian apparatchiks to build ethical guardrails around systems already being embedded in tools we use for work, play and education."