Big Tech

 

Big Tech

In My Bloodstream: Lisinopril,  Amlodopine,  Omeprazole, Tamsulosin
On The Stereo: Home: Blessid Union of Souls

Kat has MLK day off, and, rather than try to cut in our our time together, I took an extra day to golf with her, and postponed writing until today.  After all, I am, once in a while, still the boss of me.  (Shhhhh)

                                                                   An afternoon on the links.

I have relapsed back into a story I wrote last year.  It had to do with business, and silly things like the loss of a company car due to a promotion. But most importantly, it dealt with illegality in business.  And how close to our reality it still boils.

I have been continually concerned by the recent free speech incidents on social media.  I am not choosing sides on what was said or who said it.  What I do take issue with, is censorship, and in whose control it lies.  In this most recent case, it is not by Russia or China who continue to dupe their citizenship, but by the social media monoliths in our very own country.  Several are monopolies.  They are without any real competition.  And they are mammoth.  They openly operate from a single point of view.  Our right of free speech allows each of them to say whatever they wish.  And they are able to choose what they say, without repercussion or validation.  We live inside their agenda.  Like it or not.

And perhaps most worrisome, they have chosen to decide what they will, and will not allow on their respective platforms.  While they take shelter under the first amendment to our constitution, they do not offer us a similar protection and right.  That which they demand they do not provide.  And our government has been dreadfully slow and perhaps confused, as to what should be done about it.

Anti-trust is not an unfamiliar matter in our country.  In fact, my first job was with a major chemical company called Canadian Industries Limited.  That company was a subsidiary of Imperial Chemical Industries, headquartered in England.  Big deal, right?  Who would care.

But, about 20 years before I was hired, my company had a different face.  And had already been through a substantial political entanglement.  In Britain and America.  It had become too large, and as a result, was thought by the U.S. government, to be dangerous - or at least extremely concerning.  Manufacturing and distribution of chemicals and associated products by a single enterprise could set prices and accrue profits which might be viewed as obscene.  In fact ICI and Dupont were found to be realigning their world order.  Carving up the market  to manage control and costs in a more effective way.  And the U.S. government was a large customer of some sophisticated chemical products.  Maybe the largest.

The company was ordered to break apart into two separate pieces, one of which would eventually become Dupont.  You may well be more familiar with that company than with the ICI name.

When I reflect on past cases like that of my former company, I am quite shocked that no such similar action has been directed towards Google, FaceBook, YouTube and Twitter.  The controls these companies hold over global information makes the chemical business problem of the 50's pale by comparison.  These new  companies set their own rules.  They alone decide who may use their services.  They alone decide what may or may not be published.  And they mock our governments, because our representatives are not their intellectual equals.  In fact, the management of these new communication companies believe that their companies are now indispensable and so powerful that they cannot be harmed or threatened.

During a call before a Congressional committee, the CEOs of big tech played their inquisitors like puppets.  They often demeaned the congressmen/congresswomen and often explained that the subject matter would be difficult for them to understand.  They also failed to directly answer questions and  reminded me of a teenager  managing a conversation with parents too old to understand their new world.  Like parents, our leaders knew something was wrong, but could not find a clear path to whatever end they were seeking.  It was not a fair fight.  And the all too-smug CEOs knew it.

Think about this.  The information concerning whatever future action the government may want to take will come to us via the very businesses we are discussing.  As is already the practice, we will hear only what they want us to hear.  We will be sympathetic to their story and we will vote for those who do not want to harm or interfere with the strategies laid out by big tech.  More problematic would be devising a workable solution.  We have allowed the monsters to gain immense power and purpose.  We require, or at least, believe we require them, to conduct most all of our daily interaction.  They are immersed in our communications.  Imbedded in our very lives.  They now work beyond the control or guidance of governments, and we have no conceivable idea how to rein them in.

Sounds all too dramatic, doesn't it.

Let me provide an insignificant, but actual example regarding the breadth of control of Google et al.

I received an email from Saks Off 5fth.  I entered their website and perused their clearance items.  I left the site open and let Kath have a look at some clothing I thought she might like for school.  She did just that and added several of the items to the "shopping cart" where she left them for me to see.  Much later, I had a look, with her, and she decided that she needed nothing.  I closed the site.  I turned off the browser.

Meanwhile, Kathy was texting with her teacher friends as they were searching for matching T-shirts needed for a school event.

My bride, later on, decided to check out FaceBook, and imagine this.  The first notification she had, was from Saks and it listed the products she had browsed, carted, and eventually discarded.  She was invited to go to their website and, hopefully place an order.  In the ad, the pink T-shirts from her school conversation also appeared!  Pretty cool, right?

But now, remember that she had never contacted them.  All of the former transactions had been done on my email and my sign-in to the Saks website. Her texts with friends were composed on her phone. Does that make you feel secure?  Any transactions you perform on your devices are bounced back and forth to suppliers, who, by working together, as co-conspirators, use this shared information to guide and coerce you and to ultimately improve their profits.  It is a big game of chess, and we are playing checkers.  We have no clue.

If so much effort is given to such a minuscule order possibility, what might technologists be doing to manage the more important aspects of our lives?  Would it not be possible for big tech to achieve whatever they want, without hinting at their guile?

Russia and China are regularly and rightfully accused of media manipulation.  American enterprise is not far behind.  The only difference being, that it is not as obvious what government, or type of government they support, or seek to exploit.

We tolerate similar activities in other countries, most of which are politically at odds with the freedoms we hold so dear.  In this scenario, the camel is nudging its way into our tent.  And when there, will be near impossible to remove.

In summation, the global threat of ICI/Dupont was Gilligan's Minnow to big tech's Titanic.  And we are but passengers.  We are not making the decisions.

On The Home Front

The Child Bride and I are in chilling mode.  We, like many of our generation, continue to wade our way through the waters, taking in the beauty all around us, but often finding sharp objects under our feet.  We have our complaints.  But usually not of a caliber to make us vocal.  Heads down.  March on.  The old way.

Living without family has now reached normalcy.  It has been going on so long.  We have almost stopped complaining about it altogether.  We all, to some degree, carry the same baggage.  There is no sense in promulgating the sadness.  

Still, despite a prolonged cold spell (by Florida standards), my friend and I enjoyed our extra time together.  Without Christmas decorations, our home looks slightly less joyous than it was a few mere weeks ago.  But this house is our home - and we genuinely love it. 

                     The last of the decorations (a gift from the Youngs) remains steadfast and beautiful.

Hope you all are well, missed and loved. We lost two more of my contemporaries over the past few weeks.  T'was the season, I presume.  When Joy and Sadness sometimes hold hands.

From Florida,

Your friend.

Thank you

p.s.  We have recently been experiencing problems with my Mac and I have been unable to send this piece out.  I have yet to improve on its performance, but hopefully, at least this article will post.