2025-07-12 07:03:00
Say it with me, nice and loud for the folks in the back:
Polls 👏 don’t 👏 mean 👏 shit 👏 if 👏 people 👏 keep 👏 voting 👏 for 👏 the 👏 same 👏 clowns 👏 in 👏 Congress.
https://news.gallup.com/poll/692522/surge-concern-immigration-abated.aspx
2025-07-08 01:22:00
I have worked in technology my entire career, which began in the early 1990s. I am a technology proponent. And I tend to be an optimist when it comes to its impact on society. But the last ten years or so have given me pause. I thought it would be interesting to ask Claude, an AI assistant, about it. Here’s what I asked:
It occurs to me that since the dawn of the personal computing era, and in the era of the Internet, technology has largely failed on its promise again and again to deliver better lives for ordinary people. Sure, the Internet gave us Amazon and Facebook, but at the cost of monetizing our attention and leaving us at the mercy of “the algorithm.” A lot of the cool stuff that computers and the Internet can do remain largely available to the techno-literate class and challenging (at best) and out of reach (at worst) to average users. The gains in productivity afforded by any number of technological breakthroughs over the years (including, as it appears so far, artificial intelligence) accrue largely to corporations and billionaires rather than to workers. So, my question is this: do you think this is so? Can you expand on that by providing a point and counterpoint summary?
Claude’s reply, exactly as it appeared, follows:
You’ve touched on a fundamental tension in how technology has evolved over the past few decades. Let me explore both sides of this argument.
The promise of technology creating more leisure time and prosperity for everyone has largely gone unfulfilled. While we can now order groceries with a few taps or video chat with people across the globe, many of the supposed benefits have come with significant costs. Social media platforms have indeed monetized our attention, creating what some call “surveillance capitalism” where our personal data becomes the product being sold. The algorithmic curation of information has contributed to echo chambers, misinformation, and mental health issues, particularly among young people.
The productivity gains from automation and digital tools have predominantly flowed to capital owners rather than workers. Despite massive increases in productivity since the 1970s, wages for most workers have remained relatively stagnant when adjusted for inflation, while corporate profits and executive compensation have soared. Many jobs have become more demanding and stressful as technology enables 24/7 connectivity and constant monitoring. The “gig economy” promised flexibility but often delivered precarious work without benefits.
Meanwhile, truly transformative technologies often remain gatekept by technical complexity or cost. Advanced AI tools, sophisticated automation, and cutting-edge software require significant technical literacy or expensive subscriptions to access meaningfully. The digital divide means those without resources are increasingly left behind.
This perspective may underestimate how transformative everyday technologies have become. The ability to instantly access virtually all human knowledge, communicate globally for free, navigate anywhere with GPS, and conduct financial transactions from a phone represents an unprecedented expansion of human capability. These tools have democratized access to information, education, and opportunities in ways that would have seemed magical just decades ago.
Technology has created entirely new industries and job categories, from app developers to YouTube creators to social media managers. While some traditional jobs disappeared, others emerged. The internet has enabled small businesses to reach global markets, creators to monetize their work directly, and entrepreneurs to start companies with minimal capital.
Medical technology has extended lifespans and improved quality of life dramatically. Computing power has accelerated scientific research, leading to breakthroughs in everything from weather prediction to drug discovery. Even everyday conveniences like online banking, ride-sharing, and food delivery have eliminated significant friction from daily life.
The argument about productivity gains going to capital rather than labor may reflect broader economic and policy choices rather than inherent flaws in technology itself. The same tools that enable corporate efficiency could theoretically benefit workers if paired with different economic structures or policies.
The truth likely lies somewhere between these positions. Technology has delivered remarkable capabilities and conveniences, but the benefits have been unevenly distributed due to a combination of economic structures, policy choices, and how the technology industry has evolved. The challenge isn’t necessarily that technology failed, but that we haven’t successfully harnessed it to serve broader human flourishing rather than primarily capital accumulation.
The question moving forward may be whether we can shape emerging technologies like AI to avoid repeating these patterns - ensuring benefits are more widely shared and that human agency isn’t further diminished in favor of algorithmic control.
(End of Claude’s response)
I don’t offer this with any agenda or conclusion. I just happened to be thinking about this and thought it would be interesting to plug the idea into an LLM and see what happens. Do you have thoughts? If so, share them with me.
2025-07-06 21:11:00
I stand by my assertion that the inventor(s) of IVR belong in Hell.
But they’re not the only ones.
There’s also a roiling lake of fire reserved for the inventor(s) of blister packaging.
2025-07-04 00:22:00
My First Hugo Site
I’m in the process of finding and migrating to alternatives to all the pieces parts of my Adobe subscription. One of those is Adobe Portfolio, which was still hosting one of my websites. Today I managed to recreated it (crudely) using Hugo, and host it using Amazon CloudFront. It seems to be working!
2025-07-03 18:06:00
Styling Emojis for Dark Mode
TIL you can use CSS to apply filters so that emojis look good (well, better anyway) in dark mode.
2025-07-03 09:06:00
Starting to dabble with Hugo
I need a static site generator for a little side project I have in mind. I started playing around with Hugo this week, and I think it’s going to work nicely. I still don’t know what the heck I’m doing, but I’m beginning to understand how this thing works.
