This week in the Disconnect Roundup: Uber reported a profit, but what does that mean for the company’s future? Plus, a bunch of recommended reads on things like chips and Starlink, along with labor updates and other news you might have missed! https://www.disconnect.blog/p/roundup-uber-isnt-dead-yet #tech #uber #gigeconomy
Elon Musk says a left-wing political party in South Africa is promoting white genocide for singing apartheid-era song “Kill the Boer.” He’s echoing a far-right conspiracy. “That Musk weighed in … through the hysteria of [far-right provocateur Benny] Johnson, who erroneously, though tellingly, labeled Malema’s EFF as ‘South Africa’s Black party’, is revealing. The specter of ‘white genocide’ is a long-standing trope among US white nationalists.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/08/01/musk-south-africa-apartheid-chant-malema/ #elonmusk #tech #racism
The US decision to privatize space has given Elon Musk immense power over how satellite communications are used and who has access to them. He controls 53% of active satellites in orbit, and countries have started voicing concerns to US officials. They won’t speak publicly for fear of the consequences of angering Musk.
Elon Musk’s Unmatched Power in the Stars (Published 2023)
The tech billionaire has become the dominant power in satellite internet technology. The ways he is wielding that influence are raising global alarms.
 #space #spacex #starlink #tech #elonmusk
Tech billionaires are piling money into Rumble in a bid to build a platform that can shape US conservatism and push extreme right-wing views further into the mainstream. On #TechWontSaveUs, I spoke to Jacob Silverman about Rumble, the cast of characters associated with it, and why tech billionaires are backing Robert F. Kennedy Jr. It’s a fascinating conversation! https://www.buzzsprout.com/1004689/13338108-the-right-is-building-its-own-platforms-w-jacob-silverman #tech #rumble #rfkjr #politics
Kenyan content moderators who reviewed incredibly graphic material to train ChatGPT are asking the Kenyan government to investigate the exploitative conditions they were subject to, which included “psychological trauma, low pay and abrupt dismissal.”
the Guardian
‘It’s destroyed me completely’: Kenyan moderators decry toll of training of AI models
Employees describe the psychological trauma of reading and viewing graphic content, low pay and abrupt dismissals
 #tech #chatgpt #ai
Sam Bankman-Fried and his brother Gabe wanted to buy the island nation of Nauru and turn it into a doomsday bunker and lab for genetic enhancement, regardless of the impact on its 12,000 residents. Nauru has a long history of exploitation by powerful outside forces, and the Bankman-Frieds’ desire to be their latest exploiters tells us a lot about tech billionaires. https://www.disconnect.blog/p/the-tragedy-of-sam-bankman-frieds #tech #sbf #crypto