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[Hoca]

On the last Friday of each month I curate some of the observations and insights that were shared on social media. I call these Friday’s Finds.

“Everything that needs to be said has already been said. But, since no one was listening, everything must be said again.” —André Gide (1869-1951)

“You steal from one person and you’re a thief. You steal from everyone and you’re an AI company.” —Aral Balkan

“I’m going to exaggerate slightly, but it seems like one of the first applications of any new technology is making things even shittier for artists.” —Neal Stephenson, on generative AI


“Layoffs are happening because upper management has a herd mentality across tech companies and because we’ve become a conventional company more focused on the next quarter than on the long term.
Layoffs are happening because our leadership team are all billionaires or near-billionaires who have no idea what it is like to be rank and file any longer.
Layoffs are happening because our union isn’t strong enough to fight back.
Layoffs are NOT happening because we’re being replaced with AI.” —Hrefna

The fraud of plastic recycling

“If not for the Big Oil and the plastic industry’s lies and deception, municipalities and states would not have invested in plastic recycling programs and facilities—many of which have been shut down due to foreseeable economic losses. The industry not only misled municipal and state agencies to believe that plastic recycling was a viable solution to plastic waste but also discouraged them from pursuing other, more sustainable waste management strategies (e.g., waste reduction, reuse, bans, alternative materials) in favor of plastic recycling. (p. 30)”

Image: Information Is Beautiful

“When I was working at CERN, they conducted an independent safety and hazards audit for all employees. In presence of particle accelerators with high energy proton beams, radioactive materials, powerful lasers, and cryogenic systems, the most dangerous aspect of work was found to be the daily commute to work.” —Lalit Patnaik

Remote work won

Daily commutes into an office are simply not coming back for competent people. Everyone I talk to who loves their craft would rather simply not work than go back to wasting their lives in traffic (and this is how we designed America). They would rather have that time purely for working, which they can now do. The analogy to best understand this which I’ve said before is like believing in Santa Claus as a child, and later discovering Santa isn’t real. You can’t go back. The spell of the office being a requisite for modern work was broken. The genie is impossible to put back in the bottle. Everyone will adapt.

Image — HotTakes