By chance, I landed where I'd hoped, at the edge of San Francisco’s Barbary Coast-Jackson Square Historic District. Over the past year, walking through it every day, I've seen it become the preeminent center of global AI (Artificial Intelligence) Venture Capital funding. The rapid development has been astounding.
Yet even more astounding is that AI was hardly mentioned in the 2024 election cycle,
especially at the presidential level, because that office is destined to
preside over decisions around the most profound technological
transformation in human history.
Most egregious of all was the Democrat's total silence around Peter Thiel even after the revelation that he promoted Vance, his protege, as Trump's successor in waiting. If you can get through Bloomberg's paywall, read this 2018 article, Palantir Knows Everything About You. Believe the headline.
Most egregious of all was the Democrat's total silence around Peter Thiel even after the revelation that he promoted Vance, his protege, as Trump's successor in waiting. If you can get through Bloomberg's paywall, read this 2018 article, Palantir Knows Everything About You. Believe the headline.
Palantir is Peter Thiel's data surveillance platform that got client startup funding in 2004 from the CIA. Since then it has secured US government
contracts within at least twelve departments including Medicare and Medicaid
which then VP Biden praised in 2010 for its success in uncovering Medicare
fraud. Wikipedia's Palantir reference (as long as it survives) has
linked details: Palantir Technologies
And now at the dawn of the unknown Age of AI, Trump is the frictionless enabler for those who are actually in charge of creating a world that no one can accurately predict.
And now at the dawn of the unknown Age of AI, Trump is the frictionless enabler for those who are actually in charge of creating a world that no one can accurately predict.
So to those gearing up to fight for their endangered issues, take
heed of the wisdom about choosing battles wisely. Here's one small example
of why social initiatives such as DEI (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion) become
irrelevant in the Age of AI.
Though I’m not inside the VC firms just blocks from my
apartment, I do catch worthwhile bits of street level conversation. Walking behind two Venture Capitalists funding an AI tool to
screen new-hire applicants, I heard them describe how it can determine the
best "fit" using only a candidate's voice response patterns.
Yet, speech patterns, vocabulary, tone, metaphor, accent, etc., can accurately define cultural, economic, psychological identities with no human accountability for AI's decision. Meanwhile, in our day-to-day lives, we all contribute terabytes of training data 24/7 to refining its "fit" finding skills.
Facing a time that may be best summarized by the title of Peter Pomerantsev's book, Nothing is True and Everything is Possible, take stock of your own bottom lines. What is a "decent" life? What is a "meaningful" life? What is a "convenient" life? At least these might be answers you can trust.