The Truth about AI? Sounds about right to me

This week I was introduced to Ed Zitron.  Read below.  This is the comment, with minor edits to make sense in this space, that I posted after reading Ed's essay, The Slop Society, for his January 17th newsletter.

I've never had a Facebook account.  I've had an unused Instagram account and, as I was reading Ed's newsletter, I deleted Instagram from my phone.  For some reason, perhaps my natural distrust of some things (I'm not necessarily proud of this), I have had a chip on my shoulder against Silicon Valley and their products and, just generally. their way of being.  The tech industry has destroyed San Francisco (at one time an astonishingly beautiful city - feel free to disagree - unfortunately, I also remember the hippy era).  I also believe that Silicon Valley and the tech industry is the foundation of the grotesque inequality we have in our country.  I believe Donald Trump and his tech oligarchs like Zuckerberg, Altman, Bezos, Musk, et.al. use illegal immigration as a diversion from the real causes of inequality.  Yes, Trump will deport some people, the number that he feels will satisfy his base, then he will move on to other things.  He already has - the Panama Canal, Greenland, fights with Canada and Mexico, and most recently nation-building in Gaza - this is all part of the plan.  Muzzle velocity.     

The thing I really want to say here is that, after the election, I came to understand that we - reasonable, concerned, hard-working Americans who care about our democracy and did not want Trump to be president - were not at all represented by our "legacy" media and needed our own voice.  With the exception of only one of my media sources (I'll get to it), I have not read one bit of self-examination from the NYT, The New Yorker, the PBS Newshour, various, typically reliable, podcasts (I know that my list must seem so quaint to Ed Zitron's readers; as in, ah, isn't that sweet, she watches the PBS Newshour) about their role in Trump's win.  The one exception was:  "On the Media" with Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger.  The day after the election, their podcast was a downcast self-examination of "where did we go wrong, what could we have done differently, where do we go from here."  Truly impressive.  Brooke's several deep sighs could be heard by listeners.  May I just say that I deeply admire Brooke Gladstone.  Over the years, her reporting has been some of the best I have ever heard.  (Many years ago, Brooke aired a five part series on poverty in our Appalachian region on "On the Media".  I will never forget it.)    

Just this past week "On the Media" Brooke Talks AI With Ed Zitron is where I was also introduced to Ed Zitron.  I was riveted.  Should I admit that I don't recall ever hearing anyone interviewed who was this confident and self-assured?  And, the best part, I agreed with him.  Obviously, I'm not a techie but Ed put the words I needed to my observations and beliefs.  I've listened to the podcast more than once (three times!) and then found his newsletter - Where's Your Ed At.  Could Ed Zitron possibly be our (the left, the Democrats, the people who care, the people who are worried) new spokesperson.  I hate to say it this way: our very own Joe Rogen?  I feel roughly the same about Joe Rogen as Ed feels about Mark Zuckerberg.  Talk about a guy who gets a free pass.  On second thought, Ed does not belong in the tank with Joe Rogen (my apology to Ed, but Rogen was influential in the presidential election!)  I have agreed with Ed's Mark Zuckerberg profile for a long time - just never had the words for it.  Ed also goes pretty hard on the media here.  Long overdue.  I conclude by thanking Ed for his, new to me, very detailed newsletter.  I also thank "On the Media" which I hope has introduced Ed to many new readers and listeners.  

Sorry this is so long.  I had a lot to get off my chest.