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Latest Podcast

Concepts

Unintended Consequence

Most tech was made with good intentions; only later do the unintended consequences become clear.

  • The Mueller Indictment, Russian Sophistication, Facebook Tweets

    The Mueller investigation produced its first indictment, and the biggest takeaway was the degree of Russian sophistication. This was good news for Facebook, until an executive undid it all.

  • Facebook Adds Reputation Scores, Facebook’s Solution, The Unintended Consequences

    Facebook will assign reputation scores to news sources, and the solution is far better than most of the company’s critics would have you think. There are, though, unintended consequences.

  • Meltdown, Spectre, and the State of Technology

    Meltdown and especially Spectre are vexing vulnerabilities, precisely because processors are working as designed. All we can do is muddle through.

  • The Pollyannish Assumption

    Moderating user-generated content is hard: it is easier, though, with a realistic understanding that the Internet reflects humanity — it is capable of both good and evil.

  • Oculus Connect 4, Russian Ads and the Law, Trump and Facebook

    Mark Zuckerberg’s keynote at Oculus 4 gave the clearest indication yet why Facebook might be interested in Virtual Reality. Then, Trump challenges the first amendment, so why are folks eager for regulation of content? Plus, Facebook isn’t trustworthy either.

  • Trustworthy Networking

    The problems Facebook are facing today are the result of running into the future without considering unintended consequences, much like Microsoft and the Internet. There are clear solutions for the ad problem, but the filter bubble issue is much more fraught.

  • The Super-Aggregators and the Russians

    Facebook is in trouble — again — for Russian ads about the election; figuring out how to deal with them requires first understanding that Facebook, like Google, is a Super-Aggregator. It faces zero transaction costs in all parts of its business.

  • Fake News and Facebook, Filter Bubbles and People, Google’s Featured Snippets Problem

    Research says truly fake news isn’t much of a problem; filter bubbles are, but algorithms are less responsible than it seems. That, though, is why Google in particular has a responsibility to do better.

  • Facebook’s Incentives and Confirmation Bias, James Allworth: Founders and Motivation, Follow-up

    My podcast partner explains why I was mistaken to not oppose Facebook’s power sooner — and I welcome it. Plus, additional follow-up on Manifestos and Monopolies.

  • Manifestos and Monopolies

    Facebook has long had too much power, but Mark Zuckerberg’s expressed willingness to use said power for political ends means it’s time to consider countermeasures.