Post AUxUOHC1aNAMHOG86C by sindarina@ngmx.com
(DIR) More posts by sindarina@ngmx.com
(DIR) Post #AUxUO6BcVXJ48wz9RQ by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T18:58:07Z
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Towards the end of December 2019 I did a whole thread on Twitter, essentially reviewing the decade as ‘The Decade of Dishonest Technology’. It didn't start with that decade, and it hasn't stopped since, but it was the decade that got bought, and then sold everything about us under false pretenses, whether for state or corporate purposes.It was the decade of technology that wasn't only biased, but straight up lied to us. Lies that most of us didn't really care about, as long as they didn't hit our own wallet.Strap in, I am reviewing and updating the whole thread for the Mastodon Age.1/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUO7C0lZDJGSAygq by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:03:17Z
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Even when people got caught in those lies, the consequences, like fines, were so small relative to the profits gained from this exploitation that it just didn't really affect the bottom line, or anyone responsible for the choice made.For example; it was the decade in which Google was fined billions of dollars for its behaviour, was in the news for its labour practices every other week, and yet its CEO, Sundar Pichai, the same guy who is now claiming 'sleepless nights' about ‘AI’, still received a $242M bonus.It's all just the cost of doing business.https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/20/21031629/google-ceo-sundar-pichai-pay-package-amount-alphabet-compensation-stock2/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUO7msYUhj6nQQ9g by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:10:22Z
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It was the decade of Android's rise to what is probably the most dominant operating system ever, yet also the most insecure, the most fragmented, because Google wanted to conquer first, and only deal with the consequences later.It's an ecosystem built on ad dollars, and there’s absolutely zero indication that Google won't do this again in this decade with, say, chatbots.It was a decade in which Samsung literally paid out bonuses to gain market share, bonuses for selling devices that were basically unmaintained the moment they left the factory.3/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUO8IQfBwQgeBcKe by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:20:10Z
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And yet, even with this disaster of an ecosystem, supposedly 'free’ and ‘open’ while it left most users with insecure devices, Google still got credit for ‘improving’, for making an effort to solve the problem they had created, once there was no more ground to conquer in established markets, and the empire needed to be consolidated.No consequences.And we didn't care. It was the decade of newer and shinier every year, and we happily went along with it, especially where we got things for free, or on a prepaid plan.Never mind where your old gadgets ended up.4/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUO8teQniQY5bLLk by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:24:21Z
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Google just papered over the cracks with their Play Services API, which allowed them to harvest data and sell ads on almost every Android device in use, regardless of whether it was actually secure.The volume of third parties that write apps that depend on this API basically guarantees that every phone ships with it, because a phone without doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell unless you're in, say, China.Third parties that were happy to, because they all wanted a chunk of that same, dishonest pie, contributing to the dismal state of the Android ecosystem.5/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUO9eRcp96tDUiHo by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:32:38Z
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I mean, why wouldn't you? Daddy Google harvested all the data it could, and by and large still does, despite the fines imposed, so you might as well follow that same path to riches, right?We kept buying into it, and we still do, in such volumes that it's basically impossible to make a living in this ecosystem that is actually _honest_. You're going up against the flood of free and cheap, to the point where a $5 app is considered 'expensive’, here in the West.6/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOAM30i1Z4RtXFY by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:39:38Z
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It has basically become impossible to avoid Google, because they are everywhere, and in everything, in ways that deliberately kept opaque, under the radar.Even if you avoid using their services directly, by not buying into Android, Gmail, Google Search, Google Apps, and so forth, they still follow you around through ads, analytics, and even something as simple as reCAPTCHA.Every single time you are forced to solve one of those annoying ‘select all traffic lights’ puzzles to prove that you're a human, you're handing both your labour and your data to Google, for free.And then there's Meta, the other half of that duopoly.7/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOB0SaSLn5mnoEy by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:45:19Z
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Meta, still called Facebook back then, also kept failing, yet still being rewarded, to the point where they could be fined $5B, and basically shrug it off with a single quarter's worth of profits. Basically the poster child for exploitation through dishonest technology, dark patterns.It was the decade in which we warned people about Facebook, Facebook proving us right, and yet somehow never facing any lasting consequences. It was the decade in which Facebook's practices got us election interference, massive amounts of data harvesting, and so forth.Only the name has changed, since then.8/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOCUd3m4phdvPu4 by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:53:39Z
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It was the decade of Facebook growing ever larger, and being utterly impossible to avoid, just like Google. It ran all sorts of psychological experiments on their user base, without the users being aware of it, or giving consent for their participation.And yet, people didn't really care, or at least not enough to move elsewhere. Which in turns means that many people simply cannot move, because their immediate circles of work, friends and family are dependent on it, even if they don't want to be.That's why most people who read this still use Facebook, Instagram, and/or WhatsApp.9/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOE1dMY4WSINHzE by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:56:26Z
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The pandemic happened, shortly after that thread, and Meta's properties and services played a massive role in the amount of disinformation that was out there, and the speed at which it spread.Zero consequences. None. Profits before truth.10/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOFYHgdmdBqesW8 by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T19:59:28Z
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It was also the decade of Amazon's dominance, and people buying into its ecosystem on a wholesale basis via Prime, regardless of how many times we heard stories of labour abuses in their warehouses, or them entering yet another market at or below cost, killing as they go.Amazon has reached such a scale that Prime has its own airline. All so you can have that toilet paper tomorrow, shipped to your door, 'for free’.https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/13/21020938/amazon-logistics-prime-air-fedex-ups-package-delivery-more-than-50-percent11/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOHC1aNAMHOG86C by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:06:32Z
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‘Free’ being the biggest lie of that decade, and this one, built entirely on these layers of dishonest technology.Dishonesty about the true cost. Dishonesty about where the money is being made. Dishonesty about who actually pays for all of these cans being kicked down the road, over and over again.Dishonesty about the cost of labour, about how the cost of our rampant consumption of 'free' is being outsourced to the environment, to gig workers, to the public commons.To us, and to our local communities.12/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOIsFKsX9Ud1MY4 by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:11:30Z
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It was the decade of Uber, and 'disruption’ enabled by ridiculous amounts of venture capital. The decade of business models that aren't based in reality, but on the expectations of future dominance, and thus continued investment, even though it deliberately operated at a loss.It was the decade of Uber killing a pedestrian because it was dishonest about its technology, and its willingness to cut corners on safety.The decade of authorities being unwilling to hold them accountable for any of it.But the driver may have been. Wonder what happened to her.13/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOKOBhbg6ByyNyS by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:17:07Z
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It was the decade of 'fully autonomous self-driving’ being forever six months out, of rigged demos followed by accidents, and, as of today, promises that still haven't been delivered on.As far as I am aware, there has basically been zero accountability for any of this. In fact, most people that made these promises are still very rich, and their products are still on the roads, even though the tech rags have mostly lost interest in it.The fanbros continue to believe, though.14/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOLwxtn5h28Ffou by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:20:52Z
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It was the decade of ridiculous unicorn IPOs that seemed utterly unaffected by any of it, often raising additional cash for a longer runway, which in turn allowed them to continue being unaccountable.To the point where, even if it does go wrong, a founder can just walk away rich.Zero consequence.Heck, it probably makes raising cash for their next venture easier, because they are 'serial entrepreneurs’ 🤪15/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUONZHsnL63HBnBw by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:24:05Z
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It was also the decade in which Microsoft fucked up repeatedly, in its core business, yet still saw its stock price increase five-fold. They flunked out on mobile, Metro, Windows 8, UWP, and so forth. They instrumented the everliving fuck out of Windows, and continue to bundle their shit like the antitrust case never happened.Zero consequence.16/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOP708vtwq7yENc by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:30:01Z
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It was the decade of Windows 10, and never-ending unannounced changes to the software that our lives depend on. The decade of continuous changes to interfaces and their associated terms of use, privacy policies.The decade of users as guinea pigs, whether it was Microsoft essentially outsourcing QA to its users, or rampant A/B testing, online stores that changed their prices depending on where you connected from.It was the decade of everything you use forever being in beta, with Yet Another Redesign always around the corner.And that has not changed, since.17/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOQf4NkkNe4ux7Y by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:36:31Z
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It was the decade of everything moving to the cloud, thus making it unavoidable to participate to some extent.The decade of users as the product, abstracted into metrics, and neatly packaged into profiles and ad categories so precise that you could literally use them to discriminate against underrepresented minorities, with nobody at any of these companies raising a stink about that until it became a PR problem.See also; Youtube, and the radicalisation of white people who followed its recommendations down the rabbit hole.18/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOS9apkl0H2CqKu by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:39:03Z
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It was the decade of everything always needing to be ‘new’ instead of just doing the same job it did yesterday, so the user doesn't rebel, or at least not outright, openly.It was the decade of new emojis being the biggest reason why people installed security updates on their devices.19/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOTij0cSB8HePjc by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:45:37Z
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It was the decade in which location tracking and data harvesting got so bad that the supposed experts were advising the average mobile user to become a digital hermit, even though we were the ones who let it get that far.https://www.theverge.com/2019/12/19/21029992/smartphone-location-tracking-legal-technology-privacy-new-york-timesIf this is news to you, it's worth reading in its entirety, but the gist is that, if you're on an Android device, you basically only needed to do business with a single entity; Google.Google is happy to provide location data to law enforcement, regardless of what they say in public;https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2019/12/feds-reap-data-from-1500-phones-in-largest-reported-reverse-location-warrant/20/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOVMSuLpuDpFfJg by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T20:52:46Z
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Because it was the decade in which Google created SensorVault, turned it on for all Android users, and then never threw any of that data away, unless you knew it existed, and deliberately jumped through the hoops required to have them delete it for you.Continuous data harvesting that, in some cases, got innocent people arrested, and fired from their jobs, purely because their Android phone showed that they were in the area;https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2019/04/13/us/google-location-tracking-police.htmlAnd that was AFTER they got caught harvesting even when you told them not to;https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2018/aug/13/google-location-tracking-android-iphone-mobileThere's tons of examples of this, including for Facebook, too.21/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOX1cioLxNlW36m by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T21:03:50Z
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There are so many examples that this thread is already getting very long again, even though I haven't talked about Snowden and the NSA, haven’t really mentioned Cambridge Analytica, could go on about surveillance capitalism as a broader concept, and so forth.It was the decade of digital borders, the decade of dragnet surveillance, often purchased by government on the open market, so they didn't have to get warrants.The decade of Palantir, Anduril, and other surveillance startups run by white supremacist nerds with a warped reading of the Lord of the Rings.22/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOYcWn5T2KVn2Gm by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T21:09:57Z
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Oh, and a special mention for Netflix and its dishonest recommendation algorithm, tuned for ‘engagement’, for what Netflix wants to promote, instead of what the user actually wants to watch.Netflix that now turned into a service with an ad-supported tier that is just as expensive as the one without ads was not too long ago.And you know what? We love it. They have never had so many users, and are setting new records.23/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOaHKcrhVTLt8Vc by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T21:17:36Z
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It was the decade of outsourcing the work you are pretending that ‘AI’ is doing to the cheapest humans you could find, and have them work long hours without any concern for their well-being, because the algorithms will be good enough to do it themselves any day now, just you watch.The decade of voice assistants that shipped everything they couldn't parse to some contractor overseas. Video doorbell systems such as Ring where employees had access to footage, and shared it with law enforcement.24/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUObwURKDYdI9WIi by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T21:24:10Z
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It was the decade of knowing that something will be abused at scale while refusing to acknowledge the responsibility that comes with running services at that scale, because actually doing proper enforcement and abuse handling would cut into the profits too much.Just claim that you're a neutral platform, that you're working on machine learning that will fix it, or go whole hog on free speech absolutism while quietly terminating anything and anyone that might cause you legal trouble.Amazon, Twitter, Facebook, Cloudflare; the list is long.25/ 🧵
(DIR) Post #AUxUOdVGdVd9TRQo9A by sindarina@ngmx.com
2023-04-23T21:35:03Z
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It was the decade that turned online abuse into a business model, because outrage farming is lucrative, and good for the bottom line.While simultaneously firewalling yourself off from your users as much as possible, so none of them can get through your automated, boilerplate responses, and tell you about the impact of your decisions, of that business model.The decade of calling your helpdesk staff 'customer champions’, so they feel less bad about not being able to affect meaningful change within their organisations.It all got Zendesked 🤪26/ ⏸️