It’s now time to break up Amazon, Google, Apple and Facebook

January 22, 2018

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So says NYU professor Scott Galloway.

“I’ve become 100 percent convinced that its time to break these companies up,” Galloway said, speaking at the DLD18 conference in Munich.

“The key to competitive markets is no one company has too much power and we have blown way by that.” Galloway notes that Google would have never made it out of the crib if antitrust regulators hadn’t put the breaks on Microsoft.

“I want to be clear I love these companies. … They are clients of mine, at least for another hour until they see this,” he said.

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Facebook makes desperate attempt to block fake news

January 22, 2018

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Facebook is going to let users “rank” the believe-ability of news, reports the New York Times. 

Its argument: It’s better to do that than the alternatives of either having Facebook itself choose what constitutes quality news or relying on outside entities.

Turning things over to any third party simply “invites criticism” of those selected experts, Facebook policy and communications chief Elliot Schrage said.

Will Facebook’s move  change much in a divided country? Or is it just more confirmation bias?

 

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Training can help those made unemployed by automation, says World Economic Forum

January 22, 2018

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A new report from the World Economic Forum claims 1.4 million U.S. jobs will be hit by automation between now and 2026. Of those, 57 percent belong to women.

Without re-education, says the WEF, 16 percent of affected workers will have no job prospects. A further 25 percent would have one to three job options.

With two years of training, the WEF predicts, 95 percent of at-risk workers would find a new job, with an average salary increase of $15,000.

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Why drop down menus on websites really really matter

January 16, 2018

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On Saturday, Hawaii incorrectly warned citizens of a missile attack via their phones.

The error is reportedly a result of a staffer picking the wrong option—”missile alert,” not “test missile alert”—from a drop-down software menu.

The Atlantic argues that the 90-character messages sent by the system aren’t suited to the way we use our devices, causing more panic than good.

FCC chair Ajit Pai says that a full investigation is “well underway.” Hawaiian officials have already changed protocols to avoid a repeat of the scenario.

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