“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you.” Joseph Heller from Catch-22
Operation Igloo White was an expensive and failed foray into semi-automated combat by The Pentagon in the Vietnam War. Eavesdropping microphones, motion sensors, and olfactory detectors that replicate the sense of smell were all utilized in 1970 to track the Viet Cong with dismal results. Fast forward half a century, and the military is still collecting data, but with much greater proficiency. Moore's Law and the network effect have turbocharged semiconductors and servers, ushering in The Internet of Things. Not only for soldiers, but civilians, too. Amazon Echo, Google Home, learning thermostat Nest (also by Google), and Apple's HomePod which includes Siri are all collecting data on you. Don't sleep on the Ring video doorbell and security cam, either. Forget Big Brother. Worry about the corporations.
A small sample size is Facebook's recent acquisition of Ctrl-labs, a company that utilizes wearables to coordinate brain and motion activity. What is referred to as neural interfacing. The overarching plan is to be able to control a computer with just your thoughts. I understand that we're living in the future, and although this technology is in its infancy, it's also inevitable. What bothers me is the monopolistic structures of the corporations engulfing our lives. The conglomerates claim they're doing this for society's greater good, like they're some altruistic entity. Don't piss on my leg and tell me it's raining.
For instance, in February of this year, Ctrl-labs raised $28 million from GV (Google's venture capital kitty), and Amazon's Alexa fund. As a stand alone investment, this wouldn't irritate me, but in aggregate, it's as if Cyberdyne Systems from The Terminator has come to play. This is especially true when you consider Mark Zuckerberg's brainchild just scooped up the firm for between $500 million and a billion dollars. A drop in the bucket for Facebook, but Google and Amazon are also in on the action which makes it troublesome. Everybody is in bed with everybody else like a swinging singles orgy. What was once a technology oligopoly has become one big monopoly where finance and computer science from just a few firms are interconnected. Concentric circles with big blurred lines. It's all about the accumulation of wealth and control of our lives.
I've had an iPhone for over 10 years now. When I originally bought my first smartphone, I had a big dilemma. A Blackberry or the iPhone? Remember those days? Research in Motion was the hottest stock in the market, and Blackberry was the de rigueur communications device. They got crushed. I am entrenched in the Apple ecosystem and can't imagine switching to a competitor like Android for any reason. I don't care if Samsung phones cost less or have a technological edge. All I want to do is check my stock portfolio, send and receive emails, utilize text messaging, and once in awhile snap a photo or shoot a video. The GPS with the maps app comes in handy, too.
All my photos, applications, files and music reside on the iPhone. I've got over 500 songs in iTunes which I paid probably close to $600 for. My portable jukebox. Dick Clark said popular music is the soundtrack of your life, and mine sits right in my hip pocket. I'm not migrating to Spotify or Pandora or iHeartRadio. If I decide to fork over money for a music subscription service, it will go to Apple Music. I'm just not ready for that yet. Besides, how many songs do you need when you're buying singles? Although technology is still difficult, it's getting better, especially with iOs. Apple is the closest thing to plug-n-play we've got.
That's not to say Apple doesn't have its vulnerabilities. Just ask Jennifer Lawrence, Rihanna, Kaley Cuoco and three hundred other celebrities whose nude photos were released in a data breach when iCloud was hacked a few years ago. Apple is also a big part of the surveillance state along with peers in what Jim Cramer dubbed the FAANG companies (Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix, Google). Even though their artificial intelligence tactics scare me, not only do they enhance my day-to-day life, they've also increased my assets by leading the S&P 500 to all time highs. I don't invest in individual securities, but buy index mutual funds, so I am vicariously investing in them. Maybe a bit hypocritical, but how else are you going to make a buck when savings rates are close to zero? Plus, I've always put money into the market. Even before the digital age.
Let's not forget, with A.I. the more data you have, the better the technology. Machine learning grows exponentially - data begets more data. In the olden days, there was disruptive technology by lean and mean start-ups that would dethrone the king. The smartphone killed the PC, just like the PC killed the mini and mainframe computers. There's still disruptive technology, but it's being acquired en masse by the digerati. Google, Facebook and Amazon. The chance of getting in early on a hot company are few and far between now. That's reserved for the rich. These huge monopolies are only going to become larger and more intrusive in our lives unless the government intervenes. And if the government doesn't, it's game over. That said, the books I ordered from Amazon are arriving this afternoon, and I look forward to doing business with them again.
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