How to control Google’s tracking of your every action
As we all know, or suspected, Google follows what apps we use, what we do on those apps, what devices we use, what we purchase and where we go (or where our phones go). Wired provides simple instructions to limit or disable those functions without pulling the plug on your online life.
dis-rup-shun: Information is power and consumers are loading Google, Facebook, Amazon, and to a lesser degree, Apple, with more power every day. Whose job is it to inform customers of the choices they are making everytime they install an app or visit a site? Perhaps the Bureau of Consumer Protection, a department within Federal Trade Commission, should take the lead in both informing consumers of their rights as well as requiring a common data sharing dashboard that must be used by all application providers.
Walmart hires Google/Amazon Chief Digital Officer
Suresh Kumar, formerly of Google, Microsoft, IBM and Amazon, will be Walmart’s new CTO and Chief Development Officer, reporting to Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. TechCrunch
dis-rup-shun: Walmart, the company that used to be the most feared for controlling the way products are purchased, is now only in the top 5 of most feared, with Amazon clearly in first place. Walmart needs to continue to increase its online sales presence, and has a great deal of ground to gain in services, where Amazon is growing daily.
Is AI really going to wipe out vast numbers of jobs?
The Brookings Institute provides a detailed study of the impact of artificial intelligence on the workforce. Key points:
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- Automation substitutes for labor
- Machines substitute for tasks, not jobs
- Automation complements labor
- Automation can increase demand, creating jobs
- Capital and labor augmentation spurs innovation
- Tech possibility is not the same as tech reality
dis-rup-shun: So, will AI displace vast numbers of jobs? The answer is that it will displace many jobs, particularly the simpler, task oriented jobs like delivering food or answering simple support phone calls. Past productivity revolutions have increased demand for knowledge workers and AI will do the same, putting greater pressure on the knowledge divide between those educated and those not.