The world seems to have chosen the path of maximal technology, no matter the cost. Take the AI server farms that consume immense amounts of energy and clean water – and Big Tech is building more of them. But some people are making better choices – like the boarding school that got rid of smartphones. Tonight, we look at who’s making better – or worse – choices in tech.
Most everyone agrees . . . that the school is better off without these hell devices. (And yes, that includes students.) There are fewer interruptions during class, more meaningful interactions around campus, and less time spent on screens. . . .• It Sure Looks Like Phones Are Making Students Dumber (by Derek Thompson in the Atlantic, Dec 19, 2023):
To an extent, Buxton saw a similar progression through the stages of panic, grief and ultimately some level of acceptance. “When it was announced I practically had a breakdown,” said then senior Max Weeks. And while he’s still not a fan of what he says was a “unilateral” decision to switch to the Light Phone, he said, overall, the experience “hasn’t been as bad as I expected”.
[S]tudents who spend less than one hour of “leisure” time on digital devices a day at school scored about 50 points higher in math than students whose eyes are glued to their screens more than five hours a day. This gap held even after adjusting for socioeconomic factors.• Fujitsu bugs that sent innocent people to prison were known “from the start” (Ars Technica, Jan 19, 2024)
. . . Second, screens seem to create a general distraction throughout school, even for students who aren’t always looking at them.
. . . In sum, students who spend more time staring at their phone do worse in school, distract other students around them, and feel worse about their life.
From 1999 to 2015, Fujitsu's faulty accounting software aided in the prosecution and conviction of more than 900 sub-postmasters and postmistresses who were accused of theft or fraud when the software wrongly made it appear that money was missing from their branches.• The (British) Post Office scandal: First I heard of this was from DjLorraine. From Wikipedia on Paula Vennells:
Some innocent people went to prison, while others were forced to make payments to the UK Post Office to cover the supposed shortfalls. So far, "only 93 convictions have been overturned and thousands of people are still waiting for compensation settlements," a BBC report said.
Vennells was the CEO of Post Office Ltd during the latter part of the British Post Office scandal, which took place between 1999 and 2015 and involved over 900 subpostmasters being wrongly convicted of theft, false accounting and fraud, due to shortfalls at their branches that were in fact errors of the Horizon accounting software used by the Post Office. In 2013, Vennells hired forensic accounting firm Second Sight, headed up by Ron Warmington, to investigate the Horizon software losses. Warmington discovered the system was flawed and faulty, but Vennells was unhappy with Warmington's report and terminated their contract.• Google Update Reveals AI Will Read All Your Private Messages (Forbes, Jan 28, 2024): “Bard will analyze the private content of messages ‘to understand the context of your conversations, your tone, and your interests.’ It will analyze the sentiment of your messages, ‘to tailor its responses to your mood and vibe.’ And it will ‘analyze your message history with different contacts to understand your relationship dynamics… to personalize responses based on who you’re talking to.’”