[UFO Chicago] The insidious of Google

[Brian Sobolak]

Hi guys!

I miss this group and hope to be able to attend soon again.  But something’s been on my mind that I would normally share with everyone here, so I’ll post it.

For a number of reasons, I have deleted all of my social media accounts. I quit Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and deleted my accounts. There are a lot of reasons: I think it prioritizes outrage over discussion; the addictive nature of the random variable reward is bad for one’s brain; I resent their massive profits that aren’t shared with people who use their product, etc.

But Google — especially Gmail — is harder to quit.

It’s not that I can’t find another email service provider. (I can.) It’s the fact that probably 80% of personal, non-work email addresses are from gmail, Comcast, or yahoo. The likelihood that any email sent is likely going to have at least one person who uses Gmail and then it is sucked into their systems seems like a real problem.

At the beginning of the Linux revolution we were very worried about how Microsoft had a monopoly and could control how we used computers. It seems that this is now much worse — Google can control our phones (by limiting the API in Android) *and* has a copy of the contents of many of our most personal thoughts expressed in emails.  And locations. And browser history. And more.

I don’t want to put on a tin foil hat and gloves when using a computer, but it feels… really weird that so much control by one company has slipped into our lives. 

(And note, none of this is related to perceived political bias of the companies or actions taken against specific actors. I think the Outrage Machine makes everyone feel slighted; it’s a feature of the system, not some kind of side effect.)

So what is one to do?

Brian 

Ps I drove past the old Golden Nugget yesterday for the first time in a LONG time and was sad to see the for rent signs.

Pps I will have completed my 2nd vaccine soon so if we wanted to get together some time this summer it might be nice. Weeknight BBQ?