At&t was the most important company in the world. Now, not so much at all. And it happened by pissing off the costumer beyond the point of no recurring business. If you make a good phone, I buy your next one. But if you sell me a phone subsidized by Amazon such that my every moved is recorded and inspected for possible purchases or alarms for authorities, I’m gonna hard pass on your next one. Oh, no next phone? No problem. The cassette died, the CD, DVD, blue ray, all died. Sony used to sell Walkmans and portable radios. Not anymore. Kodak used to sell chemicals, lenses, cameras, optics, etc, not anymore and there are no more manual cameras made in mass production at cheap prices. Similarly, Google will find its end. Now, I don’t search by googling. That gives me shit results. I mix chat GPT and general search regardless of engine. I’m keenly aware of being monitored for purchase. I ignore email ads and YouTube ads. I use YouTube without logging in. In short I am less traceable or predictable. Thus I am less valuable. Also I will not buy IOS or Android phones for the same reason. So if I don’t buy another device, I’m automatically not a customer for any online-only retailer. Think of your idiot friend or old family member who doesn’t give a fuck about a phone… We all used to be like that. We have a phone only to be costumers… A source of revenue for large companies. Once we stop using our phones, then there’s nothing to be had from us.
Comment on Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website | TechCrunch
Sturgist@lemmy.ca 5 days agosomething a little more adjusted to their near future
Sorry bud, with Herr Trumpf and Von Musk at the helm of the States, they’re in absolutely no danger of being slapped down a few pegs…let alone broken up and made humble. Need a functional government based on the adherence to the rule of law for that. And unfortunately what they have is D.O.G.E. “streamlining” the removal of “woke” at maximum “efficiency.”
werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Sturgist@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Agreed, just saying that they’re likely to avoid the FO stage of FAFO for a little while. And yeah, they could easily piss off the consumer enough to lose all their business, but to John T. Public, they’re still the GoTo for search, ad serve, email, navigation, in certain areas cell service/ISP. Without a strong governmental/judicial boot on their neck and gun to their head they’ll continue to monopolise a load of sectors, and will continue to pull money hand over fist for the foreseeable.
werefreeatlast@lemmy.world 5 days ago
I’ll agree in good faith. Superstitiously, this is is like agreeing to never ever actually winning the lotto. Ah yes! I will never ever become rich or famous.
Sturgist@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Look, we can go back and forth on this until the heat death of the universe. End of the day, we’re just two meat sack LLMs practicing a bit of conjecture and hypothesis. For all we know Google might accidentally create a minor black hole at HQ tomorrow and no longer be in anyone’s hair by lunchtime. I’ll agree to stop spitballing, I hope what you hope will happen happens, but from where I’m sitting we’re clearly in the Biff-Timeline, and I wouldn’t expect things to go well for anyone but the shareholders for the near future.
rottingleaf@lemmy.world 5 days ago
Drumpf
but I think Google may still get split, though not as thoroughly buttwrecked as otherwise
Sturgist@lemmy.ca 5 days ago
Fair enough, I’m not changing it though.
Maybe, or maybe they’ll slip a bulging manilla envelope across the desk in the Oval Throne Room and an E.O will make everything go away. They might be forced in other countries to spin off regional business into separate corps, but with how international banking goes the money would certainly still hit the same accounts they always did, and marching orders will still be stamped by the same hands.