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Bad Ideas, Boosterism, Business, CDA, Corporate Welfare, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, Speaker Vos, State Capitalism, State Government, Technology, WEDC, WISGOP

Accountability Comes Calling at Foxconn

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After years of grandiose – ludicrous, truly – claims about Foxconn from Trump to Vos to boosters in Whitewater, Accountability has made her way to Foxconn. If not Accountability personified, then at least Missy Hughes (the new, Evers-appointed leader) of a slightly-reformed WEDC. Josh Dzieza of the national publication The Verge reports Wisconsin denies Foxconn tax…

Business, Economy, Poverty, Technology

Cashierless (and so Cashless)

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One reads that Amazon has opened its first cashless, full-size grocery store in Seattle. See Amazon is opening its first full-size, cashierless grocery store. Here’s a first look inside. A few remarks: This is a technological achievement, and other companies are working along similar lines. No cashier means, definitionally, no cash transactions. That’s convenient for…

Culture, Mendacity, Technology, Video

‘Deep Fakes’ in a Deeper Context

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In the video Op-Ed above, Claire Wardle responds to growing alarm around “deepfakes” — seemingly realistic videos generated by artificial intelligence. First seen on Reddit with pornographic videos doctored to feature the faces of female celebrities, deepfakes were made popular in 2018 by a fake public service announcement featuring former President Barack Obama. Words and…

Bad Ideas, City, Economy, Employment, Foxconn, Gov. Walker, Government Spending, State Capitalism, State Government, Technology, Trump

Foxconn’s Shabby Workplace Conditions

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One reads that God, hearing the grumblings of the ancient Israelite community, once fed that people: 11 The LORD said to Moses: 12 I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them: In the evening twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will have your fill of bread, and then you will know that I,…

Bad Ideas, Economy, Employment, Foxconn, Government Spending, State Capitalism, Technology, Trump

Foxconn’s Ambition is Automation, While Appeasing the Politically Ambitious

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If there’s ever been an economic con, it’s Foxconn in Wisconsin. The Financial Times describes two key aspects of Foxconn’s character, in a story, Foxconn shifts focus to ‘smart manufacturing.’ Automation, Not Jobs. The new reporting tells us that Foxconn’s working for “automating other manufacturers’ processes.”  Of course they are: they’ve a whole business producing robots…

Bad Ideas, Economy, Employment, Foxconn, Government Spending, Technology

Foxconn in Wisconsin: Not So High Tech After All

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Lauly Li, Cheng Ting-Fang, and Gen Nakamura report Foxconn opts to make smaller displays at Wisconsin plant: OSAKA/TAIPEI — Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn Technology Group, is considering producing small to midsized displays for Apple, automakers and others at its $10 billion factory planned for the U.S. state of Wisconsin, people familiar with the…

Education, Mendacity, Science/Nature, Technology, Trump

For Mr. Trump, It’s STEM, Schwem, Whatever…

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Embed from Getty Images In response to a question about whether state-sponsored hacking against an American political party should go unpunished, Donald Trump grew expansive, giving his typically thoughtful perspective on science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and (even) epistemology: “I think we ought to get on with our lives. I think that computers have complicated lives very…

Technology

Goodbye, VCR

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Embed from Getty Images There’s a story over at Quartz about the end of videocassette-recorder production. Ananya Bhattacharya writes that Japan’s Funai Electronics, which makes its own electronics, in addition to supplying companies like Sanyo, will produce the last batch of VCR units by July 30, Nikkei reported (link in Japanese). The company cites difficulty…

Games/Puzzles, Technology

So What’s Pokémon Go?

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It’s two things: a game one plays with one’s smartphone (as CNET explains in the video embedded above), and a reworking of an old set of characters in a new format.  The original characters were interesting to millions before, and remain interesting, making their revival in a new format a good bet.  If the characters…