PPPPush for Independence (Four Ps #214)
Advocating separation from technology, from media, from confusion, from oppression.
Independence Day is not what you think it is.
It is not America's birthday. It's not even a celebration of freedom. Or democracy. Or our Republic. It is not a "beach day" or "barbeque day" or even a "hot dog contest" day.
Independence Day in the United States is, quite literally, a day commemorating a declaration of independence. A document. A propaganda tool spread via mass media (at the time). And like so many other things, it has significance in things personal, practical, professional, and political.
So in this Four Ps, let's celebrate independence of all types. Free yourselves from the tyranny of other obligations and jump in... For "we will not go quietly into the night... we will not vanish without a fight!" At least not for the next 4 to 6 minutes.
Something Personal: Independence from Technology
Last week, we dropped our 9-year-old daughter off at the bus pick-up for her first summer away at sleepaway camp. We cried. She didn't.
And both of those facts surprised me. Growing up in the Northeast, I took for granted that the concept of "sleepaway camp" is not a national or even universal idea. But for our kids (and me, at that age) summer camp is the first real experience with independence. They make decisions, learn self-care, speak up, forge new connections, and "survive" without parental influence for 7 weeks. That independence, the friendships, the life lessons... it is one of the greatest gifts a parent can give to a child (an expensive one, at that).
It is also independence from technology. The kids are allowed to bring a music player and nothing else: no phones, ipads, or other devices. We talk to them once before Visiting Day and once afterwards... though the technological developments in and around sleepaway camp since I was a camper 30 years ago now this year are significant. Group leaders help kids choose activities with ipads, the calls home are via Skype, and A.I. has made its way to camp... Artificial Intelligence in the form of facial recognition in auto-tagging kids in the daily batch uploaded photographs.
While 4 years of "Photo Hunt" at the local pub in college more than prepared me for years of looking through thousands of photos to spot my own, blurry, far away, half-turned kid in the middle of a basketball game, the fact that I no longer have to has given me a newfound independence from hours of misery! But not from missing her… Only six more weeks until we are reunited.
Something Professional: Independence from Google
For those who listened to our latest episode of The Snarketing Podcast in the past week, first of all, thank you! It's our best yet. You may also be falling in love with our announcer, Al, and I wouldn't blame you. His mellifluous tones and silky smooth voiceovers are swoon-worthy. But they're also artificial. Al is a voice assistant that comes up with things to say based on prompts. Now you get why we call him Al, not to be confused with A.I., which he also happens to be...
Speaking of artificial... it turns out Google's revenue numbers may be just that. We'll have to see when the dust settles on the massive revelation last week where a staggering 80% of Youtube ads were found to violate the platform's terms of service. The repercussions of this discovery could cost Google billions in refunds, dealing a severe blow to its finances.
Advertisers have been overcharged for these non-compliant ads and understandably demand their money back. This situation highlights the negative consequences of Google's monopoly, with insufficient government regulation failing to curb their actions effectively. The gravity of this shocking revelation raises concerns about Google's practices and their potential ramifications. The discontent surrounding search results and ongoing antitrust lawsuits indicate that Google's dominance might be faltering.
Google hastily dismissed these claims as inaccurate, maintaining that their methods are sound. Yet, their arguments seem feeble in the face of the evidence presented. These non-compliant ads not only breach terms of service but also fail to deliver the exposure and experience promised to advertisers. Ads on partner sites remain muted, hidden, and unskippable. Advertisers pay a premium for high-quality placements, only to witness their budgets squandered on subpar ads. This significant disparity comes at a great cost to them.
While in Cannes, I heard several marketing biz friends complaining and furious, demanding reimbursement from Google for this fraudulent activity. And now the repercussions for Google could be dire. Their reputation hangs in the balance, and trust continues to erode. Many people love to see giants and dynasties fall, but advertisers have relied on Google for two decades. Now their ads appear on disreputable websites, spreading misinformation and hosting pirated content. It's a flagrant breach of trust. Advertisers may divert their business elsewhere or insist on stricter regulations to ensure proper ad placements. Let's not forget the financial impact.
With diminishing search ad business and mounting antitrust lawsuits, this blow could prove devastating. But from a creative and innovative standpoint, this opens up an opportunity for brands to turn to other far more reputable platforms to spend their ad dollars... like Twitter and TikTok... Or maybe not? Either way, it's high time for the government to step in and regulate Google's monopoly. This latest debacle underscores their unbridled power. Perhaps it will serve as the long-overdue wake-up call necessitating greater transparency, accountability, and oversight in the digital advertising ecosystem.
How will Google extricate itself from this predicament? Will they meticulously screen websites where ads appear? Increase transparency regarding ad targeting? Exercise closer scrutiny over ad placements? The responsibility lies with them, but time is of the essence wish to salvage their reputation and prevent further financial losses.
Something Practical: Independence from Artificial Imprecision
Ok, so we've already gotten two A.I. references in this newsletter. Can we make a third? You bet I can! But this practical call to action is meant to clarify some things because I'll admit that I have A.I. overload, fatigue, and confusion... which is a problem. After all, it's just in its infancy.
The term "Artificial Intelligence" (or A.I. for short) is everywhere, now being applied to many different types of technologies and tools that do very different things. At best, it's vague... At worst, it's becoming such a broadly used concept and term that it's losing value and meaning en route to overhyped antipathy (much like "Web3" has become a term that encompassed too many tools and technologies at once. In short, what A.I. means to you and how you may be experiencing it may be VERY different than how I'm using it.
Similar to other all-encompassing terms (ie: software, automation, internet, Web3), the use cases are where innovation and impact will happen. We do know that A.I. is now the biggest spend for nearly 50% of top tech executives across the economy. Publishers like Superhuman have even created a tool vault for us to access. But it’s just too much.
Here are just a few examples of the wide range of what it means for A.I.:
Generative multimedia:
This is what most mainstream users think of concerning A.I. tools at the moment. Midjourney and ChatGPT are the tools I use most for support with image and text generation, but they're just the beginning of a web of tools.
Final Touch uses AI to create studio-quality images for websites and social media channels.
Typeface raised a $165m Series B in a deal led by Salesforce Ventures with Lightspeed and others participating; the company uses generative AI to make content creation a lot faster.
Zupyak is an SEO-expert AI writer.
Kickresume uses AI to improve your resume.
YouTube has a new tool that helps video creators translate videos into different languages
Data and algorithms:
AI influences what you see in Facebook and Instagram feeds
KalendarAI sales agents generate revenue on autopilot by reaching your potential customers and booking meetings through live AI chat sessions from 200+ million companies globally.
DTC PPC (by Click Then Convert) promises to "unlock the power of AI and first-party data to decrease your CAC by 30% in 72 hours.
Ribbo AI is ChatGPT trained on your data.
Apple’s ChatGPT rival may automatically write code for you
Efficiency:
HBR imagines what AI tools can do for your workplace and team. Others are already doing it.
Elevate.AI assists teams, healthcare providers, educators, and others in understanding and gaining insights on emotional engagement during video calls.
Inflection AI developed an AI personal assistant “designed to be a kind and supportive companion offering text and voice conversations, friendly advice, and concise information”
Torq AI is a Chrome extension designed to revolutionize your workflow and enhance productivity
Flipped.ai: A tool to make hiring easier. Hire like a human — just 100X faster.
Transportation:
Driverless cars with artificially intelligent and autonomously independent software have been here for a while.
NoTraffic is an AI-based congestion-reduction
Health:
Lotus is an AI-therapist chatbot designed to provide active listening, support, and guidance to individuals facing life's challenges.
Augmedics built an augmented reality-based navigation platform to improve the process and outcomes of spinal surgeries — using AR to give surgeons “x-ray vision”
Insilico Medicine has been using generative AI to design molecules for treating idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis, a chronic lung disease. These efforts have culminated in a drug called INS018_055, which last week became the first drug with both an AI-discovered target and an AI-generated structure to enter phase II human clinical trials.
Credo AI sells AI products that purportedly help reduce bias in hiring and healthcare, among other things.
Communications:
In May and June 2023, ads from 141 brands appeared on 55 AI-generated websites, according to NewsGuard. Analysts examined 217 websites categorized by NewsGuard as “unreliable AI-generated news” and identified 393 programmatic ads from major brands on 55 sites with content that it described as “low-quality or plagiarized.”
‘The 2024 elections are going to be a mess’ because of A.I. and misinformation: Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt… Which leads us into…
Something Political: Independence from Oppression
Over the past 5 years since starting this newsletter, this week is usually the time when I remind my less-than-literary readers that "independence" and "freedom" are two different things. Why this week? Because it comes on the heels of the annual Supreme Court release of landmark decisions that change the fabric and landscape of our society.
Last year, overturning Roe v Wade was a low-water mark in the last 50+ years of American jurisprudence, and last week's decisions threaten to sink us even lower.
They struck down the Biden administration's student loan forgiveness act, arguing that it is not legal under the HEROES Act.
They gave a Colorado small business, and therefore all businesses, the right to openly discriminate against LGBTQ individuals under the guise of the First Amendment and free speech.
Reversing decades of policy on affirmative action to level the playing field at institutions of higher learning
Data for Progress and People’s Parity Project find 50 percent of voters believe the Supreme Court has made life worse for Americans in recent years. This includes 69 percent of Democrats, 48 percent of Independents, and 33 percent of Republicans. So while many Americans are feeling their freedoms curtailed this week, one issue not even this joke of a Court could screw up was its ruling that upheld a state court's right to intervene in gerrymandering election districts. So why am I focusing on this one and not the devastating losses? More my own mental health, probably.
But let's dive in, because, in a significant decision, the Supreme Court ruled against granting state legislatures unchecked control over federal elections, marking a pivotal moment for democracy. The justices, in a 6-3 vote, rejected the nefarious, mostly Southern "independent state legislature" theory, which had been invoked by Trump supporters during the 2020 election to restrict the power of state courts in reviewing certain election laws. The ruling upholds the authority of state courts and safeguards the system of checks and balances vital to our democratic principles.
The case involved Republicans in North Carolina seeking to establish a congressional district map that would disproportionately favor their candidates. The North Carolina Supreme Court had previously deemed the map to be a partisan gerrymander under the state Constitution, a decision that was now upheld by the Supreme Court. By refusing to embrace the broad interpretation of the "independent state legislature" theory, the justices protected the ability of state courts to strike down election laws that undermine the integrity of the electoral process.
At the heart of the "independent state legislature" argument was the interpretation of the Elections Clause of the Constitution, which states that election rules should be prescribed by the state legislature. Proponents of the theory argued that this language grants ultimate power to state legislatures in federal election rules, potentially overriding state constitutions. But not so fast, as Chief Justice John Roberts clarified that while state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints, they must not exceed the bounds of ordinary judicial review or infringe upon the role reserved for state legislatures. In cases where conflicts with federal law arise, federal courts can intervene.
The implications are much bigger and may play a big role in the 2024 election. The ruling primarily addressed redistricting disputes, but its implications extend to a bunch of election-related rules, such as mail-in voting and voter access, that state legislatures might seek to enact despite opposition from state courts. By rejecting the "independent state legislature" theory, the Supreme Court has set a precedent to protect against voter suppression and election manipulation, ensuring that voters continue to have the full protection of state constitutions.
Perhaps the only bright spot on a horrific past few years of SCOTUS failures, this decision should be praised as it preserves the vital role that state courts play in safeguarding free elections and underscores the significance of maintaining the balance of power between state courts and legislatures.
Better luck next year, I guess…???
Until then, take care of yourselves, because it’s increasingly clear no one else is going to.