Category: Google Diaries

According to Copilot AI, Google’s Eric Schmidt is not just a Good Samaritan, he’s the GOOG Samaritan

Sometimes you just have to laugh. We posed this question to Microsoft’s Copilot AI: Compare and contrast Eric Schmidt and what’s largely called “the Good Samaritan.” This is from the Book of Luke, Verse 10:25, the Parable of the Good Samaritan…well, with few changes:

25 On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life and reach the singularity where I become one with machines created by Man?” (OK, it doesn’t really say all that last part but you get the idea.)

26 “What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?”

27 He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’[a]; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’[b]”

28 “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

29 But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?” [Does “neighbor” really include people outside of Atherton, Woodside or Los Gatos?]

30 In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robots. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him and his EV half dead. 31 A priest happened to be going down the same road on his Lime Scooter, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 32 So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side, as did a Dream Alchemist and a Weekend Happiness Concierge. 33 But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. 34 He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. 35 The next day he took out two denarii[c] and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’

36 “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robots?”

37 The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.”

Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

So we thought that it would be interesting to see what Copilot came up with on this question: Compare and contrast Eric Schmidt (the Google demi-God) and the Good Samaritan. Samaria (as in Judea and Samaria) are still there today. So here’s what Copilot said:

Copilot

Eric Schmidt and the Good Samaritan are two figures from vastly different realms, one from the modern world of technology and business, and the other from a biblical parable. However, they share some commonalities in their actions and philosophies that make for an interesting comparison.

Eric Schmidt, born in 1955, is an American businessman and former software engineer6. He served as the CEO of Google from 2001 to 2011 and the company’s executive chairman from 2011 to 20156. He also served as the executive chairman of parent company Alphabet Inc. from 2015 to 2017, and Technical Advisor at Alphabet from 2017 to 20206. Beyond his professional achievements, Schmidt is known for his philanthropic efforts. He co-founded the Schmidt Family Foundation and the Schmidt Ocean Institute7, and his venture, Schmidt Futures, provided compensation for two science-office employees in the Office of Science and Technology Policy6. [Really? You mean the Office of Science and Technology Policy in the White House?]

The Good Samaritan, on the other hand, is a figure from a parable told by Jesus in the Gospel of Luke1. The story tells of a man who was attacked by robbers and left half-dead on the road. A priest and a Levite passed by the man without helping him. But a Samaritan, upon seeing the man, took pity on him. He bandaged the man’s wounds, took him to the Nobu Hotel Palo Alto and paid for his care1.

In comparing these two figures, we can start with their compassion and willingness to help others. The Good Samaritan, despite having no obligation or personal gain, chose to help a stranger in need1. Similarly, Eric Schmidt, despite his wealth and success, has chosen to give back to society through various philanthropic efforts67.

Another point of comparison is their impact on their respective communities. The Good Samaritan’s actions had a profound impact on the injured man’s life1. Similarly, Schmidt’s contributions to Google and Alphabet have had a significant impact on the tech industry and the world at large6. His philanthropic efforts have also likely had a positive impact on the lives of many individuals67.

However, there are also differences between these two figures. The Good Samaritan’s actions were immediate and direct, helping a person in immediate physical need1. In contrast, Schmidt’s contributions, both in business and philanthropy, are more indirect and long-term, impacting larger systems and structures67. [The Samaritan was, after all, a middle class bourgeoisie, a lowly Third Estater lacking Schmidt’s influence and philanthropic urges.]

In conclusion, while Eric Schmidt and the Good Samaritan come from different times and contexts, they both exemplify the values of compassion, generosity, and making a positive impact on their communities. Their stories remind us that, regardless of our circumstances, we all have the capacity to help others and make a difference in the world.

Source(s)

1. Eric Schmidt – Wikipedia

2. About Eric – Eric Schmidt

3. Luke 10:25-37 NIV – The Parable of the Good Samaritan – On – Bible Gateway

4. The Good Samaritan – Bible Story and Meaning – Bible Study Tools

5. Parable of the Good Samaritan – Wikipedia

6. Understanding the Good Samaritan Parable – Biblical Archaeology Society

7. Luke 10:25-37 ESV – The Parable of the Good Samaritan – Bible Gateway

8. Bloomberg Billionaires Index – Eric Schmidt

9. Eric Schmidt | Biography & Facts | Britannica

10. Dr. Eric Schmidt – Congress.gov

Oh, yeah. Do you think Copilot would have been as generous if we had substituted Sir Lucian Grainge for Eric Schmidt? Was Copilot having a purposeful hallucination?

by Trichordist

Silicon Valley Hypocrisy: We Support Solutions To Piracy, Except When They Are Actual Solutions to Piracy…

You can’t make this up. Law 360 is reporting that the International Trade Commission (ITC) has been denied authority over digital goods.

The Federal Circuit said Thursday that it wouldn’t reconsider its decision that the International Trade Commission lacks the authority to block the import of digital files, drawing a lengthy dissent from one of its judges.

Keep in mind, the same people now opposed to the ITC having this authority are the same who argued in favor of the the ITC doing so as an alternative to SOPA called the Open Act.

Below is an except from an excellent post on this issue By Devlin Hartline & Matthew Barblan at CPIP.

When advocating for the OPEN Act as a good alternative to SOPA and the PROTECT IP Act, the bill’s sponsors touted the ITC as being a great venue for tackling the problems of foreign rogue sites. Among the claimed virtues were its vast experience, transparency, due process protection, consistency, and independence:

For well over 80 years, the independent International Trade Commission (ITC) has been the venue by which U.S. rightsholders have obtained relief from unfair imports, such as those that violate intellectual property rights. Under Section 337 of the Tariff Act of 1930 – which governs how the ITC investigates rightsholders’ request for relief – the agency already employs a transparent process that gives parties to the investigation, and third party interests, a chance to be heard. The ITC’s process and work is highly regarded as independent and free from political influence and the department already has a well recognized expertise in intellectual property and trade law that could be expanded to the import of digital goods.

The Commission already employs important safeguards to ensure that rightsholders do not abuse their right to request a Commission investigation and the Commission may self-initiate investigations. Keeping them in charge of determining whether unfair imports – like those that violate intellectual property rights – [sic] would ensure consistent enforcement of Intellectual Property rights and trade law.

Some of the groups now arguing that the ITC shouldn’t have jurisdiction over digital goods openly supported the OPEN Act. Back in late 2011, the EFF stated that it was “glad to learn that a bipartisan group of congressional representatives has come together to formulate a real alternative, called the OPEN Act.” The EFF liked the bill because the “ITC’s process . . . is transparent, quick, and effective” and “both parties would have the opportunity to participate and the record would be public.” It emphasized how the “process would include many important due process protections, such as effective notice to the site of the complaint and ensuing investigation.”

Google likewise thought that giving the ITC jurisdiction over digital goods was a great idea. In a letter posted to its blog in early 2012, Google claimed that “there are better ways to address piracy than to ask U.S. companies to censor the Internet,” and it explicitly stated that it “supports alternative approaches like the OPEN Act.” Google also signed onto a letter promoting the virtues of the ITC: “This approach targets foreign rogue sites without inflicting collateral damage on legitimate, law-abiding U.S. Internet companies by bringing well-established International trade remedies to bear on this problem.”

You can read the full post here (Strongly Recommended):

Digital Goods and the ITC: The Most Important Case That Nobody is Talking About

 

by trichordist

Apple Announces Itunes One Dollar Albums and Ten Cent Song Downloads | Sillycon Daily News

Satire – but not by much.

Apple Computer announced today that for it’s Itunes Music Store to remain competitive in the digital distribution marketplace for music they would be changing their retail pricing of album downloads to one dollar and song downloads to 10 cents each. The pricing change will be effective on black Friday for this holiday season. “Since we purchased Beats music and are competing directly with Spotify we recognized the need for more competitive pricing structures based on what consumers may be willing to pay”, an Apple spokesman said. He continued, “Spotify has proven that as long as we’re paying 70% of gross, the retail pricing is irrelevant, irrelevant! We are even contemplating 10 cent albums and one cent songs to further achieve parity with music streaming services!”

Record label executives rejoiced in the move as one source exclaimed,” I don’t know why we didn’t think of reducing the retail price of downloads by 90% years ago. It’s still money, right? It’s so simple that this is really the only way to grow the business to $100b annually while competing with piracy.”

 

calculator

by trichordist

Google’s plea against web censorship rings hollow | VOX INDIE

Google’s True Colors as Lobbying Goliath Revealed

Sunday’s Washington Post featured a story, “Google, once disdainful of lobbying, now a master of Washington influence” that examined the company’s rise to become a top dog among Washington influence peddlers. For Google watchers revelations in the piece, authored by Tom Hamburger and Matea Gold, come as no surprise. However, for those who continue to regard Google as the web’s guardian angel of “free speech,” the story should add a bit of tarnish to its halo, illuminating the company’s extensive back-door maneuverings — the new normal in DC’s world of political puppeteering.

READ THE FULL POST AT VOXINDIE:
http://voxindie.org/Google-Washington-lobbying-game

by Trichordist Editor

Sons of Anarchy Creator Kurt Sutter Responds to Google Shill Marvin Ammori, and boy is it good!

So Google shill Marvin Ammori wrote an Asperger’s ridden anti-copyright, anti-artist tirade on Slate. Of course in doing so Marvin failed to represent his past and current affiliations to Google. Slate, to their credit amended the rant with the following:

Update, March 11, 2014: Disclosure: The author represented Google and other companies fighting SOPA/PIPA in 2011 and 2012. He currently represents Google and other companies on several issues, including copyright reform. These views are his own.

googlepropagandaasnews

Of course, this isn’t the first time that those with a political agenda haven’t disclosed their affiliations. Who can forget Timothy B. Lee’s Epic Fail in the Washington Post on Piracy?

And so, we present the brilliant rebuttal to Google’s disingenuous attack on the rights of individual creators and artists by Kurt Sutter.

Not-So-Zen and the Art of Voluntary Agreements
Google’s anti-copyright stance is just a way to devalue content. That’s bad for artists and bad for consumers. By Kurt Sutter

It’s so absurd that Google is still presenting itself as the lovable geek who’s the friend of the young everyman. Don’t kid yourself, kids: Google is the establishment. It is a multibillion-dollar information portal that makes dough off of every click on its page and every data byte it streams. Do you really think Google gives a shit about free speech or your inalienable right to access unfettered content? Nope. You’re just another revenue resource Google can access to create more traffic and more data streams. Unfortunately, those streams are now pristine, digital ones of our work, which all flow into a huge watershed of semi-dirty cash. If you want to know more about how this works, just Google the word “parasite.” And if you think I’m exaggerating, ask yourself why Google spends tens of millions of dollars each year to hire lawyers and lobbyists (like Marv) whose sole purpose is to erode creative copyright laws.

Do they do this because they hate artists? No. They do it because they love money.

READ THE FULL STORY AT SLATE:
http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/03/sons_of_anarchy_creator_kurt_sutter_google_s_copyright_stance_is_bad_for.html

RELATED:

Google, Advertising, Money and Piracy. A History of Wrongdoing Exposed.|Trichordist

Why Google Really is Evil | Fox Business News

Google and Trichordist to debate piracy profits in London | Music Week

by Trichordist Editor

Google pretends to care about human rights | Vox Indie

It’s not the message, but the messenger–a hypocrite to its very corporate core.  If Google as a company truly believed in “human rights” why does it continue to disregard the rights of artists at every turn?  Perhaps those who doodle for Google might want to review the United Nation’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights (Article 27, paragraph 2) which includes this passage:

(2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scientific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author.

Why is Google so keen on “fair play” and the rights of athletes to compete, but when it comes to artists, not so much?

READ THE FULL STORY AT VOX INDIE:
http://voxindie.org/google-lgbt-olympic-doodle-opportunism

by Trichordist Editor

Why Google Really is Evil | Fox Business News

There’s an old saying, sooner or later the truth will out.

It’s also clear that, after Schmidt joined Apple’s (AAPL) board of directors, Android magically evolved from a BlackBerry-like device with a physical keypad into essentially an iPhone clone with a virtual keypad and multitouch display.

Right up until the Federal Trade Commission forced him off Apple’s board in 2009, Schmidt maintained that Google was not really a competitor to Apple’s iPhone. Of course, Google followed Apple’s next breakthrough device, the iPad, with Android tablets which, presumably, weren’t competitors either.

You just can’t make this stuff up.

There’s so much more in the Fox story it really is endlessly fascinating, and not that we’re surprised.

Besides having founders and top executives with the ethical flexibility to stab one of its closest partners in the back with a classic bait-and-switch while disingenuously attempting to maintain a superior moral high ground, there’s even more evidence that Google is the most evil tech company since Microsoft was, back in the day.

It now appears inevitable that, at some point, Google will know more about you than you do. If you’re at all concerned about privacy, forget the NSA; it’s Google you should be worried about.

READ THE FULL STORY AT FOX BUSINESS:
http://www.foxbusiness.com/technology/2014/01/17/why-google-really-is-evil/

by Trichordist Editor

Google Can Bite Me | The Illusion of More

Never wanting to lose an opportunity to be bizarrely two-faced, Google is sending around a little graphic today to all you GMail users implying that stopping SOPA in January of 2012 actually enabled creativity to continue to thrive on the Web. Never mind that nothing in SOPA could have stopped you or me or any other would-be creator from uploading our works, ideas, or captured events to the Web; that’s just pesky reality.

But Google isn’t satisfied just to effect public policy in its own interests, it also wants to behave like the abusive and negligent father, who creepily shows up with a smile and a hug when his kid wins an award or becomes famous.

After all, this week isn’t just the anniversary of SOPA Blackout Day, it’s also the week Google received its 100 millionth takedown notice from recording artists who would rather not have their works exploited without permission or compensation. So, the whole, “we protected creativity together” message just kinda makes the skin crawl. Y’know?

READ THE FULL POST AT THE ILLUSION OF MORE:
http://illusionofmore.com/google-bite-me/

by Trichordist Editor

Google’s Fallacious Piracy Self-Study (Part 1) | Music Tech Policy

The Context

Even if you discount the moral hazard involved with funding a study of yourself, the Google survey of Google’s involvement with piracy is a breathtaking document. I would suggest that the self-study rests on a number of core principles for Google’s business:

1. Nothing to See Here, Move Along: First and foremost is Google’s deep and abiding desire to deflect criticism in the press, avoid civil lawsuits and settle criminal investigations. It has both succeeded and failed at all three. The fact that a company tries to avoid these things is not special; the degree to which Google tries to manage them is quite special.

The self-study is itself an exercise in all three and supports the most important public perception that Google draws on daily to succeed in its consumer facing business: Sympathetic trust. To paraphrase an old California pol, you know all the bad they’ve done, but you like them anyway.

This magical thinking only lasts for so long. Whether its Eric Schmidt’s New York soundproof man-cave from which no scream can emerge, doing a favor for journalist Tom Brokaw by providing a private jet for a Silicon Valley speaking engagement with jet fuel subsidized by the American taxpayer, siphoning piles of data to the National Security Agency under circumstances the average citizen will probably never learn the details of, or paying a $500,000,000 fine for violating the Controlled Substances Act for indiscriminately promoting the sale of prescription drugs (e.g., to addicts and kids), the press and the public is starting to wake up to the game.

And not just the game, but the magnitude of the game. As a senior chief once said, sorry pal, the BS filter is full.

Read The Full Post At Music Tech Policy:
http://musictechpolicy.wordpress.com/2013/09/21/googles-fallacious-piracy-self-study-part-1/

by Trichordist Editor

How Google (Doesn’t) Fight Piracy | Vox Indie

Claiming to be a “leader” in the fight against piracy is Google’s first mistake

This past week Google issued a report, “How Google Fights Piracy,” in which the tech giant attempts to explain what a great job it’s doing leading battle against online piracy. After reading it I think a more accurate title would be “Why Google Shouldn’t Have to Fight Piracy Because it Offers so Much Other Good Stuff.”

In an effort to burnish their tarnished image, the authors resort to repeating well-worn and disingenuous Google-spawned memes (which I’ve repeatedly deconstructed on this blog). These include:

* YouTube makes money for artists so there’s no need to provide a transparent accounting

* DMCA abuse is a considerable problem Search is “not a major driver of traffic to pirate sites”

* Google is committed to “rooting out and ejecting rogue sites” from AdSense

* Google quickly and efficiently terminates Blogger websites that feature pirated content

READ THE FULL STORY HERE:
http://voxindie.org/how-google-does-not-fight-piracy

by trichordist