Thanks for your lovely Deepawali Wishes over phone, chat, social media and even in person. In person wishes are really lovely but all kinds of wishes are well appreciated.
I hope you had a lovely extended Deepawali Festival Celebrations and are now all geared up. Please stay safe even when you have received covid19 vaccination. There is really bad news coming from Europe and China about growing cases of Covid19 especially through the recent virulent mutations which have ravaged USA.
Now that Covaxin- Bharat Biotech's vaccine has become the seventh to win WHO backing after getting emergency approval, it would be easier for Indians and others vaccinated through Covaxin to travel abroad though significant challenges still remain in creating authentic and portable vaccine documentation.
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DTW
During the Week, Facebook announced that it has shut down its 10 years old “Facial Recognition System” because of societal concern resulting out of such technology usage. It is also deleting billion plus users facial recognition data that drove its facial recognition algorithm. There were apprehensions that many third parties were using the facial data to run their own algorithm sometimes as contractors with government agencies in law enforcement.
Ever since Mark announced new corporate branding campaign to transition to Meta, there have been concerns that perhaps this is just a knee jerk reaction to regulatory pressures demanding that Facebook take action to prevent extraordinary social harm emanating from its platforms both in USA and many emerging countries including India. Many commentators saw this “meta” transition to be paying lip-service without any fundamental changes in facebook’s corporate behaviour. Can this action of shutting down Facial Recognition System help Facebook convey its reformed identity?
This Facebook transition may not be possible without fundamental changes in regulatory and business environment. Platforms especially social media platforms would have to fundamentally alter their way of doing business and these changes might come from competitive pressures, customer behaviour or government action.
Competitive pressure like the one exerted by Apple and Google through an extraordinary control over App ecosystem might force Facebook and others to med their ways sooner than we thought. Earlier in the year, Apple pushed iOS 14.5 to its billion devices and made serious inroads into dismantling the ad driven social media platforms. According to a tracker run by flurry, about 96 % of iPhone users have opted out of app tracking.
Customer behaviour egged on of course by competitors and/or government may also lead to more progress on data ownership. This also stems from recent deliberations on data as a factor of production other than land, labour, capital, and technology. In one of the recent newsletter Chinese Characteristics by Lillian Li, there is a detailed discussion to balance between the need for personal security, data openness and national oversight
This might also result in technical solution to the data portability option for the users thus opening up more opportunities for start-ups and reducing the power of current platforms who have created moats using the network effects. You could read more in the following newsletter.
Facebook and its social media platform peers thrive on rage and anger. Control on platforms has gradually shifted to either obnoxious flame throwers or even worse to state authorities. We have seen some users acquiring undue influence and clout on social platforms and thus blocking new influencers to gain audience. Platforms emphasis on network effects through their recommendation engines works in super-users favour as they keep getting recommended to new users and this creates a virtuous cyclical network effect. Bringing verifiable identities might put some pressure on these elements who thrive on anonymity to spew venom and keep creating multiple accounts in case they are reported and subsequently removed. The recent Facebook Papers highlight the growing cases of hate speech, misinformation and celebrations of violence, which were documented in an internal Facebook report about India. You could follow this Deepawali 2020 post talking abut platforms and network externalities to read more about harm caused by anonymity.
To conclude, anti-trust enforcement, data portability and mandating verifiable identities can go a long way in curbing the social ills emanating from Facebook and its peers.
OTW
Over the Weekend, I heard another podcast on Stoicism featuring Author and philosophy professor William Irvine who goes in-depth on Stoicism, and why the fundamental tenets of this ancient philosophy can provide answers to some of the toughest problems in today’s society. Prof Irvine discusses thoughts on failure, advice on decision making, and how we can train ourselves to be more stoic.
It’s that notion that you enjoy what life has to offer, but without becoming addicted to it, without clinging to what life has to offer, you’re always prepared for things to take a turn for the worse.
Post the Deepawali festivities I reached out many of my friends and family who had lost dear ones in the devastating second covid19 wave in April-May 2021. This years’ Deepawali felt a lot empty and my heartfelt sorrow at your loss as all of us continue to grieve for those who left us early. But like always , I am also hopeful that though this Deepawali has been dark and gloomy but happiness and joy would soon return to our lives.
I have often reflected on coping mechanisms to deal with such profound loss and have found HHDL’s words calming and inspirational. In summary, three things can help- Believe that the departed soul is now in a better place; your tears/anguish is not going to help the departed soul; and finally try to do things that would have made the departed soul happier.
And what is it to cease breathing, but to free the breath from its restless tides, that it may rise and expand and seek God unencumbered?
Only when you drink from the river of silence shall you indeed sing.
And when you have reached the mountain top, then you shall begin to climb.
And when the earth shall claim your limbs, then shall you truly dance.
On Death- Kahlil Gibran- 1883-1931
I Love You
Shailendra