“They have done biohacking, clean sleeping and the keto diet, but now Silicon Valley types have coined a new health trend — dopamine fasting,” reports the Guardian: It is thought that depriving yourself of the neurotransmitter, a chemical messenger that motivates us to do things, can help to reboot or rebalance the brain. Fasting might entail abstinence from technology, artificial light,…
Tag: Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley’s Singularity University Is Cutting Staff, CEO Exits
Singularity University, a Silicon Valley institute offering education on futurism, is reckoning with its own uncertain future. The chief executive officer is stepping down, and the organization plans to eliminate staff. From a report: The changes were outlined in an email Tuesday reviewed by Bloomberg that was sent to faculty by Erik Anderson, the executive chairman. They mark an extended decline…
Next in Google’s Quest for Consumer Dominance — Banking
Google will soon offer checking accounts to consumers, becoming the latest Silicon Valley heavyweight to push into finance. The Wall Street Journal: The project, code-named Cache, is expected to launch next year with accounts run by Citigroup and a credit union at Stanford University, a tiny lender in Google’s backyard. Big tech companies see financial services as a way to get…
Leaked Documents Show Facebook Leveraged User Data To Fight Rivals and Help Friends
A cache of leaked Facebook documents shows how the company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, oversaw plans to consolidate the social network’s power and control competitors by treating its users’ data as a bargaining chip. NBC News reports: This trove comprises approximately 7,000 pages in total, of which about 4,000 are internal Facebook communications such as emails, web chats, notes, presentations and spreadsheets,…
Enjoy Netflix While It Lasts. It Can’t Keep Going Like This Forever.
An anonymous reader shares a column: Derek Thompson, writing in the Atlantic last month, highlighted the ways in which contemporary millennial lifestyles are in many ways subsidized by venture capital. Unprofitable businesses are currently offering up great deals to urbanites who otherwise would be unable to afford their fancy city-living in large part because of losses incurred as the cost of…
Waymo Complains California’s Government Says Its Robotaxi Service Must Be Free For Now
“Waymo wants to deploy a robotaxi service for the general public in parts of California as soon as possible,” reports the Los Angeles Times. “But that’s unlikely, the company says, because California says it has to offer the service for free.” Last year, the California Public Utilities Commission allowed driverless “robotaxi” pilot programs in the state but banned permit-holders from charging…
Pando Editor Sells Site, Quits Journalism, Citing Sexual Harassment and Threats in Silicon Valley
Former TechCrunch writer Sarah Lacy started PandoDaily in 2012. But now she’s “selling the company, quitting journalism, and ditching Silicon Valley after 20 years,” reports Business Insider, citing Lacy’s blog. She says her decision comes from years of sexual harassment and threats in her two decades covering Silicon Valley. “I have absorbed so many more stories than I have reported, more…
A Prenup Is the Latest Must-Have For Tech Startup Founders In Love
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Bloomberg: In Silicon Valley, where penniless programmers fervently believe their ideas are worth billions, getting rich can take priority over getting married. California law assumes that any wealth created during a marriage is community property, which should be split equally in a divorce. That’s alarming not just for young entrepreneurs but also their investors….
Elizabeth Warren Mocks Facebook’s Ad Policy By Lying About Mark Zuckerberg
“A fresh series of Facebook ads this week by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren seeks to put the social media giant on the defensive — by telling a lie,” writes CNN. An anonymous reader quotes their report:
The ads, which began running widely on Thursday, start with a bold but obvious falsehood: That Facebook and its CEO Mark Zuckerberg have endorsed…
US Using Trade Deals To Shield Tech Giants From Foreign Regulators
The Trump administration has begun inserting legal protections into recent trade agreements that shield online platforms like Facebook, Twitter and YouTube from lawsuits, a move that could help lock in America’s tech-friendly regulations around the world even as they are being newly questioned at home. From a report: The protections, which stem from a 1990s law, have already been tucked into…