Andrew Maddox

Category: Technology

  • Tuesday Links (Oct. 7)

  • iPhone Air

    Watching Apple’s introduction of the iPhone 17 lineup, I was impressed with the incredible thinness of the Air. This screenshot from the product website really illustrates how compact the design is:

    And yet there’s the camera and the plateau as they called it.

    The technological world continues to get faster and smaller. More processing speed using less power in physically smaller chips. But cameras and lenses continue to be governed by the laws of physics and the realities light.

    It’s a helpful reminder that AI tools will get better, cheaper, and faster, but their contributions to the physical world will continue to lag.

    AI chatbots — check.
    AI assisted coding — check.

    AI designed, build and operated factories — not likely by 2027, even if some folks dream of that future.

  • Un-Social Media

    This is the bonkers opening of Meta’s response to the FTC’s claim of monopoly status for the company:

    Today, only a fraction of time spent on Meta’s services – 7% on Instagram, 17% on Facebook – involves consuming content from online “friends” (“friend sharing”). A majority of time spent on both apps is watching videos, increasingly short-form videos that are “unconnected” – i.e., not from a friend or followed account – and recommended by AI-powered algorithms Meta developed as a direct competitive response to TikTok’s rise, which stalled Meta’s growth.

    Only 7% of Instagram consumption is social. Facebook’s older audience falls in a still not-so-social figure of 17%.

    Only 12 short years ago, Zuckerberg had a different focus:

    For almost ten years, Facebook has been on a mission to make the world more open and connected.

    Perhaps Meta’s shift reflects the company’s core value: making a profit. Early, it was profitable for Meta as people shared photos and made connections. Now, it’s profitable for the company to show compelling human content (a moniker I greatly dislike) amongst their impressive ad network. I suspect that most of this user generated content will be replaced with AI-generated pieces, a change that will almost certainly make the company even more profitable.

  • Google offers buyouts to more workers

    MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (AP) — Google has offered buyouts to another swath of its workforce across several key divisions in a fresh round of cost cutting coming ahead of a court decision that could order a breakup of its internet empire. The Mountain View, California, company confirmed the streamlining that was reported by several news outlets.

    Source: AP

    The Verge also reports, Google is offering employee buyouts in Search and other orgs:

    Google is starting to offer buyouts to US-based employees in its sprawling Search organization, along with other divisions like marketing, research, and core engineering, according to multiple employees familiar with the matter.

    Per Bloomberg last month:

    Beyond that upheaval, AI is already making gains with consumers. Cue noted that searches on Safari dipped for the first time last month, which he attributed to people using AI. Cue said he believes that AI search providers, including OpenAI, Perplexity AI Inc. and Anthropic PBC, will eventually replace standard search engines like Alphabet’s Google. He said he believes Apple will bring those options to Safari in the future.