Empathy is Contagious

 I found this to be very interesting, hopeful, and concerning.

Empathy is the ability a person might possess to put themselves in the shoes of another person (or animal or other) to feel what they feel and experience what they experience.

New science says it is contagious. Being around or witnessing empathy tends to increase empathy in the witness.

Here is the full story:

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/48962/20240228/empathy-contagious-change-depending-reaction-others-study.htm

Here is a snippet from the piece:

"Depending on whether empathic or non-empathic reactions were observed, empathy ratings increased or decreased," per neuroscientist Grit Hein from the University of Würzburg in Germany.

A troubling part of it is the assessment that empathy is on the decline overall. Also, lack of empathy is also contagious. That tells me this could be used as a tool for desensitization--a necessary component of conquest and dominance.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Tech Sector Job Bloodbath Continues

 The head economist at Moody's was recently quoted in a Washington Post article as saying, roughly, "The American form of capitalism is ruthless in how it reallocates resources."

That means layoffs. Means lives destroyed so shareholder value can be maximized.

Since the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to battle inflation the business calculation to invest in tech and speculate has shifted and now the companies who employed those workers have to adjust to meet the numbers Wall Street expects of them. Executives, heavily incentivized to meet Wall Street demands, are culling the work force at these companies to cut costs--the only avenue remaining when growth options are limited. The U.S. lags behind other western democracies in protecting workers--read, people who don't hold enormous loads of capital, money--so these kinds of wave layoffs are only possible in this country.

The bloodbath started early in 2023 and continue.

Here is an article detailing how ex-Googlers are handling it:

https://www.nbcnews.com/business/economy/tech-workers-layoffs-job-cuts-careers-rcna141735

Here is a snippet from that piece:

“There was a time when working in tech seemed like the most stable career you could have,” said Ayomi Samaraweera, who was laid off as chief of staff at the content creator platform Jellysmack in December 2022. After about 10 years in the industry, she said, “tech does not seem safe and secure.”

Here is an article announcing yet another round of layoffs at Google:

https://siliconangle.com/2024/04/17/google-announces-second-major-round-layoffs-year/ 

Here is an article tracking the major layoffs in tech:

https://techcrunch.com/2024/05/07/tech-layoffs-2023-list/

Here is a snippet from that piece:

The tech layoff wave is still going strong in 2024. Following significant workforce reductions in 2022 and 2023, this year has already seen 60,000 job cuts across 254 companies, according to independent layoffs tracker Layoffs.fyi. Companies like Tesla, Amazon, Google, TikTok, Snap and Microsoft have conducted sizable layoffs in the first months of 2024. Smaller-sized startups have also seen a fair amount of cuts, and in some cases, have shut down operations altogether.

If you are fortunate enough to have a chair during this gigantic game of musical chairs, where more than a half a million are outside looking in trying to survive, please consider others.

The society we live in is a choice. We can choose to stay on the current path, or deviate. The evidence strongly suggests the current path only benefits a very small portion of society and is creating waves of destruction for the majority of society. We should consider the alternatives.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

The End of Neoliberalism May Be Dawning

The market should be trusted and knows all.

That has been sold to the people of the U.S. for decades, half a century or more now, since at least the Reagan revolution.

How has that worked out?

The middle class has been squeezed almost out of existence, the wealth gap has grown incredibly high, CEOs now make more in a day than the average employee makes in a lifetime, etc. The list goes on.

One economist writing for the Washington Post says our democracy requires a change to our economics.

captialism-economics-democracy-book/

Here is a snippet from the piece:

We’ve now had four decades of the neoliberal “experiment,” beginning with Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. The results are clear. Neoliberalism expanded the freedom of corporations and billionaires to do as they will and amass huge fortunes, but it also exacted a steep price: the well-being and freedom of the rest of society.

Interesting read. His opinion is growing massively in this country.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD Entry 0268 - The Looming Social Upheaval from AI

Best Reading of the Day

The article frames the discussion as a lack of preparedness by politicians for the coming AI revolution, that some refer to as the third industrial revolution.

The U.S. is a democracy with a system of laws for governing. Free market people will say it is as it should be. Keep politicos and their regulations out.

What will come of it?

Here is the complete article:

https://www.cnn.com/2024/05/13/investing/premarket-stocks-trading/index.html

Here are a few snippets from the piece, that is a lengthy interview with economist Glenn Hubbard.

Glenn Hubbard is worried the United States isn’t ready to accept the disruptions that come along with [the coming AI revolution] 

...

Over the past three or four decades, technological change and some globalization has caused a slow-mo disruption of the job market and communities around the country. Now look at AI, we’re going to have that same disruption except it’s going to be much faster. We’re talking about five years, not 30.

...

Social support for our system is unraveling and it’s been unraveling for a while. There are many communities and many groups of individuals who don’t really feel like contemporary capitalism is serving them well. And the longer we let that go, we’re really running the risk of killing the golden goose.

That last part really struck me.

We have literally seen the populace of the U.S. rise up with pitchforks and torches to overthrow our current system (January 6 Capital Riots). Income inequality and wealth disparity, inherent in capitalism, have been growing rapidly for decades and is well-known to be a source to destabilize a society. 

When will the people of the U.S. wake up? The younger generation is already moving rapidly anti-capitalist and pro-socialism because of where we are. A sea-change is coming. I see tumultuous times ahead.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant