Software is replacing artists and writers who enjoy their work while warehouse staffers pee in bottles to make quota. AI is turning into a shitty anti-utopia. As I write this, the Writers Guild of America (WGA) has been on strike for 28 days. In a negotiation with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), the WGA is seeking what amounts to four things: Better residuals Minimum staffing requirements Shorter exclusivity periods A commitment that AI will not replace them House Keeping This article was written for broad syndication, along with links to my other recent work. Since I missed a couple of weeks, I have a few more pieces than normal. Recent Articles The Advertising Pyramid Scheme Streaming companies can earn more from an ad supported account than most consumers are willing to pay for the service. Creating a bazar world were everyone wants in on the ads. Offering ad inventory, big data targeting, or AI for an ad tech stack is incredibly profitable. A startup called Telly plans on giving away millions of premium TVs with an attached smaller second TV used to serve ads. Via Telly The advertising economy is starting to resemble a collection of interconnected multi-level marketing schemes. Some kind of intermediary firm sits atop each pyramid brokering the serving of ads to eyeballs. Under that are ad agencies, and tech firms that work on sales and bid management. The bottom are ad buyers, perhaps too few to sustain all these pyramids. Grief tech…The AI Anti-Utopia, And Other Stories