e548 — The Uncomfortable Valley

e548 with Michael and Michael - Stories and discussion on #UncomfortableValley & #UncannyValley, Nintendo’s #TalkingFlower, #8bit #PixelAgents for #AIorchestration and a whole lot more.

https://gamesatwork.biz/2026/03/23/e548-the-uncomfortable-valley/

Time for Europe to Use the Nuclear Option: Attack US Patent and Copyright Monopolies

Trump’s push to seize Greenland includes $75 billion in tariffs that hit U.S. consumers, while Europe could respond by targeting U.S. patents.

CEPR
How long will it take before the first companies who have #fired employees to replace them with cheaper #AI will go bankrupt because the prices are doubled annually for those who can no longer do without nor switch providers because they’re dug in too deeply? #autonomy #sovereignty #dependent #monopoly

あの金はいったいどこへ消えたのか?――アメリカというポンジスキーム国家

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://p2ptk.org/monopoly/5479

@icing Tbh, for new site discoverabiliy I feel like mainstream #searchengine are out of the question now, when #google #monopoly is more keen to use #ai scraper bot in stead of indexing one to generate summaries. I cant remember last time when I saw new interestung website without niche search engine, or just by someones recomendation. But for news discoverability... I feel like websites should have their own search engine that could be hooked to something like #searxng, or some search #database dump #format should emerge to lessen the burden on sites by caching search querries, and to allow simple sites without any sort of serverside logic to also be searchable. Though that still would have its own issues...

If you don't diversify your #AI #token supply you're dead in the water. Why would I invest if you're subjected to a #monopoly to exist? Why not invest in the monopoly instead?

Tokens are subsidized, reaching limits, and monopolies can't raise prices until you're locked in.
 
Vendor lock-in = future #enshittification: Demand agnostic solutions.

Don't get me wrong, smallest violin for companies who fired everyone and now depend on one vendor.
 
https://www.instagram.com/p/DV0Z0qmDa28/
https://www.instagram.com/p/DU_llvaAW7G/

All-In Podcast LLC on Instagram: "AI is boosting developer productivity by up to 2x, making them more valuable than their salary. Tokens might soon outpace paychecks. #AIDevelopment #DeveloperProductivity #TechTrends #FutureOfWork #AIinBusiness #Programming #SoftwareEngineering #Innovation"

2,756 likes, 180 comments - allinpodcastllc on March 13, 2026: "AI is boosting developer productivity by up to 2x, making them more valuable than their salary. Tokens might soon outpace paychecks. #AIDevelopment #DeveloperProductivity #TechTrends #FutureOfWork #AIinBusiness #Programming #SoftwareEngineering #Innovation".

Instagram

MONOPOLY: Star Wars Heroes vs Villains, nuovi dettagli tra gameplay, personaggi e bonus preordine

https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.galaxyaddicted.it/2026/03/monopoly-star-wars-heroes-vs-villains-dettagli/

Great episode of “Organized Money” on the #LiveNation / #Ticketmaster trial, bogus settlement, and what’s next as the states step up.

https://pca.st/episode/451d66c6-fb43-4d7d-88eb-4475da02bbb2

#monopoly

Robbing Them Blind, Baby: The Live Nation Case

In a shocking turn of events, the federal government settled their longstanding anti-trust action against Live Nation after a week of in-court proceedings. This process was described as…

This is a pretty good takedown of a key element in Facebook/Meta's winning anti-trust argument. Essentially, they argued that because people do other things, including things that could vaguely be described as "using social media,” when they can't use Facebook, Facebook is not a monopoly. This article argues that reality is a bit more complicated than that.

There's also some interesting info on ad loads I wasn't aware of.

#economics #law #monopoly #antitrust

https://www.promarket.org/2026/03/19/metas-winning-market-definition-in-its-monopoly-case-relied-on-a-flawed-empirical-assumption/

Meta’s Winning Market Definition in Its Monopoly Case Relied on a Flawed Empirical Assumption - ProMarket

Meta prevailed in its monopoly case against the Federal Trade Commission by showing that the FTC’s market definition of personal social media was too narrow. However, Meta’s argument—and Judge James Boasberg’s ruling—rested on a flawed empirical assumption that confuses how users divert their time to other activities when no longer able to use a Meta platform with true product substitution.

ProMarket