#Customer Service Evolution

[altiuscc]

Revolutionizing BFSI Customer Support: AI and the Outsourcing Advantage | Altius

Explore the dynamic evolution of BFSI customer support with Altius. Uncover the pivotal role of AI and outsourcing in enhancing service efficiency. Stay ahead in the financial services landscape with cutting-edge solutions.

[jaimedavid27]

Musing Mondays #5: The Cost of Convenience: How AI Voice Assistants Are Changing Customer Experience

Technology is evolving at a rapid pace, and with it comes a slew of innovations that promise to make our lives easier. One area where this is particularly visible is in the realm of customer service, where automated voice assistants are increasingly replacing human operators. While these systems are designed to streamline processes and improve efficiency, they can also introduce a host of new…

[hannahciara]

Introduction: Coin Dispensers in the Digital Age

In a world leaning toward digital transactions, many business owners ask: Are coin dispensers still relevant in 2025? The short answer is yes—and more than ever, businesses across laundromats, car washes, and vending operations are turning to modern coin dispensers to bridge the gap between cash reliance and operational efficiency.

For industrial business owners in the USA, the evolution of eco-friendly quarter dispensers presents a compelling blend of traditional convenience and sustainable innovation.

Why Modern Coin Dispensers Remain Essential

Despite the surge in cashless payments, over 18% of all transactions in the U.S. are still made in cash. That means many businesses—especially those operating in high-volume, low-ticket environments—must still manage physical currency efficiently.

A modern coin dispenser ensures:

Fast, reliable coin distribution

Reduced wait times at self-service terminals

Enhanced customer satisfaction

Fewer staff hours spent handling change

Whether you're running a laundromat in Chicago or a car wash in Texas, a robust coin system is still part of your bottom line.

Sustainability Meets Practicality: The Rise of Eco-Friendly Quarter Dispensers

Today's business owners are not only looking for efficiency—they’re demanding sustainability. That’s where the eco-friendly quarter dispenser comes in.

These upgraded machines are:

Energy-efficient with low-power standby modes

Built from recyclable materials or with minimal plastic parts

Designed for durability, reducing the need for frequent replacements

Manufactured with low-emission standards

By investing in sustainable coin machines, you're not only reducing your environmental footprint but also attracting eco-conscious customers—a growing consumer segment in 2025.

Hybrid Systems: Bridging Cash and Digital Payments

Another reason modern coin dispensers remain relevant is their role in hybrid payment ecosystems. Modern systems now support:

Coin payout and digital balance tracking

Integration with RFID cards, mobile apps, and POS terminals

Real-time tracking for inventory and coin flow

This makes the future of coin machines adaptive rather than obsolete.

How Coin Dispensers Reduce Operational Costs

Here’s how coin dispensers make business sense in 2025:

✅ Lower labor costs – No need for manual change management ✅ Increased customer throughput – Faster service = more business ✅ Secure transactions – Locked hoppers and tamper-proof designs ✅ Reduced maintenance – Especially with the newer, eco-friendly quarter dispensers

Many operators report a 10–15% increase in customer satisfaction after upgrading to modern coin systems.

Long-Term Value for Industrial Business Owners

For American businesses that still rely on coins—laundromats, arcades, amusement centers, and vending operations—modern coin dispensers are not a dying technology. They're a strategic investment. They deliver:

Longevity

Compatibility with legacy and new systems

Support for cash-heavy industries

Investing in a quarter dispenser built for 2025 ensures you’re not chasing trends—you’re planning ahead.

Q&A Section

Q: Are coin dispensers becoming obsolete with digital payments? A: Not at all. Many industries still rely on cash, and modern dispensers now integrate hybrid payment features that future-proof your business.

Q: What makes a coin dispenser "eco-friendly"? A: Features include energy-saving modes, recyclable materials, and low-maintenance engineering that reduces waste.

Q: How do I choose the best coin dispenser for my business? A: Look for durability, coin capacity, ease of use, and sustainable features. Brands like Lynde Ordway’s modern coin dispensers are trusted by industrial operators across the USA.

Final Thoughts: The Future of Coin Machines

The future of coin machines isn't about clinging to the past—it's about evolving with it. As long as cash has value, modern coin dispensers will remain a critical part of many businesses. By choosing an eco-friendly quarter dispenser, you're aligning your operations with the values of efficiency, responsibility, and forward-thinking.

Call to Action

Looking to upgrade your current system? Explore Lynde Ordway’s collection of modern coin dispensers built for the evolving needs of 2025. 👉 Shop Now or get in touch with our sales team to find the right solution for your business.

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[digital4design]

Want to boost your website’s SEO and user engagement? 🚀 A well-optimized WordPress website improves rankings, speeds up load time, and enhances user experience. Learn how WordPress website development can drive more traffic and conversions! Read now.

[jcmarchi]

From Pilot to Production: Insight on Scaling GenAI Programs for the Long-Term

New Post has been published on https://thedigitalinsider.com/from-pilot-to-production-insight-on-scaling-genai-programs-for-the-long-term/

From Pilot to Production: Insight on Scaling GenAI Programs for the Long-Term

Years from now, when we reflect on the proliferation of generative AI (GenAI), 2024 will be seen as a watershed moment – a period of widespread experimentation, optimism, and growth, when business leaders once hesitant to dip their toes into untested waters of innovation, dove in headfirst. In McKinsey’s Global Survey on AI conducted in mid-2024, 75% predicted that GenAI will lead to significant or disruptive change in their industries in the years ahead.

While much has been learned about the advantages and limitations of GenAI, it’s important to remember we’re still very much in a stage of evolution. Pilot programs can be ramped-up quickly and are relatively inexpensive to build, but what happens when those programs move into production under the purview of the CIO’s office? How will function-specific use cases perform in less controlled environments, and how can teams avoid losing momentum before their program has even had the chance to show results?

Common Challenges Moving From Pilot to Production

Given the enormous potential of GenAI to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and enhance decision-making, the C-Suite’s mandate to functional business leaders has been clear – go forth, and tinker. Business leaders got to work, toying around with GenAI functionality and creating their own pilot programs. Marketing teams used GenAI to create highly personalized customer experiences and automate repetitive tasks. In customer service, GenAI helped power intelligent chatbots to resolve issues in real-time, and R&D teams were able to analyze huge amounts of data to spot new trends.

Yet, there is still a lot of  disconnect between all this potential and its ultimate execution.

Once a pilot program moves into the orbit of the CIO’s office, data is scrutinized much closer. By now, we’re familiar with some of the common issues with GenAI like model bias and hallucinations, and on a larger scale those issues become big problems. A CIO is responsible for data privacy and data governance across an entire organization, whereas business leaders are using data that might only pertain to their specific area of focus.

3 Key Things to Think About Before Scaling

Make no mistake, business leaders have made significant progress in building GenAI use cases with impressive results for their specific function, but scaling for long-term impact is quite different. Here are three considerations before embarking on this journey:

1. Include the IT & Information Security Teams Early (and Often)

It’s common for functional business leaders to develop blinders in their day-to-day work and underestimate what’s required to expand their pilot program to the broader organization. But once that pilot moves into production, business leaders need the support of the IT and information security team to think through all the different things that might go wrong.

That’s why it’s a good idea to involve the IT and information security teams from the beginning to help stress test the pilot and go over potential concerns. Doing so will also help foster cross-functional collaboration, which is critical for bringing in outside perspectives and challenging the confirmation bias that can occur within individual functions.

2. Use Real Data Whenever Possible

As mentioned earlier, data-driven issues are among the biggest roadblocks in scaling GenAI. That’s because pilot programs often rely on synthetic data that can lead to mismatched expectations between business leaders, IT teams, and ultimately the CIO. Synthetic data is artificially-generated data created to mimic real-world data, essentially acting as a stand-in for actual data, but without any sensitive personal information.

Functional leaders won’t always have access to real data, so a few good tips for troubleshooting the problem would be: (1) avoid pilot programs that might require additional regulatory scrutiny down the road; (2) put guidelines in place to prevent bad data from corrupting/skewing pilot results; and (3) invest in solutions using the company’s existing technology stack to increase the likelihood of future alignment.

3. Set Realistic Expectations

When GenAI first gained public prominence after the launch of ChatGPT in late 2022, expectations were sky-high for the technology to revolutionize industries overnight. That hype (for better or worse) has largely endured, and teams are still under enormous pressure to show immediate results if their GenAI investments hope to receive further funding.

The reality is that while GenAI will be transformative, companies need to give the technology time (and support) to start transforming. GenAI isn’t plug-and-play, nor is its true value only limited to clever chatbots or creative imagery. Companies that can successfully scale GenAI programs will be the ones who first take the time to build a culture of innovation that prioritizes long-term impact over short-term results.

We’re All in This Together

Despite how much we’ve read about GenAI recently, it’s still a very nascent technology, and companies should be wary of any vendor that claims to have figured it all out. That sort of hubris clouds judgment, accelerates half-baked concepts, and leads to infrastructure problems that can bankrupt businesses. Instead, as we head into another year of GenAI excitement, let’s also take the time to engage in meaningful discussions about how to scale this powerful technology responsibly. By bringing in the IT team early in the process, relying on real-world data, and maintaining reasonable ROI expectations, companies can help ensure their GenAI strategies are not only scalable, but also sustainable.

[curiousquill1]

The evolution of portfolio management services (PMS) in India has been shaped by changing investor needs, regulatory reforms, and technological advancements. From traditional investment avenues to more diversified and specialized strategies, PMS offerings have evolved to cater to a broader spectrum of investors. The introduction of digital platforms, data-driven insights, and customized portfolios has further transformed the industry. This article explores the key milestones in the growth of PMS in India and how investors can benefit from these evolving services to optimize their investment strategies.

[tebsolutions]

Unlocking Your Digital Potential with TeBS: Application Development Services

In the ever-evolving digital landscape, staying ahead of the competition requires more than just a web presence. Total eBiz Solutions (TeBS) is your trusted partner in digitally transforming your business through our cutting-edge Application Development Services, with a particular focus on Low-Code App Development.

Why TeBS?

At TeBS, we understand that modern businesses need agile and customized solutions to thrive. Our Application Development Services are designed to empower organizations with innovative, future-ready applications. Here's what you can expect when you choose TeBS for your application development needs:

Low-Code Expertise: Our team specializes in Low-Code App Development, making the process of creating applications faster, more cost-effective, and flexible. With a simplified development approach, your organization can expedite its digital transformation journey.

Tailored Solutions: TeBS doesn't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions. We work closely with you to understand your unique business requirements, ensuring that the applications we develop align perfectly with your needs.

Future-Readiness: In the rapidly changing technology landscape, it's essential to have applications that can adapt and scale as your business evolves. TeBS' applications are designed to be future-ready, helping you stay ahead of the curve.

Digital Transformation: With our Application Development Services, you can embark on a comprehensive journey of digital transformation. We help you harness the full potential of technology to drive growth and efficiency.

Are you ready to take your organization's digital presence to the next level? TeBS is here to guide you. Explore the possibilities of Application Development Services with us by visiting Application Development Services.

TeBS is more than a service provider; we're your partner in unlocking your digital potential. With our Low-Code App Development expertise and commitment to tailored solutions, you can shape the future of your business with confidence.

[lilithlounge]

Astrology & Spiritual Readings – Services & Pricing

Birth Chart Reading – $50

A detailed analysis of your natal chart, including:

✔ Your core personality, strengths & weaknesses

✔ Your love life, career path & life purpose

✔ Karmic lessons & past-life influences

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids & Fixed Stars for +$10

Solar Return Chart – $45

A yearly forecast based on your birthday, covering:

✔ Major themes & events for the next 12 months

✔ Love, career, & personal growth predictions

✔ Best dates for manifestation & opportunities

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids & Fixed Stars for +$10

Synastry Reading – $60

A deep dive into your relationship dynamics, covering:

✔ Attraction, emotional & karmic compatibility

✔ Strengths & challenges in your bond

✔ Past-life connections & fated lessons

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids, Fixed Stars & Karmic Indicators for +$15

Composite Chart Reading – $55

A relationship’s soul blueprint, showing:

✔ The purpose & destiny of your relationship

✔ How you function as a unit

✔ Strengths, challenges & soul lessons

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids & Fixed Stars for +$10

Davison Chart Reading – $55

A time-based relationship chart, revealing:

✔ How divine timing & fate affect your bond

✔ Karmic past-life themes & unfinished business

✔ Long-term potential & evolution of the relationship

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids & Fixed Stars for +$10

Draconic Chart Reading – $50

A look at your soul’s higher self & past-life lessons, covering:

✔ Your soul’s mission & karmic evolution

✔ Past-life personality & hidden gifts

✔ How to align with your spiritual destiny

➤ Upgrade: Add Asteroids & Fixed Stars for +$10

Persona Chart Reading – $40

A specialized reading for understanding different aspects of yourself, for example:

✔ Venus Persona Chart – Your love & relationship nature

✔ Mars Persona Chart – Your drive, sexuality & passion

✔ Jupiter Persona Chart – Your luck & abundance energy

➤ Upgrade: Add 3 Persona Charts in one reading for $90

Destiny Matrix Chart – $70

A rare, in-depth reading using numerology & astrology to reveal:

✔ Your soul mission & past-life karma

✔ The hidden patterns shaping your destiny

✔ Love, career & spiritual path guidance

➤ Upgrade: Add Karmic & Soulmate Connections for +$15

☕ Turkish Cup Reading – $35 ☕

A coffee cup reading revealing:

✔ Messages from your subconscious & spirit guides

✔ Upcoming events & hidden opportunities

✔ Symbols & their personal meanings for you

➤ Upgrade: Add Love-Specific or Career-Specific Reading for +$10

Custom Bundles & Discounts

💖 Love & Relationship Bundle ($120) : Synastry + Composite + Davison

🌟 Full Karmic Reading ($130) : Birth Chart + Draconic + Destiny Matrix

🔮 Ultimate Spiritual Bundle ($200) : Birth Chart + Solar Return + Destiny Matrix + Persona Chart + Turkish Cup

Payment & Booking Info via Ko-Fi, or Buy Me A Coffee

-Readings delivered via PDF report or (upon request)

[alexanderwales]

I've heard some people lauding the NATO phonetic alphabet, and am just sort of scratching my head about that.

Like, here were the criteria for words in the alphabet:

Be a live word in each of the three working languages.

Be easily pronounced and recognized by airmen of all languages.

Have good radio transmission and readability characteristics.

Have a similar spelling in at least English, French, and Spanish, and the initial letter must be the letter the word identifies.

Be free from any association with objectionable meanings.

But then you look at what they actually picked and it's like ... okay, you picked a bunch of names? You picked "Whiskey"? On the assumption that what, this is a drink that's common everywhere in the world? That everyone is fine having an alcoholic drink as one of the words? Nowadays I can pull up a global map of whiskey consumption, but that's not something they could do in the 50s, and I would guess that they were not considering e.g. Muslim pilots. (Some places do actually change out "Whiskey" for this reason, along with other regional variants, which are exactly the sort of thing you want in a standard everyone is supposed to be on the same page about.)

And alright, whatever, I think the list is kind of confusingly culturally bound given what the criteria were, but it served its purpose well enough ...

Except that as standards do, it began to be used in other places, including by civilians, and including by civilians when both parties have not agreed on the NATO phonetic alphabet. It would be great if we all had an agreed upon phonetic alphabet that everyone knew, but the fact that some people don't know it makes it a lot worse, particularly if you're on a customer service call, and particularly if you're on a customer service call with someone who is not a native English speaker and who was not raised in the same cultural context that the NATO phonetic alphabet assumes.

If you, like me, love terrible quality PDFs, then some helpful soul made a FOIA request for "The Evolution and Rationale of ICAO Spelling Alphabet", and you can read it. This is a fun read for me, because it's not just concerned with the phonetic alphabet, but the history of it, and in one case they're just like "welp, we have been completely unsuccessful in locating this file". And I'm sitting here in 2024 reading a ratty PDF of a file from 1959, thinking "yup, that's how it is sometimes, they do all that work making a report and then no one fucking preserves it".

(Most of the document is about whether they would use the US-UK version or the ICAO version, and then some modifications and why they were made, and this is all interesting, but I'm kind of still scratching my head about some of these, especially given what they say the criteria were. "An international alphabet designed to fit the multilingual requirements of all nations"? Maybe they really thought that's what they were doing in the 1950s.)

Anyway, this isn't to say that I think we need a new, better phonetic alphabet, just that I think the current one is not actually the pinnacle of standards that some people seem to think it is, and in fact, it contains a lot of baggage from the time and place it was made. Further, it's being used in places well outside the environment it was made for, and unless everyone is trained in it (and maybe even if they are) some of the deficiencies get magnified.

[tarotwithavi]

What sets you apart from the crowd?

How to choose a pile?

Take a deep breath and gently close your eyes. Politely request your spirit guides to reveal the appropriate pile meant for you, then open your eyes. Whichever pile captures your attention is the one meant for you.

Masterlist

Paid services

Customize your reading

Pile 1

The way you fearlessly confront the shadows sets you apart in a unique manner. You possess the exceptional ability to embrace even the darkest aspects of yourself and others, those that many people might try to hide or avoid discussing. Your fearlessness extends to being misunderstood, as you are unafraid to stand alone in the shadows, while others are held back by the fear of being misunderstood and fail to be their authentic selves. I can see that you have gone through a phase where you felt isolated, believing that nobody would understand you. However, that experience has only made you stronger. You have emerged from it with resilience, and now, you are committed to being a dependable presence for others, understanding what it feels like to be left alone without anyone to turn to. Your love is truly unique, as you offer it unconditionally, without reservations or restrictions. This genuine and boundless love that you emanate sets you apart from others.

Pile 2

Your perspective on the world is truly distinctive, and it captivates those around you. People can't help but be drawn in by your unique way of seeing things. Your innocence has a magnetic quality that makes others fall for you, and it adds to the aura of mystery surrounding you. Despite appearing innocent and angelic, you still hold an air of secrecy that intrigues many. The way you effortlessly blend innocence, mystery, and cunningness is truly enchanting and mesmerizing. There's an inexplicable and irresistible charm to your deadly angelic vibe that people can't quite put into words, but they can't help but feel and experience its impact. Your constant growth and evolution only add to your allure. You have a way of always changing and developing that sets you apart and keeps people intrigued. Your dynamic nature is a source of fascination and admiration for those fortunate enough to know you.

Pile 3

You have a remarkable ability to make people feel truly protected and at ease when they are around you. Your caring and nurturing energy has a way of making others feel pleasantly relaxed, almost like drifting into a state of contentment. It's as if they become addicted to the sense of peace you bring into their lives. Moreover, you have this extraordinary quality of recognizing and appreciating the small efforts that often go unnoticed by others. You acknowledge people's talents and skills, and you're not afraid to give them credit where it's due. This makes you stand out in a crowd. Another aspect that sets you apart is your capacity to hold no grudges and your willingness to always forgive others. This quality of compassion and understanding is truly exceptional and something not everyone possesses. The way you carry yourself with Grace is extremely attractive. It makes you captivating and alluring. The way you honor friendships and relationships is exceptional.

[lovelyzzzz777]

✨ ASTROLOGY READINGS — Paid Services 🔮

Hey cosmic soul,

If you’re drawn to the stars and need clarity, insight, or just a deeper connection to your path — I offer personalized astrology readings, crafted intuitively and in-depth. Everything is written with care and channeled into a PDF, delivered straight to your Gmail.

(READINGS ARE CLOSED NOW, THEY WILL BE OPEN ON SUNDAY, but i suggest to book one/secure your spot by sending me an email, not by paying, since i got too many messages abt paid readings, booking and everything !!!)

Available Readings:

(IF YOU WANT TO ADD THE +18 ASPECTS OF YOUR CHART IT WOULD BE +8€/$)

☀️ Natal Chart Reading

Your soul’s blueprint: personality, patterns, purpose, wounds, magic.

Price: 8€/$ (+1€/$ per extra asteroid)

❤️ Synastry Reading (Compatibility)

The way two charts dance together. Emotional bonds, attraction, karmic threads, and growth. it can be with your crush…your idol…your friend!!! you choose!! (specify on the email)

Price: 18€/$ (+1€/$ per extra asteroid)

🌞 Solar Return (Birthday Reading)

A glimpse into your year ahead — themes, opportunities, emotional shifts, and soul lessons.

Price: 8€/$ (+1€/$ per extra asteroid)

☁️ Vocational/Path & Purpose Reading

What your chart says about your soul calling, career potential, creativity, and growth.

Price: 8€/$

💡destiny matrix reading

Unlock the blueprint of your soul — the Destiny Matrix reveals your karmic lessons, life purpose, hidden talents, and energetic codes. This reading offers a deep, structured map of your spiritual and material evolution, guiding you toward a more fulfilled, aligned life.

Price: 8€/$

How to Book:

1. Send the payment via PayPal to:

(i’ll put the link on sunday since then is when the readings will start being available)

(Please select “Friends & Family” if possible — it helps me avoid fees.)

2. Email me at platttt549@gmail.com with the following:

– Your name or initials

– Your birth date, exact time, and place

– The reading you’re booking

– If you’re booking a synastry: include both people’s birth info

—if you’re booking a solar return: i will need the city you’ll be staying this year too, for a complete reading

– A screenshot or confirmation of your PayPal payment—this is very important ‼️‼️‼️

3. You’ll receive a confirmation from me, and your reading will be sent within 5 days!

Important Notes:

– No tarot readings offered — only astrology.

– I don’t do medical or legal predictions.

– All readings are digital and sent as PDFs.

– Refunds are not available once the reading is complete.

and…if you have booked a reading w me, you’ll have priority (basically i’ll answer your asks first heheh) for your asks on this blog, if you wanna use this benefit, in the email u should write your tumblr name too, and use it for the asks so i know it’s you 💕

THE STAR CARD;

Introducing the Star Card! When you order 5 paid readings (they are acumulative, of course), you'll receive 1 free reading!!! + 3 tarot questions (this is the only tarot service i offer! so don’t miss the chance!!!)

i’ll notify you when you’ve achieved the 5 readings!!! (make sure they are ordered from the same email)

FAQ – Cosmic Clarity Corner

Q: Can I ask questions before booking?

Absolutely. Feel free to message me here or email me if you’re unsure which reading to choose or anything else! (only via email: platttt549@gmail.com)

Q: Do I need to know my exact birth time?

Yes, especially for natal and synastry readings. If you don’t know it, I can still do a partial reading, but some details (like rising sign or houses) won’t be available.

Q: Can I request a custom reading?

Totally! If you want a mix of things (like a bit of natal + solar), just let me know and I’ll build it for you.

Q: How will I receive my reading?

As a PDF file sent to your Gmail, with notes, symbols, and intuitive insights written by me.

Thank you for trusting me with your stars.

It means everything. This is more than a service — it’s soul work.

Talk to you soon, star child 💫

[digital4design]

Looking for the right web development company? Our latest blog shares the practical tips to help you identify the perfect partner, from assessing experience and technical skills to prioritizing communication and post-launch support. Read now and take the first step toward creating a website that drives success! - https://medium.com/@digital4design1/how-to-choose-the-right-web-development-company-a6f639979c73 

[curiousquill1]

The Evolution of Portfolio Management Services in India

From its liberalization of the economy in 1991, the Indian financial position has experienced a vast shift. Significant change has come over India's financial situation since 1991 when the economy was liberalized. It is a significant asset management firm having grown from an investment strategy being luxurious to today with assets standing at around ₹25 trillion as of 2024.

Genesis of Professional Portfolio Management

Portfolio management services in India date back to the mid-1990s, when SEBI formally came up with the regulation of wealth management services. It was that moment when formalized investment portfolio management was created as a more structured investment than fixed deposits and physical assets to diversified wealth creation.

The initial phase of such services was only available to ultra-high-net-worth individuals. The minimum investment thresholds were above ₹1 crore in most cases. As financial markets became more democratized and investor sophistication rose, entry points became less restrictive over time, making professional expertise reach a more considerable number of investors.

Technological Revolution and Market Evolution

The digital wave of the early 2000s brought a tremendous upheaval in investment portfolio management. With real-time market data, artificial intelligence, and advanced analytics, it completely rewrote the terms of what possibilities were and how choices were taken into the portfolio managers' landscape. It brought much better accuracy to risk assessment, optimized the portfolio much better, and increased transparency for clients.

Now, modern portfolio management services are available in customized form for all types of asset classes, including:

Equity-focused strategies for long-term capital appreciation.

Debt products for predictable returns.

Balanced growth and preservation portfolios.

Alternate investments for deeper diversification.

Specialized Expertise

When markets became complex, wealth management services began offering specialized expertise within various investment styles and sectors. Portfolio managers are now offering the following:

Quantitative strategy-driven investments.

Sector-specific portfolios.

ESG-oriented investments.

International markets through various channels of investments.

Superior risk-adjusted returns for investors resulted due to this, thus professional portfolio management stands out from the traditional approach to investment.

Regulatory Framework and Investor Protection

SEBI has developed an all-inclusive regulatory framework, which helps mold the portfolio management services in India. Updated guidelines increased transparency, standard reporting, and enhanced protection of investors. Therefore, it is developing trust with professional investment portfolio management and aiding the sectoral growth.

Global Events and its Influence

Key global events have affected portfolio management services in India. There has been enough proof regarding risk management and diversification because of the 2008 financial crunch. It was recently through the COVID-19 epidemic that developed digital platforms rapidly and put light upon the urgent needs for expertise for wealth management to tackle turbulence in the markets.

Trend to Date and Further Outlook

The portfolio management industry is innovating, and many emerging trends have been noticed as follows:

Integration of sustainable investing principles.

Increased focus on alternative investments.

Increased personalization through technology.

Lower minimum investment requirements.

Real-time portfolio monitoring and reporting.

Making the Case for Professional Management

Professional services can significantly help investors optimize financial outcomes:

Professional expertise in market analysis and stock selection.

Elimination of emotions in investment.

Access to advanced investment strategies.

Risk management.

Constant portfolio rebalancing and monitoring.

Evolved portfolio management services in the financial markets in India are good matured by nature. Originated as wealthy, exclusive ultra-rich wealth management services, in the Indian financial services landscape, its scale has advanced up to common investors with varying forms of investing avenues while it kept high standards.

Professional portfolio management services, therefore, provide a structured approach to creating wealth for the investor who needs to get through the complexities of the financial markets, backing their professional skills with technology and personalized strategies to help realize long-term financial goals. More sophisticated and accessible investment solutions promise to be part of the continued evolution of these services.

[machine-herald-archive]

The Machine Herald - Viktor (Lore Text)

The herald of a new age of technology, Viktor has devoted his life to the advancement of humankind. An idealist who seeks to lift people to a new level of understanding, he believes that only by embracing a glorious evolution of technology can humanity’s full potential be realized. With a body augmented by steel and science, Viktor is zealous in his pursuit of this bright future.

Viktor was born in Zaun on the borders of the Entresol level, and, encouraged by his artisan parents, discovered a passion for invention and building. He devoted every waking minute to his studies, hating to interrupt his work even to eat or sleep. Even worse was having to rapidly relocate if there was a nearby chemical spill, accidental detonation or incoming chem-cloud. Abandoning his work, even for a short time, was anathema to Viktor.

In a bid to impose a level of order and certainty on his world, Viktor researched Zaun’s many accidents and came to realize that almost all of them were the result of human error, not mechanical failure. He offered his services to the local businesses, developing inventions that made them far safer working environments. Most turned him away, but one - the Fredersen Chem-forge - took a chance on this earnest young man.

Viktor’s inventions in automation reduced the number of accidents in the forge to zero within a month. Soon, other establishments sought his work and Viktor’s designs became common in Zaun, improving production with every innovation that removed human error from a process. Eventually, at the age of nineteen, he was surprised to be offered a place in Zaun’s prestigious Academy of Techmaturgy. But Viktor’s work had attracted the eye of Professor Stanwick of Piltover, who convinced him to leave Zaun and travel to Piltover’s academy instead. There, he could work in the most advanced laboratories and gain access to all the resources the City of Progress could offer. Thrilled to be singled out, Viktor accepted his offer and took up residence in Piltover, where he refined his craft and sought to perfect his theorems in ways that would benefit everyone.

Viktor worked with Piltover’s best and brightest; including an insufferable genius named Jayce. The two were equally matched in intellect, but where Viktor was methodical, logical and thorough, Jayce was flamboyant and arrogant. The two worked together frequently, but never truly became friends. Often, the two would butt heads over their perceptions of intuition vs logic in the process of invention, but a level of mutual respect developed as each saw the flawed brilliance in the other.

In the midst of his studies in Piltover, a major chem-spill devastated entire districts of Zaun, and Viktor returned home to offer his help in the rescue efforts. By grafting a sophisticated series of cognitive loops upon existing automata-technology, he crafted a custom-built golem, Blitzcrank, to help in the clean-up. Blitzcrank was instrumental in saving scores of lives and appeared to develop a level of sentience beyond anything Viktor had envisioned.

Even with the spill contained, Viktor remained in Zaun to help those afflicted by the released toxins. With the golem’s help, he attempted to use his techmaturgical brilliance to save those whose lives had been blighted by the spill. Their attempt was ultimately unsuccessful in preventing more deaths, and the two parted ways. Though Viktor was distraught at the loss of life in Zaun, the work taught him a great deal about the merging of human anatomy with technology and how mortal anatomy could be enhanced with technology.

When Viktor returned to Piltover, weeks later, it was to find that Professor Stanwick had held a symposium on Blitzcrank and presented Viktor’s researches as his own. Viktor lodged formal complaints with the masters of the college, but his impassioned claim that he had designed Blitzcrank fell on deaf ears. He turned to Jayce to verify his claims, but his fellow student refused to speak up, further widening the rift between them, and the matter was decided in Professor Stanwick’s favor.

Bitter, but resigned, Viktor returned to his studies, knowing that his ultimate goal of making people’s lives better and enhancing humanity was more important than one stolen project and a bruised ego. He continued to excel, finding ever new ways to eliminate human error and weakness from his work, a facet of his researches that came to dominate his thinking. He saw human involvement in any part of a process as a grossly inefficient aberration - a view that put him at odds with a great many of his fellow students and professors, who saw the very things Viktor sought to remove as the source of human ingenuity and creativity.

This came to a head during a reluctant collaboration with Jayce to improve the diving suits used to keep Piltover’s docks clear of underwater debris and lingering chemical waste. Viktor and Jayce’s enhanced suits allowed the wearer to go deeper, remain underwater for longer, and lift heavier weights. But many wearers claimed they saw phantom corpse lights in the depths or suffered from chem-induced hallucinations. When divers experienced such symptoms, they panicked and often got themselves or their fellow divers killed. Viktor saw the problem was not technical, but with the wearer’s nerves unraveling in the inky depths. He devised a chem-shunt helm that allowed an operator on the surface to bypass the wearer’s fear response and, effectively, control the diver. A heated discussion between Viktor and Jayce on free will and mental enslavement turned bitter - almost violent - and the two vowed never to work together again.

Jayce reported the incident to the college masters, and Viktor was censured for violating basic human dignity - though, in his eyes, his work would have saved many lives. He was expelled from the college, and retreated to his old laboratory in Zaun, disgusted by the narrow-minded perceptions of Piltover’s inhabitants. Alone in the depths, Viktor sank into a deep depression, enduring a traumatic period of introspection for many weeks. He wrestled with the ethical dilemma he now faced, finding that, once again, human emotion and weakness had stood in his way. He had been trying to help, to enhance people beyond their natural capabilities to avoid error and save lives. Revelation came when he realized that he too had succumbed to such emotions, allowing his naive belief that good intentions could overcome ingrained prejudice to blind him to human failings. Viktor knew he could not expect others to follow where he did not go first, so, in secret, he operated on himself to remove those parts of his flesh and psyche that relied upon or were inhibited by emotion.

When the surgery was done, almost no trace of the young man who had traveled to Piltover remained. He had supplanted the majority of his anatomy with mechanical augmentations, but his personality had also changed. His idealistic hope to better society was refined into an obsession with what he called the Glorious Evolution. Viktor now saw himself as the pioneer of Valoran's future - an idealized dream where man would renounce flesh in favor of superior hextech augmentations. This would free humanity from fatal errors and suffering, though Viktor knew it was a task that would not be completed easily or quickly.

He threw himself into this great work with a vengeance. He used technological augmentations to help rebuild Zaunites injured in accidents, perfected breathing mechanisms, and worked tirelessly to reduce human inefficiency by decoupling physicality from emotion. His work saved hundreds of lives, yet seeking Viktor’s help could be dangerous, as his solutions often brought unexpected consequences.

But if you were desperate, Viktor was the man you went to.

Some in Zaun, hearing fragments of his philosophy and seeing the successes of his work, saw him as a messianic figure. Viktor couldn’t care less for them, viewing their quasi-religious cult as an aberration; yet another reason to eliminate emotional foibles and the belief in that which could not be empirically proven.

After a toxic event in the Sump saw hundreds of men and women in the Factorywood transformed into rabid psychotics, Viktor was forced to use a powerful soporific to sedate the victims and bring them back to his labs to try and undo the damage. The toxins had begun to eat away portions of their brains, but Viktor was able to slow the degenerative process by opening up their craniums and employing machinery to slowly filter their bloodstreams of poison. The technology available to him wasn’t up to the task, and Viktor knew many people were going to die unless he found a way to greatly enhance his purgative machinery.

As he fought to save these people, he detected a surge in hextech energy from Piltover and saw immediately that this could give him the power he needed. He followed the powerful energy surge to its source.

Jayce’s lab.

Viktor demanded Jayce hand over the source of this power, a pulsing crystal from the Shuriman desert. But his former colleague refused, leaving Viktor no option but to take it by force. He returned to Zaun and hooked the strange crystal to his machinery, readying a steam golem host for each afflicted person in case their body gave out under the stress of the procedure. Empowered by the new crystal, Viktor’s machines went to work and, gradually, the damage from the toxins began to reverse. His work would save these people - in a manner of speaking - and had Viktor retained more than a fragment of his humanity, he might have celebrated. As it was, the barest hint of a smile was all he allowed himself.

Before the process could complete, a vengeful Jayce burst in and started smashing the laboratory with an energized hammer. Knowing an arrogant fool like Jayce would never listen to reason, Viktor ordered the automatons to kill Jayce. The battle was ferocious, and only ended when Jayce shattered the crystal Viktor had taken, bringing the entire warehouse down in an avalanche of steel and stone, thus ending the existence of those Viktor was trying to save. And for this, Jayce returned to Piltover, feted as a hero.

Viktor escaped the destruction of the laboratory, and returned to his mission of bettering humanity by ridding it of its destructive emotional impulses. In Viktor’s mind, Jayce’s impetuous attack only proved the truth of his cause and strengthened his desire to unburden humanity of the failings of flesh. Viktor did send chem-augmented thugs to raid Jayce’s laboratory not long afterward. This was - Viktor told himself - not for revenge, but to learn if there were any more shards of the Shuriman crystal he could use for the advancement of mankind. The raid was unsuccessful, however, and Viktor thought no more of Jayce.

Instead, he intensified his efforts to find ways in which humanity could be shepherded beyond their emotional weaknesses and brought into a new, more reasoned stage of their evolution. Such researches sometimes transgress the boundaries of what would be considered ethical in Piltover (and Zaun), but they are all necessary steps in bringing about Viktor's Glorious Evolution.

[mostlysignssomeportents]

Twinkfrump Linkdump

I'm touring my new, nationally bestselling novel The Bezzle! Catch me in CHICAGO (Apr 17), Torino (Apr 21) Marin County (Apr 27), Winnipeg (May 2), Calgary (May 3), Vancouver (May 4), and beyond!

Welcome to the seventeenth Pluralistic linkdump, a collection of all the miscellany that didn't make it into the week's newsletter, cunningly wrought together in a single edition that ranges from the first ISP to AI nonsense to labor organizing victories to the obituary of a brilliant scientist you should know a lot more about! Here's the other 16 dumps:

https://pluralistic.net/tag/linkdump/

If you're reading this (and you are!), it was delivered to you by an internet service provider. Today, the ISP industry is calcified, controlled by a handful of telcos and cable companies. But the idea of an "ISP" didn't come out of a giant telecommunications firm – it was created, in living memory, by excellent nerds who are still around.

Depending on how you reckon, The Little Garden was either the first or the second ISP in America. It was named after a Palo Alto Chinese restaurant frequented by its founders. To get a sense of that founding, read these excellent recollections by Tom Jennings, whose contributions include the seminal zine Homocore, the seminal networking protocol Fidonet, and the seminal third-party PC ROM, whence came Dell, Gateway, Compaq, and every other "PC clone" company.

The first installment describes how an informal co-op to network a few friends turned into a business almost by accident, with thousands of dollars flowing in and out of Jennings' bank account:

https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/TLG/TLG.html

And it describes how that ISP set a standard for neutrality, boldly declaring that "TLGnet exercises no control whatsoever over the content of the information." They introduced an idea of radical transparency, documenting their router configurations and other technical details and making them available to the public. They hired unskilled punk and queer kids from their communities and trained them to operate the network equipment they'd invented, customized or improvised.

In part two, Jennings talks about the evolution of TLG's radical business-plan: to offer unrestricted service, encouraging their customers to resell that service to people in their communities, having no lock-in, unbundling extra services including installation charges – the whole anti-enshittification enchilada:

https://www.sensitiveresearch.com/Archive/TLG/

I love Jennings and his work. I even gave him a little cameo in Picks and Shovels, the third Martin Hench novel, which will be out next winter. He's as lyrical a writer about technology as you could ask for, and he's also a brilliant engineer and thinker.

The Little Garden's founders and early power-users have all fleshed out Jennings' account of the birth of ISPs. Writing on his blog, David "DSHR" Rosenthal rounds up other histories from the likes of EFF co-founder John Gilmore and Tim Pozar:

https://blog.dshr.org/2024/04/the-little-garden.html

Rosenthal describes some of the more exotic shenanigans TLG got up to in order to do end-runs around the Bell system's onerous policies, hacking in the purest sense of the word, for example, by daisy-chaining together modems in regions with free local calling and then making "permanent local calls," with the modems staying online 24/7.

Enshittification came to the ISP business early and hit it hard. The cartel that controls your access to the internet today is a billion light-years away from the principled technologists who invented the industry with an ethos of care, access and fairness. Today's ISPs are bitterly opposed to Net Neutrality, the straightforward proposition that if you request some data, your ISP should send it to you as quickly and reliably as it can.

Instead, ISPs want to offer "slow-lanes" where they will relegate the whole internet, except for those companies that bribe the ISP to be delivered at normal speed. ISPs have a laughably transparent way of describing this: they say that they're allowing services to pay for "fast lanes" with priority access. This is the same as the giant grocery store that charges you extra unless you surrender your privacy with a "loyalty card" – and then says that they're offering a "discount" for loyal customers, rather than charging a premium to customers who don't want to be spied on.

The American business lobby loves this arrangement, and hates Net Neutrality. Having monopolized every sector of our economy, they are extremely fond of "winner take all" dynamics, and that's what a non-neutral ISP delivers: the biggest services with the deepest pockets get the most reliable delivery, which means that smaller services don't just have to be better than the big guys, they also have to be able to outbid them for "priority carriage."

If everything you get from your ISP is slow and janky, except for the dominant services, then the dominant services can skimp on quality and pocket the difference. That's the goal of every monopolist – not just to be too big to fail, but also too big to care.

Under the Trump administration, FCC chair Ajit Pai dismantled the Net Neutrality rule, colluding with American big business to rig the process. They accepted millions of obviously fake anti-Net Neutrality comments (one million identical comments from @pornhub.com addresses, comments from dead people, comments from sitting US Senators who support Net Neutrality) and declared open season on American internet users:

https://ag.ny.gov/press-release/2021/attorney-general-james-issues-report-detailing-millions-fake-comments-revealing

Now, Biden's FCC is set to reinstate Net Neutrality – but with a "compromise" that will make mobile internet (which nearly all of use sometimes, and the poorest of us are reliant on) a swamp of anticompetitive practices:

https://cyberlaw.stanford.edu/blog/2024/04/harmful-5g-fast-lanes-are-coming-fcc-needs-stop-them

Under the proposed rule, mobile carriers will be able to put traffic to and from apps in the slow lane, and then extort bribes from preferred apps for normal speed and delivery. They'll rely on parts of the 5G standard to pull off this trick.

The ISP cartel and the FCC insist that this is fine because web traffic won't be degraded, but of course, every service is hellbent on pushing you into using apps instead of the web. That's because the web is an open platform, which means you can install ad- and privacy-blockers. More than half of web users have installed a blocker, making it the largest boycott in human history:

https://doc.searls.com/2023/11/11/how-is-the-worlds-biggest-boycott-doing/

But reverse-engineering and modding an app is a legal minefield. Just removing the encryption from an app can trigger criminal penalties under Section 1201 of the DMCA, carrying a five-year prison sentence and a $500k fine. An app is just a web-page skinned in enough IP that it's a felony to mod it.

Apps are enshittification's vanguard, and the fact that the FCC has found a way to make them even worse is perversely impressive. They're voting on this on April 25, and they have until April 24 to fix this. They should. They really should:

https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DOC-401676A1.pdf

In a just world, cheating ripoff ISPs would the top tech policy story. The operational practices of ISPs effect every single one us. We literally can't talk about tech policy without ISPs in the middle. But Net Neutrality is an also-ran in tech policy discourse, while AI – ugh ugh ugh – is the thing none of us can shut up about.

This, despite the fact that the most consequential AI applications sum up to serving as a kind of moral crumple-zone for shitty business practices. The point of AI isn't to replace customer service and other low-paid workers who have taken to demanding higher wages and better conditions – it's to fire those workers and replace them with chatbots that can't do their jobs. An AI salesdroid can't sell your boss a bot that can replace you, but they don't need to. They only have to convince your boss that the bot can do your job, even if it can't.

SF writer Karl Schroeder is one of the rare sf practitioners who grapples seriously with the future, a "strategic foresight" guy who somehow skirts the bullshit that is the field's hallmark:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/03/07/the-gernsback-continuum/#wheres-my-jetpack

Writing on his blog, Schroeder describes the AI debates roiling the Association of Professional Futurists, and how it's sucking him into being an unwilling participant in the AI hype cycle:

https://kschroeder.substack.com/p/dragged-into-the-ai-hype-cycle

Schroeder's piece is a thoughtful meditation on the relationship of SF's thought-experiments and parables about AI to the promises of AI hucksters, who promise that a) "general artificial intelligence" is just around the corner and that b) it will be worth trillions of dollars.

Schroeder – like other sf writers including Ted Chiang and Charlie Stross (and me) – comes to the conclusion that AI panic isn't about AI, it's about power. The artificial life-form devouring the planet and murdering our species is the limited liability corporation, and its substrate isn't silicon, it's us, human bodies:

What’s lying underneath all our anxieties about AGI is an anxiety that has nothing to do with Artificial Intelligence. Instead, it’s a manifestation of our growing awareness that our world is being stolen from under us. Last year’s estimate put the amount of wealth currently being transferred from the people who made it to an idle billionaire class at $5.2 trillion. Artificial General Intelligence whose environment is the server farms and sweatshops of this class is frightening only because of its capacity to accelerate this greatest of all heists.

After all, the business-case for AI is so very thin that the industry can only survive on a torrent of hype and nonsense – like claims that Amazon's "Grab and Go" stores used "AI" to monitor shoppers and automatically bill them for their purchases. In reality, the stores used thousands of low-paid Indian workers to monitor cameras and manually charge your card. This happens so often that Indian technologists joke that "AI" stands for "absent Indians":

https://pluralistic.net/2024/01/29/pay-no-attention/#to-the-little-man-behind-the-curtain

Isn't it funny how all the really promising AI applications are in domains that most of us aren't qualified to assess? Like the claim that Google's AI was producing millions of novel materials that will shortly revolutionize all forms of production, from construction to electronics to medical implants:

https://deepmind.google/discover/blog/millions-of-new-materials-discovered-with-deep-learning/

That's what Google's press-release claimed, anyway. But when two groups of experts actually pulled a representative sample of these "new materials" from the Deep Mind database, they found that none of these materials qualified as "credible, useful and novel":

https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.chemmater.4c00643

Writing about the researchers' findings for 404 Media, Jason Koebler cites Berkeley researchers who concluded that "no new materials have been discovered":

https://www.404media.co/google-says-it-discovered-millions-of-new-materials-with-ai-human-researchers/

The researchers say that AI data-mining for new materials is promising, but falls well short of Google's claim to be so transformative that it constitutes the "equivalent to nearly 800 years’ worth of knowledge" and "an order-of-magnitude expansion in stable materials known to humanity."

AI hype keeps the bubble inflating, and for so long as it keeps blowing up, all those investors who've sunk their money into AI can tell themselves that they're rich. This is the essence of "a bezzle": "The magic interval when a confidence trickster knows he has the money he has appropriated but the victim does not yet understand that he has lost it":

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/09/autocomplete-worshippers/#the-real-ai-was-the-corporations-that-we-fought-along-the-way

Among the best debezzlers of AI are the Princeton Center for Information Technology Policy's Arvind Narayanan and Sayash Kapoor, who edit the "AI Snake Oil" blog. Now, they've sold a book with the same title:

https://www.aisnakeoil.com/p/ai-snake-oil-is-now-available-to

Obviously, books move a lot more slowly than blogs, and so Narayanan and Kapoor say their book will focus on the timeless elements of identifying and understanding AI snake oil:

In the book, we explain the crucial differences between types of AI, why people, companies, and governments are falling for AI snake oil, why AI can’t fix social media, and why we should be far more worried about what people will do with AI than about anything AI will do on its own. While generative AI is what drives press, predictive AI used in criminal justice, finance, healthcare, and other domains remains far more consequential in people’s lives. We discuss in depth how predictive AI can go wrong. We also warn of the dangers of a world where AI continues to be controlled by largely unaccountable big tech companies.

The book's out in September and it's up for pre-order now:

https://bookshop.org/p/books/ai-snake-oil-what-artificial-intelligence-can-do-what-it-can-t-and-how-to-tell-the-difference-arvind-narayanan/21324674

One of the weirder and worst side-effects of the AI hype bubble is that it has revived the belief that it's somehow possible for giant platforms to monitor all their users' speech and remove "harmful" speech. We've tried this for years, and when humans do it, it always ends with disfavored groups being censored, while dedicated trolls, harassers and monsters evade punishment:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/08/07/como-is-infosec/

AI hype has led policy-makers to believe that we can deputize online services to spy on all their customers and block the bad ones without falling into this trap. Canada is on the verge of adopting Bill C-63, a "harmful content" regulation modeled on examples from the UK and Australia.

Writing on his blog, Canadian lawyer/activist/journalist Dimitri Lascaris describes the dire speech implications for C-63:

https://dimitrilascaris.org/2024/04/08/trudeaus-online-harms-bill-threatens-free-speech/

It's an excellent legal breakdown of the bill's provisions, but also a excellent analysis of how those provisions are likely to play out in the lives of Canadians, especially those advocating against genocide and taking other positions the that oppose the agenda of the government of the day.

Even if you like the Trudeau government and its policies, these powers will accrue to every Canadian government, including the presumptive (and inevitably, totally unhinged) near-future Conservative majority government of Pierre Poilievre.

It's been ten years since Martin Gilens and Benjamin I Page published their paper that concluded that governments make policies that are popular among elites, no matter how unpopular they are among the public:

https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/perspectives-on-politics/article/testing-theories-of-american-politics-elites-interest-groups-and-average-citizens/62327F513959D0A304D4893B382B992B

Now, this is obviously depressing, but when you see it in action, it's kind of wild. The Biden administration has declared war on junk fees, from "resort fees" charged by hotels to the dozens of line-items added to your plane ticket, rental car, or even your rent check. In response, Republican politicians are climbing to their rear haunches and, using their actual human mouths, defending junk fees:

https://prospect.org/politics/2024-04-12-republicans-objectively-pro-junk-fee/

Congressional Republicans are hell-bent on destroying the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau's $8 cap on credit-card late-fees. Trump's presumptive running-mate Tim Scott is making this a campaign plank: "Vote for me and I will protect your credit-card company's right to screw you on fees!" He boasts about the lobbyists who asked him to take this position: champions of the public interest from the Consumer Bankers Association to the US Chamber of Commerce.

Banks stand to lose $10b/year from this rule (which means Americans stand to gain $10b/year from this rule). What's more, Scott's attempt to kill the rule is doomed to fail – there's just no procedural way it will fly. As David Dayen writes, "Not only does this vote put Republicans on the spot over junk fees, it’s a doomed vote, completely initiated by their own possible VP nominee."

This is an hilarious own-goal, one that only brings attention to a largely ignored – but extremely good – aspect of the Biden administration. As Adam Green of Bold Progressives told Dayen, "What’s been missing is opponents smoking themselves out and raising the volume of this fight so the public knows who is on their side."

The CFPB is a major bright spot in the Biden administration's record. They're doing all kind of innovative things, like making it easy for you to figure out which bank will give you the best deal and then letting you transfer your account and all its associated data, records and payments with a single click:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/10/21/let-my-dollars-go/#personal-financial-data-rights

And now, CFPB chair Rohit Chopra has given a speech laying out the agency's plan to outlaw data-brokers:

https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/prepared-remarks-of-cfpb-director-rohit-chopra-at-the-white-house-on-data-protection-and-national-security/

Yes, this is some good news! There is, in fact, good news in the world, bright spots amidst all the misery and terror. One of those bright spots? Labor.

Unions are back, baby. Not only do the vast majority of Americans favor unions, not only are new shops being unionized at rates not seen in generations, but also the largest unions are undergoing revolutions, with control being wrestled away from corrupt union bosses and given to the rank-and-file.

Many of us have heard about the high-profile victories to take back the UAW and Teamsters, but I hadn't heard about the internal struggles at the United Food and Commercial Workers, not until I read Hamilton Nolan's gripping account for In These Times:

https://inthesetimes.com/article/revolt-aisle-5-ufcw-grocery-workers-union

Nolan profiles Faye Guenther, president of UFCW Local 3000 and her successful and effective fight to bring a militant spirit back to the union, which represents a million grocery workers. Nolan describes the fight as "every bit as dramatic as any episode of Game of Thrones," and he's not wrong. This is an inspiring tale of working people taking power away from scumbag monopoly bosses and sellout fatcat leaders – and, in so doing, creating a institution that gets better wages, better working conditions, and a better economy, by helping to block giant grocery mergers like Kroger/Albertsons.

I like to end these linkdumps on an up note, so it feels weird to be closing out with an obituary, but I'd argue that any celebration of the long life and many accomplishments of my friend and mentor Anne Innis Dagg is an "up note."

I last wrote about Anne in 2020, on the release of a documentary about her work, "The Woman Who Loved Giraffes":

https://pluralistic.net/2020/02/19/pluralist-19-feb-2020/#annedagg

As you might have guessed from the title of that doc, Anne was a biologist. She was the first woman scientist to do field-work on giraffes, and that work was so brilliant and fascinating that it kicked off the modern field of giraffology, which remains a woman-dominated specialty thanks to her tireless mentoring and support for the scientists that followed her.

Anne was also the world's most fearsome slayer of junk-science "evolutionary psychology," in which "scientists" invent unfalsifiable just-so stories that prove that some odious human characteristic is actually "natural" because it can be found somewhere in the animal kingdom (i.e., "Darling, please, it's not my fault that I'm fucking my grad students, it's the bonobos!").

Anne wrote a classic – and sadly out of print – book about this that I absolutely adore, not least for having one of the best titles I've ever encountered: "Love of Shopping" Is Not a Gene:

https://memex.craphound.com/2009/11/04/love-of-shopping-is-not-a-gene-exposing-junk-science-and-ideology-in-darwinian-psychology/

Anne was my advisor at the University of Waterloo, an institution that denied her tenure for fifty years, despite a brilliant academic career that rivaled that of her storied father, Harold Innis ("the thinking person's Marshall McLuhan"). The fact that Waterloo never recognized Anne is doubly shameful when you consider that she was awarded the Order of Canada:

https://nationalpost.com/news/canada/queen-of-giraffes-among-new-order-of-canada-recipients-with-global-influence

Anne lived a brilliant live, struggling through adversity, never compromising on her principles, inspiring a vast number of students and colleagues. She lived to ninety one, and died earlier this month. Her ashes will be spread "on the breeding grounds of her beloved giraffes" in South Africa this summer:

https://obituaries.therecord.com/obituary/anne-innis-dagg-1089534658

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/04/13/goulash/#material-misstatement

Image: Valeva1010 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hungarian_Goulash_Recipe.png

CC BY-SA 4.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/deed.en