The companies Apple and IBM decided to stop their advertising expenses on the social network defamation and slander. This situation reopens the debate on the freedom of expression on these social platforms.
Musk’s philosophy
Since Musk suggested his idea of buying the social network Twitterlater renamed as freedom of expression on social platforms.
Musk has filled his mouth, and his fingers when he writes a publication, with being a standard bearer of press freedom.
“By “freedom of expression“I simply mean what coincides with the law. I am against censorship that goes far beyond the law. If people want less freedom of expression, will ask the government to pass laws in that regard. Therefore, going beyond the law is contrary to the will of the people,” Musk explained in a post on X dated April 26, 2022.
For the creator of SpaceX and main shareholder of Tesla, the content verification and moderation policies on social platforms were not objective and favored topics and personalities depending on the agenda they followed.
With the appearance of each social network the discourse of freedom of expression He was always tied to these; However, the expansion and impact of these platforms on societies gave way to the spread of disinformation and fake news, which became the main problem to face for these organizations.
X/Musk vs advertisers
Last Wednesday, a user posted that “Jewish communities were promoting ‘dialectical hatred against whites’ by supporting minority immigration, a common neo-Nazi talking point that has been used to justify violence against Jews,” according to the outlet. Morning Brew. But what caused a stir and made the topic viral was Musk’s response “you told the truth.”
Then the organization Media Matters for America released a report in which they claim that advertisements from brands such as Apple, IBM, Oracle, Xfinity and Bravo appear in publications with “pro-Hitler” and “pro-Nazi” content on the social network. x.
This caused both Apple and IBM to announce that they would withdraw and cancel their investment in advertising on the platform.
Musk published in X that he will file a “thermonuclear” lawsuit against MMFA, whom he accused of wanting to block the freedom of expression on the platform “because they perceive it as a threat to their ideological narrative and those from whom they receive financing.”
In addition, he explained that MMFA manipulated their report, by creating alternate accounts and curating publications so that the advertisements appeared in the content they wanted; In addition, they forced these scenarios on 13 occasions, and that of the 5.5 billion impressions on the day indicated in the report, less than 50 in total were organic impressions.
The MMFA report specifies nine publications that must be banned on X, but the social network team assured that only one of these publications violates the company’s policies, according to the document published by Musk.
For her part, the CEO of anti-Semites.”
A symbiotic relationship
The relationship between advertisers and social media is symbiotic, in which the former and their marketing teams benefit from the reach and brand exposure that their publications can achieve. While the latter benefit from financial remuneration.
The crisis of advertisers in X began from the first moment Musk assumed control, since users and advertisers expressed that they did not agree with Musk’s vision, leading to half of his advertisers They will leave the platform during the first month of Musk’s term; and leaked documents indicate that the drop in advertising revenue was reduced by 59% between the dates of April 2022 and March 2023.
X has 556 million monthly active users in 2023, according to Statista data.
The ethical debate
This type of case opens the ethical and philosophical debate on the freedom of expression and ironically its limits; which makes it a complex issue that includes individual freedom, regulation of the spread of hate messages and fake news on social platforms.
Where does it begin and where does it end? freedom of expression? Are they part of the freedom of expression hate speech? Should we avoid the existence of a platform that allows a kind of anarchy in the expression of ideas? Or we simply must be judicious with ourselves, understand that there are ideas different from what we believe, and that this does not harm the other person; But there are actions that are in favor of the social order that we have chosen as a society and accepted in our laws, and that we must regulate. The debate continues.
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Two former Apple employees presented a new product last week that promises to lead the way to something completely different, and in this edition of Tech Tuesday, I explain what it is and how this could be the step towards something disruptive.
The company is called “Humane” and its device is a square “pin”, very well designed and minimalist, in the style of Apple. The gadget comes with a microphone, camera, a LiDAR sensor and a small projector. The premise behind this equipment is to forget about our mobile phone and have an interaction through voice, gestures and touches with a digital assistant. The attractive and surprising thing about this device is how difficult it is to compare it with any other device on the market; the closest would be the operating system from the science fiction movie “Her.” The Humane AI Pin features a Snapdragon processor (model was not specified) and is powered by OpenAI’s GPT. Users will be able to request information from messages, emails and more, as well as command actions. Additionally, by presenting your palm at a certain angle, the projector turns on and offers a simple interface that is controlled by gestures.
Among the capabilities shown by its co-founder, Imran Chaudhri, is the ability to translate in real time when someone speaks to us in another language. At first glance, the Humane AI Pin is striking and surprising for what it is; However, there are certain points that we must take into account. Firstly, it needs constant connectivity to function, so the purchase of the equipment (US$699) is linked to an internet service with a US company that will cost $24 per month. Second, even though the demonstration was performed in a controlled environment, some of the data provided by the AI later turned out to be erroneous. There is also a significant limitation in terms of the capabilities and the way we interact with our mobile phones.
The ideas and capabilities that a device like the Humane AI Pin could achieve are varied and interesting. As an MK1 (first version), the bet is solid, but it is necessary to observe the market reception and determine if it is a product ahead of its time or simply does not arouse the interest of consumers. However, I am sure that it has caught the attention of the giants in the sector.
