XPost: talk.politics.guns, ba.politics, sac.politics   
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   From: info@suse.org   
      
   It’s a cool Thursday morning in downtown San Francisco, and I’m walking   
   up Powell Street through a once-familiar-looking Union Square.   
      
   As I stroll past the bones of retail giants, “For Lease” signs mark   
   abandoned storefronts like lurid headstones. I see the empty Uniqlo, H&M   
   and Forever21, along with a vacant Walgreens and the former Diesel   
   outpost, which looms over Market Street like a pillaged kingdom.   
   Overall, the neighborhood feels less like an economic epicenter and more   
   like a consumerist graveyard.   
      
   But among these depressing corporate relics is an unusual and perhaps   
   welcome sight: groups of stylish young people with mullets,   
   micro-tattoos and designer clothes hobnobbing inside a new, sleek retail   
   space on Geary Street. From a distance, it’s unclear what, exactly, it’s   
   supposed to be, or what types of products it intends to sell.   
      
   Inside, EDM blasts from a coffee cart while baristas pour oat milk   
   lattes and flat whites. In front of them is a wooden, cage-like   
   structure lined with mysterious-looking white spheres. But this isn’t a   
   modern art gallery opening or a new Mac store: hordes of tech   
   enthusiasts and local news crews are here to celebrate the unveiling of   
   Sam Altman’s new — and dystopian — “proof of human” technology, also   
   known as the Orb.   
      
   According to his San Francisco and Munich-headquartered company, Tools   
   for Humanity, this cutting-edge verification system is designed to prove   
   to computers that you’re a real, flesh-and-blood individual by scanning   
   your iris. In our “adversarial” age of artificial intelligence, such   
   tools are becoming increasingly necessary, his other venture World   
   Network argues, and according to its vague April 30 news release, it’s   
   ultimately designed “to empower individuals and organizations worldwide   
   with the necessary tools to participate in the digital economy and   
   advance human progress.” But this bold statement should be taken with a   
   pinch of salt, especially since Altman’s AI product, ChatGPT, is   
   guzzling precious resources, worsening humanity’s ongoing climate crisis.   
      
   After briefly speaking with an employee, I also realized that the Orb’s   
   technology — which is dressed up in revolutionary language — is   
   basically just a yassified form of Captcha. While nothing tops Silicon   
   Valley’s legendary Juicero, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t come to   
   mind.   
      
   As I continue to wander around, a man in a red shirt holds a spare Orb   
   and idly strokes it. Next to him, a woman wearing sunglasses indoors   
   grins and takes a selfie. Though it’s open to the public, it seems that   
   the vast majority of attendees either work for the company or are here   
   to cover it. Regardless, it does seem that there’s at least some   
   interest: A uniformed employee in charge of protecting the Orb tells me   
   that about 30 eye-scanning appointments have already been booked out of   
   200.   
      
   Dizzy from the caffeine and thumping electronic music, I stand outside   
   to get fresh air and watch normal, everyday shoppers walk past.   
      
   It almost seems like a cruel joke that this flagship location, which   
   literally compares itself to an Apple store, sits directly next to the   
   decades-old Macy’s that humbly advertises old vanguards like Wetzel’s   
   Pretzels, the Cheesecake Factory and Jamba Juice. Weary, disinterested   
   shoppers in sweatpants slowly emerge from the department retailer,   
   shuffling past tech enthusiasts in Celine jackets and avant-garde   
   designer outfits. An older woman in a surgical mask gestures to the   
   sleek outpost with a confused expression, makes a remark to her friend   
   and continues on her way. As I exited and walked down Stockton Street   
   toward BART, a fleet of driverless Waymos drifted past me, vanishing   
   into traffic.   
      
   When I left, I couldn’t help but wonder: As major retailers leave gaping   
   holes in San Francisco’s commercial epicenter, is this what’s going to   
   fill the void? And, ultimately, do we really need or want this? Based on   
   the general public’s response — and the types of powerful people behind   
   these business ventures — I wasn’t optimistic.   
      
   After all, by now, it’s no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic, along with   
   evolving consumer patterns, have cudgeled Union Square in recent years,   
   and it’s still unclear if it will ever truly recover.   
      
   In response, San Francisco funded the Vacant to Vibrant program, which   
   aims to “revitalize” the area by helping artists, cultural organizations   
   and small-business owners host pop-ups in vacant storefronts. But while   
   downtown sectors like Union Square languish, nearby corridors like Hayes   
   Valley are thriving in comparison — Time Out magazine even heralded its   
   success as a symbol of resurgence.   
      
   As the Hayes Valley Merchants Association president previously told me,   
   it’s clear why: Compared with downtown, Hayes Valley feels like a real   
   community, which is how it survived the brutal aftermath of COVID-19   
   against all odds. It’s the groups of friends sitting outside drinking   
   coffee, the green spaces, the vibrant, modern boutiques that ultimately   
   kept the neighborhood’s spirit alive.   
      
   The humans brought it back to life — and no amount of technology could   
   possibly do the same.   
      
   https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/downtown-san-francisco-reta   
   l-dying-sam-altman-20307342.php   
      
   --- SoupGate-DOS v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)