Category: Corpoorate Social Responsibility

Do CEO’s Understand AI: I don’t think so.

On By southwerkIn Business Ethics, Capitalism, Corpoorate Social Responsibility

There is a big sell off in AI related stocks at the moment. But don’t worry. After reading several dozen articles in the business press once again asserting that AI is the future of, well, everything and more, the investors will be back.

So, far AI has produced a vast wasteland of crappy video’s on You Tube and countless poorly written novels, essays, short stories, editorials, love notes and much else. This doesn’t give you a lot of faith in the thing.

It has enabled talentless and vapid people everywhere the ability to write at a modicum level which is scary. But that isn’t the real scary part. The part that worries me is the sheer volume. A ten year old with an AI writing program can write tens of thousands of articles, the same is true in regard to fake images and much else.

And it is happening now. AI is producing countless short films, an infinity of pictures and articles without count. These all consuming devices are devouring the internet and all of social media as I write this (without I might add a shred of AI – I don’t use it – I won’t use it.).

It is my business, Business Ethics, that keeps me reading article after article about the coming “revolution.” Some of it sounds scaremongering. I hope that it is just hype but after watching the flood of material the thing is already producing, it is hard not to have some worries.

Even if AI operates at the level of a functional moron, businesses in the hope of replacing their human workers and making enormous profits are plugging it into all kinds of uses. It is the magic wand that will fix business problems and propel us into a sort of corporate nirvana, at least, according to the hype. I have serious doubts.

When it is late at night and I want something intelligent to listen to while I am drifting off to sleep and search the internet and find wall to wall AI content which is usually just exaggerations, lies and fantasies with a tiny amount of actual data, when I do that, I worry about our future and those that think our future is going to be based on this stuff.

(Trying to understand AI and failing.)

From Fortune Magazine below is a link to an article called – An MIT report that 95% of AI pilots fail spooked investors. But it’s the reason why those pilots failed that should make the C-suite anxious

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/mit-report-95-ai-pilots-165754716.html

Ok, now let’s look at what the report actually says. It interviewed 150 executives, surveyed 350 employees, and looked at 300 individual AI projects. It found that 95% of AI pilot projects failed to deliver any discernible financial savings or uplift in profits. These findings are not actually all that different from what a lot of previous surveys have found—and those surveys had no negative impact on the stock market. Consulting firm Capgemini found in 2023 that 88% of AI pilots failed to reach production. (S&P Global found earlier this year that 42% of generative AI pilots were abandoned—which is still not great).

…

But where it gets interesting is what the NANDA study said about the apparent reasons for these failures. The biggest problem, the report found, was not that the AI models weren’t capable enough (although execs tended to think that was the problem.) Instead, the researchers discovered a “learning gap”—people and organizations simply did not understand how to use the AI tools properly or how to design workflows that could capture the benefits of AI while minimizing downside risks. (My emphasis.)

A LEARNING GAP! These people are spending millions of dollars and incorporating AI technology into everything humanly and inhumanly imaginable and they don’t “understand how to use AI tools properly.” I don’t even want to discuss “workflows.” I am depressed enough.

Here, let’s discuss the sell off we are at the moment observing.

From Futurism an article entitled – Meta Freezes AI Hiring as Fear Spreads, linked to below.

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/meta-freezes-ai-hiring-fear-191830507.html

The AI industry as a whole is facing a critical juncture, with mounting concerns contributing to a massive tech selloff roiling the stock market this week. Shares of AI tech stalwarts, including Nvidia and Palantir, have plummeted — raising concerns that the hype had driven their valuations too high for the shaky realities of their current tech.

What is the above paragraph saying? Well, unlike virtually any element or aspect of AI, the paragraph above is straightforward. It is very simple. Nobody know what this stuff is worth. You can say things like the future of all technology and all of American business will rely on Artificial Intelligence and you can say it over and over again but what does it mean in dollars and cents? If all American businesses will become dependent on AI, how much will it cost to implement, to operate on a regular basis and are there going to be any profits? Not to mention its effect on investment and return itself. Will it replace buying and selling by humans and if so will business, industry and investment all become one united AI operation like one of those science fiction movies,(The Forbin Project)?

And then there are the little side issues, like a massive unemployment across multiple fields that will leave the economy as empty and useless as an old paper sack or the other little issue of destroying all life on earth should there bit a little misstep in the application of the thing in one small industry or maybe even one small laboratory.

Now if none of this concerns you and you find me alarmist, try reading this little tid bit below!

Joe Wilkins writing for Futurism has an article: OpenAI Chairman Says AI Is Destroying His Sense of Who He Is.

https://tech.yahoo.com/ai/articles/openai-chairman-says-ai-destroying-132644783.html

For being poised to become the richest startup in history, OpenAI’s architects seem strikingly ambivalent about its work.

The company’s CEO is constantly afraid of the technology he’s unleashing on the world, a longstanding investor has been driven to what his peers say are signs of psychosis, and even its chairman is panicking about losing his identity to the machine.

Speaking on the podcast “Acquired” earlier this week, the chair of OpenAI’s board, Bret Taylor, expressed his anxiety that AI chatbots like ChatGPT are redefining his relationship to technology, destroying — or at least making unrecognizable — the world of programming in which he built his career.

So, you think I’m alarmist. I think Bret Taylor is more scared than I am and since he has more knowledge, I find that worrying.

(I seem to recall the minister from “Plan 9 from Outer Space” saying that we should all be concerned about the future because that is we will be spending our time.)

To sum up. This AI stuff is dangerous, has already had deleterious effects and nobody anywhere seems to really understand what it can do or what is going to happen.

James Alan Pilant

Business Ethics Roundup: Week of Sept. 20th – 26th.

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Corpoorate Social Responsibility2 Comments

“We are going to crush this lady.” 

Seven former employees of E-bay were arrested for sending a bloody pig mask and cockroaches to a couple who ran a small web site which drew the ire of the company. The quote, “We are going to crush this lady,” is from CEO Devin Wenig. This truly ridiculous crimes committed to punish a small independent web site have resulted in several guilty pleas as well as resignations and firings.

The proper response to criticism is to fix the problems in your own house and a due tolerance to the critic. This kind of economic and social “jihad” is both reprehensible, unwise and outside the behavior expected of ladies and gentlemen.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/27/tech/ebay-cockroach-pig-mask/index.html

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/09/ex-ebay-employees-to-plead-guilty-in-bloody-pig-mask-cyberstalking-case/

Singapore has adopted facial recognition for identity verification both public and private. Is this wise? It is too early to tell but this technology can easily be misused and there is certainly a vast imbalance of power between the government and the “identified.” I’m very uncomfortable with this. It’s not surprising that Singapore, long a practitioner of paternalistic control is the first nation to dive all the way to the use of this kind of system.

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-54266602

A new Pew Research Center survey of 13,200 people (a truly excellent sample size) shows that less than half of the 22 million jobs lost due to the pandemic have been recovered. About 1/3 of the sample indicated they had got their old jobs back and another 15% had found new jobs.

The data on those that recovered jobs showed a strong class difference in job recovery rates with of 58% middle and upper class workers finding work again opposed to only 43% of the lower class.

Recovery funds have found their way to the giant corporations and even mega churches but to these 11 million unemployed Americans, our fellow citizens, little has been done and it appears that our ruling class finds the suffering of these “little” people to be beneath their notice.

The national tragedy of the federal government’s failed response to the coronavirus continues. We have the example of many successful governmental responses from around the work to emulate and we don’t. We have conducted a policy based on federal inaction and incompetence coupled with fifty different state governmental approaches often bordering on the moronic. Our individual reactions are shaped by conspiracy theories, exuberant denialism and concepts of personal freedom and free market absolutism that border on lunacy.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2020/9/27/21458234/coronavirus-jobs-unemployment-rate

Maryland becomes the first state to ban foam food service products.

“Single-use plastics are overrunning our oceans and bays and neighborhoods,” Democratic Delegate Brooke Lierman, the main sponsor of the House bill, told CNN when it passed in 2019.
“We need to take dramatic steps to start stemming our use and reliance on them … to leave future generations a planet full of wildlife and green space.”

I believe that in time more states will adopt this measure.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/27/us/maryland-foam-container-ban-trnd/index.html

Peloton is cutting the price of one of its exercycles. This company was through a fluke of history, the coronavirus, multiplied in its success. Many people unable to jog or walk bought exercycles online. Still too rich for my blood.

I use a rowing machine which I strongly recommend. Unlike a cycle, the rowing machine is a full body workout. But as we age, regular exercise becomes more and more important.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/08/tech/peloton-new-products/index.html

A Massachusetts Veterans’ home combined two dementia wards apparently to save money. Since one was infected with the COVID19 version and the other wasn’t, many veterans died. The decision has been described as “baffling.”

This action and others have resulted in two federal indictments.
There is something horrifying with how casually these veterans were discarded. Weren’t they promised a life time of care? What does this say about us as a nation and a people that this happened.
And  on this same point the treatment, the lack of mourning, for the dead in this pandemic is most concerning. As I continue toward the end of my life, it pains me to think that having reached a certain age, I am expected to perish unmourned and unthought of. Two hundred thousand Americans dead and we continue with our disastrous policies and fail in our duties to the dead – to mourn and remember their lives and contributions.
Lane Unhjem, a farmer in North Dakota, suffered a heart attack while tending his fields. He is in ICU and recovering. But without him, his crops would go unharvested and the money for their sale lost.
Sixty neighbors volunteered to come out and make sure the harvest went as planned. They acted to save his income and thus his farm.
For some, and they number in the millions in this nation, acting to save a competitor without recompense beggars the imagination. Under Ayn Rand’s system of thinking, this altruism, this compassion is a crime against logic and reasonable thought.
Yet, for the time being, there are still those among us who believe in humankind, the values of sharing and civic as well as community duty.
The former head of that vile organization, Cambridge Analytica, Alexander Nix, has been banned from running limited liability companies in England for seven years. The firm offered “unethical” services. Among the unethical services offered were “honey traps’ and “voter disengagement services.” A honey trap is where a woman offers sexual favors which are then used often with covert filming to blackmail opponents. Voter disengagement is a method of using social media to disgust and discourage potential voters from supporting an opponent.
If this strikes you as a small penalty for advertising these disreputable acts, you are not alone. Nix admits no wrongdoing and says he only agreed to the penalty to avoid lengthy litigation.
These kinds of penalties fail to discourage this kind of wrongdoing. What is to become of morality and ethics in the world of business when these slaps on the wrist are all the penalty that violators face?

The agency said it had found that Nix “had caused or permitted SCL Elections or associated companies to act with a lack of commercial probity”.

“The unethical services offered by the companies included bribery or honey trap stings, voter disengagement campaigns, obtaining information to discredit political opponents and spreading information anonymously in political campaigns,” it said in its statement.

A Native American tribe, the Monacans, are fighting to preserve the original site of their capital from the building of a pumping station.
We as a nation are in a period of reckoning when it comes to Native American sites and history and, in particular, native remains. This should form part of the business communities’ concerns when it come to not doing harm as well as pursuing the public good. We are not endangered by recognizing native culture; we are enriched and enlivened by our mixture of cultures and the amazing combination of European, African and Native American cultures have built a vital and active culture.
As we have seen in Brazil, anti-indigenous organizations are becoming increasingly influential and powerful. This is a business ethics concern.
Anti-Indigenous ideologies challenge bedrock human rights through a number of means. Relying on stereotypes, for instance, is a common tactic in almost every country: Indigenous communities are seen as lawless or corrupt and incapable of managing land, water, wildlife or infrastructure — roles that anti-Indigenous activists and fellow travelers argue should be taken on by the state or corporations instead of Indigenous communities. Those same arguments are often extended to the adoption of Indigenous children, access to health care, and payment of taxes. In all cases, anti-Indigenous individuals and organizations argue that Indigenous people are incapable of managing their own affairs by engaging with racist dog whistles and established stereotypes to undermine rights to land, resources, language and culture. (From the article below.)
There is a currently developing scandal in Pakistan alleging that corrupt officials are issuing pilot’s licenses to those unqualified. I’m sure you can imagine the dire consequences of issuing pilot’s licenses for money.

Business Ethics Roundup Sept. 13th – 19th

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Business Ethics, Capitalism, code of ethics, Corpoorate Social Responsibility1 Comment

This week in Business Ethics is marred by the death by ovarian cancer of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. She died during the week of Rosh Hashanah which in Jewish lore means she is particularly blessed. Here is a guide for my readers unfamiliar with the surrounding concepts.

Rosh Hashanah 2020 — A Guide for the Perplexed

Currently that American Institution, the Post Office, is under attack. Don’t believe me? A federal judge called the changes: “a politically motivated attack on the efficiency of the Postal Service” It is very poor business ethics indeed to sabotage a public agency, a public good for all Americans, for private gain. I found a good article on the importance of the sorting machines which I include here as well as the article I got the federal judge quote from.

https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/federal-judge-slams-dejoy-s-politically-motivated-usps-attack-n1240453

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/mail-sorting-machines-are-crucial-for-the-u-s-postal-service/

Tragically there appears to be increasing violence surrounding requests that people wear masks and practice social distancing. In a particularly callous attack, a 67 year old gas station worker suffered a fractured skull after being assaulted with a pipe. It is a particularly bitter reality that during a worldwide pandemic, many Americans are unwilling to pull together in the wake of the viral threat to protect each other from infection. This generation of Americans is half helpless to act on behalf of the common good. Many believe in the crass nonsense of libertarianism and similar beliefs that the only interest is self interest. The generations of Americans that sacrificed in the face of war and epidemic must be astonished at this willingness to sacrifice our fellow Americans out of simple pig headedness.

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/long-island-social-distancing-attack-arrest_n_5f66b573c5b6480e89700af8

Are we entering the Pyrocene, the age of fire? Stephen Pyne suggests in the High Country News that is indeed the case. He says that in previous ages we had ice ages and this current situation is the other side of the coin, that is, ages of fire. It’s a good read and a fairly brief one. It is attached below.

West coast wildfires signal a planetary fire age

Over the last twenty years, financial institutions including the often mentioned five, HSBC, JPMorgan, Deutsche Bank, Standard Chartered and Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), conducted about 2 trillion dollars in suspicious activity. Rest assured this is a developing story and we are going to hear more as the particulars work their way to the surface.

https://www.aljazeera.com/ajimpact/banks-moved-alleged-dirty-money-red-flags-reports-200920203410592.html

Federal charges of among other charges, commercial bribery, were filed against six individuals who are charged with bribing Amazon employees to gain an unfair advantage. The bribes totaled about $100,000. Temporary suspensions of competitor accounts was one of the means used to gain advantage.

This kind of crime causes people to buy inferior or even dangerous goods. Let’s hope Amazon acts to clean up its staff.

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/amazon-marketplace-fraud-scheme-six-indicted/

New York filed a 2 billion dollar lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson for its role in the opoid crisis, that is, encouraging opoid use and downplaying the risks of addiction. Since Oklahoma has already won a case and 500 million dollars from the company, one has to wonder why the state has waited this long and is that the correct amount?
In positive business ethics, a firm from the UK is making protective masks out of peas which is very environmentally sound.
How is it that a video in which a man committed suicide live on Facebook does not violate their standards and is still up? Facebook says it has a policy against suicide and videos showing self harm but isn’t enforcing it.
Very poor business ethics indeed.
Movie Theatres have been open for about a month but the economic returns have been disappointing. Mulan’s crash at the box office could not have helped matters.

Business Ethics Roundup: Sept. 6th – 12th

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Capitalism, Corpoorate Social Responsibility, Economic Justice, Editorial, morality

We begin with the wave of fires creating waves of destruction in the American West. Governor Gavin Newsom says the debate over climate change is finished. He says in these California fires you can see the results of climate change with your own eyes. I strongly agree but I felt that the fires in Australia last year should have ended the debate. This is further evidence.

Climate change is going to be a continuing issue in business ethics. How are businesses, particularly, the international corporations, going to act on this issue? Their responses will be as important as that of many medium size nations.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-54128872

Sir David Attenborough tells us in his latest documentary that 60% of the vertebrate animals have disappeared since 1970 and the rate of natural extinction has been accelerated 100 times.

Many businesses impact species extinction. The international trade in animals and animal parts is savagely destructive of the earth’s species. And we have only a limited time to act.

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-54118769

Let’s segue to a somewhat nostalgic and yet current note, that is, vinyl records have outsold CD’s for the first time since the 1980’s. That may be just a chimera though since streaming services are seizing the lion’s share of the market.

https://www.cnn.com/2020/09/13/tech/vinyl-records-cd-sales-riaa/index.html

There is a famous insurance fraud case making the rounds on social media. A woman in Slovenia cut off her hand with a band saw claiming it was an accident that happened while cutting branches. Unfortunately for her claim, she had just taken out five insurance polices which would have resulted in an award of more the equivalent of more than a million US dollars. This was certainly suspicious but her boyfriend’s internet searches on artificial hands done before the loss clinched the case for fraud.

Apparently another case of stupid criminals but a very sad one (although the hand was reattached).

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-54125770

California’s legislature faced with a shortage of firefighters and inmates showing bravery and tenacity fighting the wave of fires has passed a law making it easier for them to expunge their records and become firefighters.

As a form of positive business ethics, I am impressed by the act. It seems to me simple justice that those on the frontline of fighting these terrible and now increasingly regular fires should be rewarded.

https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2020/9/12/21433678/wildfires-california-law-inmate-firefighters-fire-departments-release

Rio Tinto’s CEO Jean-Sébastien Jacques, is going to resign following the destruction of sacred aboriginal sites. The company attempted to deal with the crisis by canceling bonuses but considering the harm done this was a non-starter.

This was an appalling crime and there is no real penalty. Under the law, they could destroy at will any cultural artifact on the land they controlled. The Juukan Gorge rock shelters had shown evidence of continuous human habitation for 46,000 years. They were an irreplaceable evidence of human history completely unique.

What kind of people are these to disintegrate and destroy cultural artifacts at will? And what kind of nation allows its cultural treasures to be annihilated without a hint of caution or penalty?

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-54112991

And finally, I would like to add my voice to Emily Stewart‘s writing in Vox. She is calling for providing all citizens of the United States with Internet. I strongly agree. If we are going to advance as a nation, that is a minimal requirement. Further, in a crisis like the current pandemic we have already seen the importance of being connected.

But please read the article, the author is detailed and impressive.

James Pilant

 

 

Why We Should Publicly Mourn Our Dead

On By southwerkIn business ethics, Business Ethics, Corpoorate Social Responsibility, corporate citizenship

Why We Should Publicly Mourn Our Dead

“Commonwealth” is an old English word, charming in its implications. It is the idea that we have a political organization based on developing and preserving our common goods.

As of this day, 190,000 Americans are dead as a result of the COVID19 infection. The international pandemic has hit us hard.

One of the functions of a moral commonwealth is to deal with this kind of society wide pain. Historically massive death tolls are not unusual. The four horsemen of the Apocalypse are reliable producers of death and disorder.

Truly a wall of death is marching across this country. We often remark on the raw numbers and remark on the death of a significant casualty from time to time but the real toll, the absence and sorrow over these lost lives seldom appears in the public discourse.

Public mourning is one of the duties of the President. It is a vital part of unifying the nation in the face of external and internal threats. For instance, a National Day of Mourning was declared for the death of former President George Herbert Walker Bush.

Yet, no such day has been declared for the many victims of the virus.

I believe that one of the basic elements of business ethics is pursuit of the common good. Another is solidarity in the form of citizenship. Businesses should be regular and committed participants in pursuit of the public good.

This also applies to politics. Celebrating and remembering the lives of the fallen is an act of unification, a public ritual that defines us once again as members of a greater whole, The United States of America.

Would so many deny the reality of the COVID 19 outbreak if we had mourned our dead publicly? Would people refuse to wear masks in the mass numbers we have now if all over this nation there had been public ceremonies honoring the dead?

I don’t think so.

The failure to mourn has been a national catastrophe and has directly contributed to the division and pain in this country.

When our leadership changes, there will be an opportunity to once again celebrate the lives and contribution of the fallen. We should not miss that chance.

James Alan Pilant

 

 

The Ethics Sage Talks About Price Gouging

On By southwerkIn Corpoorate Social Responsibility
The Ethics Sage Talks About Price Gouging

The Ethics Sage latest post deals with price gouging in prescription medicine. He discusses the social responsibility of business and goes into some detail about his preference for a free market solution.

i_454I am more and more convinced as time has gone by that the pharmaceutical companies have failed in serving the public and that some kind of government intervention to prevent price gouging and selling prescription medicines for other than their FDA approved uses is going to necessary.

However, the Ethics Sage is worthy of reading. You should put him in your favorites, visit often and perhaps, even sign up as a follower.

Below is a selection from his latest essay. I recommend you visit his web site and read it in full.

James Pilant

http://www.ethicssage.com/2015/11/big-pharma-where-is-corporate-social-responsibility-with-high-drug-prices.html

Recently a group of 118 oncologists came out in an editorial in the Mayo Clinic medical journal to support a grassroots patient effort to push for fairer prices from drug companies. According to the editorial, many cancer patients are bankrupted by the high cost of care even for insured patients for treatment that costs $120,000 a year. The proposal is to get it down to $30,000 in out-of-pocket expenses – more than half the average U.S. household income. According to the editorial, the drugs are so high that as many as 20% of oncology patients don’t take their medication as prescribed. I believe it may be better to mandate catastrophic insurance coverage. Under Obamacare, if you are under 30 or obtained a “hardship exemption” you qualify for a high deductible, low premium, catastrophic plan. What about those over 30 who are more in need?

Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. These are the words spoken by Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. We could say this is the mantra of greedy CEOs of pharmaceutical companies. In a 2014 survey by Fierce Pharma, a news outlet for the industry, the average pay of the 10 top CEOs of big Pharma was about $30 million. None of the companies were in the Fortune top 100. Celgene was number 369, the highest in the industry. The CEO of Celgene earned $36.61 million. This seems out of line given the relatively small size of most pharmaceutical manufacturing companies.

Pink-Washing

On By southwerkIn Corpoorate Social Responsibility

Pink Washing
Pink Washing

Pink-Washing

NFL marketing using breast cancer as a tactic is bad business ethics and blatant hypocrisy. It’s bad business ethics because there is so little money actually given in relation to the hype. It’s blatant hypocrisy because the NFL cannot seem to find any consistent policy toward violence against women.

Maybe it is time to think of green or pink washing for the cynical tactics they are. Obviously, it can be argued that getting money from the NFL is better than no money at all. But is allowing a serious issue to become a corporate money maker and a pink silk veil to hide their problems really a wise decision in any long term sense?

As a marketing tool, the pink ribbon will appear on cups, on uniforms and countless varieties of merchandise. This is a formidable marketing tool. You’re telling the public that you care about a serious issue of personal relevance to them while pulling in large sums and giving very little actual money to the cause. The level of cynicism is staggering.

Is this the future of charity? If it doesn’t make a company a profit, we’re not giving any money? It is Milton Friedman to the max. We serve the shareholders first and foremost. I more reminded of William Henry Vanderbuilt’s quote, “The public be damned.”

Making money off the deaths of millions of women is cold blooded and is in no way a form of charity.

James Pilant

The NFL’s breast cancer scam sells bunk science to profit off pink clothes | Karuna Jaggar | Comment is free | theguardian.com

Pink ribbon marketing is great PR; breast cancer is good for business. Corporations use Breast Cancer Awareness Month to make money every October from pink merchandise and to make even more money in the long-term by generating customer loyalty for a supposedly do-good brand. As for the women living with and at risk of breast cancer, we supposedly benefit from all this “awareness”.

In reality, the NFL’s support of breast cancer philanthropy is outrageous, hypocritical, outdated and inaccurate. The NFL is exploiting breast cancer for its own gain and setting a pathetic example for big business: with nearly $10bn in annual revenue, they have given a mere $4.5m to breast cancer research since the pink misdirection play began.

via The NFL’s breast cancer scam sells bunk science to profit off pink clothes | Karuna Jaggar | Comment is free | theguardian.com.

Here is the trailer for Pink Ribbons, Inc. I think this documentary is a must watch for those more curious about the use of the pink ribbon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QPZfcYTUaA

Are Corporations an Achilles Heel?

On By southwerkIn Corpoorate Social Responsibility
Are Corporations an Achilles Heel?

Achilles was a Greek warrior at the siege of Troy. He was immune to all harm except on one heel. He was shot and killed by a poison arrow in his one vulnerable spot.

The United States has an Achilles heel. There is an American vulnerability that other nations even those with little credible military power can exploit.

!!!Molesw-hellsangelsTo disrupt the German economy during the Second World War, the Americans used strategic bombing. They targeted key industries like ball bearing plants and oil production. There were attacks on infrastructure like bridges, governments offices and railroads. The effort required great sacrifice on the part of the Army Air Force. The 8th Air Force alone suffered 47,000 casualties with 26,000 dead.

One of the greatest missed opportunities of the campaign was the German electrical system. American intelligence did not realize how stretched German resources were and appear to have never considered the German grid a worthwhile target.

Bombing the United States presents serious problems to any potential aggressor. The distance is prohibitive for almost all the other nations on earth. Flight time would be measured in hours.

But strategic attacks can be made at the speed of an electronic transmission.

You can attack infrastructure through corporations, both domestic and multi-national. They possess critical targets held as data and in other systems like control of the electrical grid. Instead of physical attacks on infrastructure, hacking attacks with the same purpose would take place instantaneously and in multiple locations.

Of course, this could be considered wild speculation of the worse kind, a “chicken little” diatribe aimed at the weak minded. Unless you note that such attacks have already happened and are happening now. Unless you reflect that such cyber attacks are based overseas and have every appearance of state sponsorship, apparent trial runs for the “real thing.”

Currently Burger King is moving its headquarters outside the United States to evade taxes. It’s hard to think of fast food place as a matter of strategic interest to the United States but the fact is this company holds several million credit card records including pin numbers as well as a considerable amount of employment information as well as corporate gateways to large financial institutions, lobbying organizations and other companies like suppliers. Throwing all this on the internet for the free market of theft would be a form of sabotage but a foreign hacker would probably gather many company’s data before launching a concerted attack to disrupt the economy by making credit card use difficult or impossible while crippling commerce and banking, a strategic attack without the loss of a single man.

What kind of vulnerabilities do we as a nation have to these kinds of attacks beyond financial information? Here’s some examples:

Hacker uses an Android to remotely attack and hijack an airplane

Hackers Find Open Back Door to Power Grid With Renewables

Hacking Hospitals: The Present and Future Threat to Your Data

What nations are interested in hacking American or multi-national companies? Here’s some examples:

Russian hackers attacked US financial system stealing gigabytes of data in suspected retaliation for Ukraine sanctions

Iranian Hackers, Getting More Sophisticated, Target U.S. Defense Companies

US Report: China Hacked Into Key US Defense Contractors Site

So, are corporations an Achilles heel in the defense of the United States?

It is obvious that American corporations should act to help defend the country and themselves from these kinds of attacks. According to some, however, corporations are people. Are these “people” patriots or citizens with responsibility? By the tenets of free market fundamentalism, there is no problem of patriotism or duty here. The profit motive will solve these problems simply and easily. Hacking causes problems that cost money, thus the companies will act to defend themselves. So far, so good. But a great deal of money and expertise has already been expended and American data seems to be hacked daily. It is quite likely that companies will attempt to defend themselves. On the other hand, will they defend themselves with the depth of commitment necessary for a infrastructure asset of the United States?

If a corporation has no patriotic duty. If its only duty is to its shareholders. If demands that it act in loyalty to the national interest be described as parochial then there is no need for preventive action in accordance with a nation’s needs. It is difficult and requires the outlay of money and time to defeat this kind of highly skilled and apparently state sponsored attack. Any company embarking on such a program of defense would be placed at a competitive disadvantage with its fellows. While, it would be acting in the interest of the United States and acting in accordance with the duty expected of any American citizen, this would not be in accordance with the “only” real purpose of a corporation, that is, to act only for shareholder value.

What do we do?

By the tenets of neo-liberalism, the market should solve this problem. Perhaps, Russian, Iranian and Chinese, etc. will find having access to American markets more important than exploiting our vulnerabilities? Perhaps will just be lucky – which is apparently our primary mechanism of defense so far.

Or we could demand and establish by law a responsibility to act in concert to act as patriotic citizens on all American corporations and fully prevent them from moving to other nations to escape the obligations of American citizens. After all a corporation, is created by the state and its benefits depend on state protection. While many find the idea of corporate personhood persuasive, I do not. But in any case, they don’t have human mobility and thus their geographic presence can be regulated in a way that human movement cannot.

Patriotism and responsibility for vital national assets like credit card numbers, defense secrets, etc. should not be a matter of choice for a corporate board, but expected behavior from fellow Americans.

James Pilant

 

Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Financial Firms in Major Assault – NYTimes.com

Questions over who the hackers are and the approach of their attack concern government and industry officials. Also troubling is that about nine other financial institutions — a number that has not been previously reported — were also infiltrated by the same group of overseas hackers, according to people briefed on the matter. The hackers are thought to be operating from Russia and appear to have at least loose connections with officials of the Russian government, the people briefed on the matter said.

via Hackers’ Attack Cracked 10 Financial Firms in Major Assault – NYTimes.com.

Fukushima, Three Years Ago

On By southwerkIn Corpoorate Social Responsibility

NuclearPowerPlantFukushima, Three Years Ago

And still the crisis goes on and on. Every few months, new unsettling information comes out. Every few months, new levels of incompetence emerge.

The reactor continues to leak radioactivity.

They can’t fix it.

Should that make you wonder about the future of nuclear power?

Better yet, what kind of business ethics is it that encourages taking these kinds of risks?

James Pilant

Fukushima: Third Anniversary of the Start of the Catastrophe | Eslkevin’s Blog

With the third anniversary of the start of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear catastrophe coming next week, the attempted Giant Lie about the disaster continues–a suppression of information, an effort at dishonesty of historical dimensions.

It involves international entities, especially the International Atomic Energy Agency, national governmental bodies–led in Japan by its current prime minister, the powerful nuclear industry and a “nuclear establishment” of scientists and others with a vested interest in atomic energy.

Deception was integral to the push for nuclear power from its start. Indeed, I opened my first book on nuclear technology, Cover Up: What You Are Not Supposed to Know About Nuclear Power, with: “You have not been informed about nuclear power. You have not been told. And that has been done on purpose. Keeping the public in the dark was deemed necessary by the promoters of nuclear power if it was to succeed. Those in government, science and private industry who have been pushing nuclear power realized that if people were given the facts, if they knew the consequences of nuclear power, they would not stand for it.”

via Fukushima: Third Anniversary of the Start of the Catastrophe | Eslkevin’s Blog.

From around the web.

From the web site, Nuclear Energy.

http://nuclearenergyblogassignment.wordpress.com/2012/12/08/lets-say-no/

Based on those potential risks and terrible experiences, I cannot agree nuclear power is the best option for generating electricity. Nowadays, we still cannot control nuclear power steadily. Nuclear power is like a savage beast. If it becomes uncontrollable someday, we do not have the capability to control it. There is no perfect safety. We don’t know how serious problems will happen or when the next accident will appear. We cannot bear more catastrophes. We should decrease reliance on nuclear power. I hope scientists can develop new technology to obtain energy or improve other renewable energy and alternative energy resources, like wind power and solar power. We should learn from history to not repeat failure. For public health and for the safety of the environment, we should keep away from this beast.

Yamada Cancels Amazon Prime

On By southwerkIn Corpoorate Social Responsibility

David Yamada
David Yamada

Yamada Cancels Amazon Prime

David Yamada is a crusader against workplace bullying. I read his blog regularly and this is his latest post. I think you should read it.

I find his rationale for dropping the service to be compelling. Why don’t you go to his site, read the full post and see if you agree?

James Pilant

Why I cancelled my Amazon Prime account « Minding the Workplace

I cancelled my Amazon Prime account earlier this week, and until working conditions for their employees improve, I won’t be shopping there nearly as often as I have previously.

Amazon Prime is a premium membership service that guarantees two-day shipping on almost every item ordered. For frequent customers such as myself, Prime offers easy, dependable, click-and-ship ordering, with hardly any waiting time for delivery.

However, revelations about Amazon’s labor practices have become increasingly disturbing, more specifically the working conditions in its vast merchandise warehouses. For me, the final straw was a recent Salon investigative piece by Simon Head, “Worse than Wal-Mart: Amazon’s sick brutality and secret history of ruthlessly intimidating workers,” detailing how the situation is much worse than I imagined …

via Why I cancelled my Amazon Prime account « Minding the Workplace.

From around the web.

From the web site, The Big Idea Bookstore.

http://thebigideapgh.wordpress.com/about-us/whats-wrong-with-amazon/

Cheap books aren’t always a bargain

• Cheap books are really publishers and authors receiving less: this doesn’t support the future of book publishing and quality writing. Amazon can offer “discounts” because they are cutting other costs: taxes, publisher payments, author payments, and safe-labor practices.

• Amazon has strong-armed many publishers into reducing the prices of their books and eBooks. In some instances when publishers have refused, Amazon has removed the “buy” button from the pages of the publishers’ books. This tactic threatens the ability of publishers to survive in an industry with an already low profit margin. (Read more: Books After Amazon)

• Amazon uses “loss leaders” to gain an unfair pricing advantage over their bookselling competition. Selling certain books (or Kindles) at a loss or no profit entices customers to their website to buy big ticket items (often non-book items, like electronics, since books are only a tiny fraction of Amazon’s Walmart-esque business model).

• Amazon refuses to pay taxes in most states, even when they have a physical presence there. By not paying state sales taxes, Amazon gains an advantage in pricing perception over independent bookstores because their prices seem lower by 5 to 8% (the sales tax rate in most states).

Working in an Amazon warehouse literally means working in a sweatshop

• Amazon’s Pennsylvania warehouses get so hot in summer months that Amazon keeps ambulances outside of the buildings to rush employees to the hospital. Employees must keep a brutal production pace even during heat waves or they risk being terminated. (Read more: Inside Amazon’s Warehouse)