Open Password – Wednesday February 23, 2022
#1033
Book of the Year 2022-2021 – Maelle Gavet – Trampled by Unicorns – Threats to Democracy – Threats to Health – Tech Industry – Regulations – Joe Miller – Özlem Türeci – Project Lightspeed – Facebook – Google – Apple – Amazon – Populism – Disinformation Campaigns – Boston Consulting Group – Ozon.ru – Compass – China – Huxley/Orwell hybrid system – dystopias – binge watching – Alibaba – lack of transparency – Las Vegas – Bild-Zeitung – attention economy – Instagram – network effects – ethics commissions
Minesoft – MPLM 2 – Warburg Pincus – Mason Sloane – Ann Chapman-Daniel – Ophir Daniel – Dun & Bradstreet – Google Cloud – Co-Innovation – Next-Generation Solutions – Supply Chain Risk – Twin Solution – BigQuery – Supply Chain Visibility – Business Centric Intelligence – Dun & Bradstreet – Google Cloud – Co-Innovation – Next-Generation Solutions – Supply Chain Risk – Twin Solution – BigQuery – Supply Chain Visibility – Business-Centric Intelligence
Title:
Maelle Gavet, Trampled by Unicorns:
George Orwell can only be controlled in parts of the world – Huxley’s “Brave New World” is a global reality – By Willi Bredemeier
Open Password Partner Minesoft: Minesoft Acquired by MPLM 2 and Warburg Pincus – An Opportunity to Continue to Dynamically Grow
III.
Dun & Bradstreet10-Year Strategic Agreement With Google Cloud to Drive Cloud-Based Innovation
Book of the Year 2022/2021
Maelle Gavet, Trampled by Unicorns
can only be controlled in parts of the world. Huxley’s “Brave New World” is a global reality
See also trends of the year: Corona as the great accelerator, how do we counter it, what do we redesign? – An irrational resistance front with “alternative facts” – Integration of research and InfoPro functions: The wonderful story of BioNTech and Ugur Sahin, in: Open Password, January 12, #1015
By Willi Bredemeier
Maelle Gavet
Maelle Gavet, Trampled by Unicorns – The Devastating Side Effects of Big Tech – A Call to Action, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim 2021.
Open Password has chosen “Trampled by Unicorns” as its “Book of the Year 2021”,
- because with the tech industry and the flood of false reports emanating from social media and the threats to democracies and the health of its citizens, it deals with a topic that has become more economically and socially relevant than almost any other. It is now at the forefront of the political urgency, alongside taming the pandemic, climate protection and preserving biodiversity;
- because 2021 is likely to mark a turning point after which the Internet or tech industry will be viewed almost exclusively critically by the public for good reasons, and this will continue as long as the USA and the global community do not agree on appropriate regulation of tech companies ;
- because Gavet, although a strong critic of Internet companies, does not forget that they could create a better world in terms of gross domestic product, poverty reduction, life expectancy and literacy;
- because the author, as an insider, manages to shed light on the extensive lack of transparency about the industry in critical areas and to create a coherent overall picture of the tech industry and
- because it makes differentiated and practical suggestions for regulation and for setting incentives towards responsible action, which can lead to a desirable social taming of Internet companies without impairing their innovative strength.
“Joe Miller, Ugur Sahin and Özlem Türeci, Project Lightspeed: The Path to the BioNTech Vaccine – and to a Medicine of Tomorrow” was chosen as the second “Book of the Year 2021”, an extraordinary success story that will continue the period 2022/2021 despite all contrary developments also makes it a year of hope.
The title of the book “Trampled Down by Unicorns” is correctly translated from American and at first impression comes across as rather blatant. However, the chosen metaphor is made coherent by a variety of representations, as these convincingly demonstrate how Facebook in particular, but also Google, Apple, Facebook and Amazon (“GAFA”) as well as other unicorns, including their economic environment, accept the collateral damage of their profit maximization take. Facebook and other social media such as Telegram in particular now pose a threat to democracy and civil society, especially since they contribute to the rise of populism and allow themselves to be exploited by authoritarian regimes’ disinformation campaigns.
“Unicorns” refer to the 4,712 tech companies that are valued at at least a billion dollars (page 16). However, this also includes the Mainz-based company BioNTech, which has made great contributions to the development of a vaccine against Corona and is Open Passwords “Company of the Year” for the period 2022/2021.
The author characterizes the social significance of “unicorns” as follows: “ No other industry has changed all areas of our lives so quickly, fundamentally and comprehensively. … No other industry has developed new tools such as AI, which we can hardly control just a few years after their introduction and which will one day probably replace us rather than complement us ” (page 17).
In doing so, she implicitly states: Even if the management of tech companies is no worse than the management of other companies, higher moral standards would have to be expected of them. Firstly, because of their reach – well over 20% of the world’s population is on Facebook: in 2021, the number of daily active users on Facebook was 1.9 billion users, and monthly active users were 2.9 billion users. Secondly, we have to hold the tech companies to higher standards because of what they are doing to our societies.
Gavet worked ” after six years as a Principal at Boston Consulting Group, (after which) she became CEO of Ozon.ru, Russia’s largest e-commerce site, and Executive Vice President (EVP) of Priceline Group, the world’s largest online Travel agency that includes brands such as OpenTable, Kayak and Booking.com. Most recently, Gavet was Chief Operating Officer (COO) at real estate platform Compass, valued at over $6 billion” (321). Even as a New Yorker, she had fairly direct access to key players and American sources.
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The tech companies have made Huxley’s “Brave New World” a reality. But Orwell also continues to shape the world.
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With her turn into a staunch critic of tech companies, Gavet refers to Neil Postman’s comparison between Orwell and Huxley in “We Amuse Ourselves to Death”. By this she means that Orwell has been overcome in parts of the world for the time being, but Huxley’s “Brave New World” has become a global reality thanks to the tech companies:
“ What Orwell feared were those who would ban books. What Huxley feared was that there would be no reason to ban a book because there would be no one who would want to read one. Orwell feared those who would withhold information from us. Huxley feared those who would give us so much that we would be reduced to passivity and selfishness. Orwell feared that the truth would be hidden from us. Huxley feared that the truth would drown in a sea of irrelevance. Orwell feared that we would become a society of prisoners. Huxley feared that we would become a trivial culture, preoccupied with the equivalent of the tactile films, the slithipuchi, and the centrifugal bumblebee…
(This) the civil libertarians and rationalists, always on guard to resist tyranny, have failed to take into account that man has an almost infinite appetite for distractions. In 1984, Orwell added, people are controlled by inflicting pain. In the “Brave New World, they are controlled by the infliction of pleasure” (158).
At second glance, however, we see that Orwell’s “1984” is by no means dead, not even in Western countries: democracy has been in retreat worldwide for more than a decade and the importance and functionality of democratic institutions has been reduced in favor of one in many countries greater control of its citizens and their multipliers. Just think of the EU member states Poland, Hungary and Romania. Authoritarian regimes, as the example of China in particular shows, are in the process of installing a “mixed system” of “1984” and “Brave New World”. China, Russia, Iran and North Korea are using (social) media to control their populations and to destabilize Western countries. “ During the US election campaign, a targeted Russian disinformation campaign reached an estimated 126 million users on Facebook alone” (86). Social media has made a significant contribution to the lack of acceptance of democratic norms in at least one of the two major parties in the United States (formerly called the “Mother of Democracy”), contributed to the polarization of American society and Donald Trump and the “Storm” he promoted on the Capitol” was made possible in the first place. This coup attempt failed because there were (still?) many Democrats in crucial positions in the USA.
From a global perspective, we are currently in a transformation phase in which the old connections still partially apply and “1984” and “Brave New World” are on the rise. These once literary dystopias are likely to retain their analytical power for understanding our real world in the future.
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Lack of transparency and lack of understanding of social media.
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Elsewhere, Gavet sums up the “Brave New World” as it has currently developed: “ We have willingly traded our privacy for the cheap rushes and dopamine rushes of social media and waste our time binge-watching “), … served by streaming services, video and mobile games” (168). “ At the same time, for the sake of simplicity, we delegate our consumer behavior – and sometimes decisions about what we buy next – to companies like Amazon and Alibaba ” (169).
Western democracies certainly have institutions and people who try to protect democratic values. So far, however, these have at best aligned themselves with Orwell, but hardly with any suitable resistance against the “Brave New World” according to Aldous Huxley, which has also largely become reality in Western democracies: “Technology and society fixated on the moment when technology takes control by surpassing human strengths – the so-called “singularity”. However, they have completely missed the point at which she takes control by exploiting human weaknesses” (116f.). Las Vegas could have been a warning signal decades ago or, to insert a German perspective: the Bild newspaper.
Why do we so rarely do anything about the “Brave New World” that we find around the world today? Because we are addicted to her? And if we do do something, why do we so often do the wrong thing? One reason for this, says Gavet, is the extensive lack of transparency in the tech industry. This is concealed and promoted by a seemingly endless amount of facts about the tech companies – not least thanks to the tech companies’ public relations work. The users and their multipliers do not try enough to bring clarity to the given facts because in the “attention economy” that the tech companies have helped to create, it is difficult for them to “concentrate on the bigger picture when so many things are vying for our attention.” “We are trained not only to expect instant gratification, but also to demand it” (29 f.). Open Password’s Man of the Year, Ugur Sahin, can be seen as a counter-model to this. He reads mathematical representations in selected media such as crime novels and always asks himself what conclusions can be drawn from them.
Criticism of the tech companies is further made more difficult because “many of their insidious effects are rather vaguely noticeable, like a kind of white noise that is easy to ignore” (29). If everyone is on Facebook or Instagram and that is where you meet your friends who constantly confirm your own opinion, even if it contradicts the facts, you will tend to ignore or deny criticism of social media . Similar to drugs, users can become addicted to social media and remain addicted, even if they realize that using social media is harming them. We now know that Facebook chose its algorithms in such a way that users are lured to polarizing content, and Facebook knows very well that the content it prioritizes is harmful to the health of at least young people.
The lack of transparency of high-tech companies is further reinforced by
- “the massive scale and network effects created, making it difficult to track the impact on millions of people,
- the refusal of tech giants to disclose data,
- the lack of ethics committees (like those at universities) to review tech-based behavioral experiments. A few developers can decide to run any tests at any time. You change a few lines of code and can experiment with it immediately” (31).
Read the upcoming episode: The collateral damage of Silicon Valley: Exploitation of countries, regions and workers – Endangering democracy and the health of citizens – Venture capitalists: Manic urge for hypergrowth
Open Password Partner Minesoft
Open Password Partner MinesoftMinesoft Acquired by MPLM 2 and Warburg Pincus
An opportunity to continue to grow dynamically
Ann Chapman-Daniels, co-founder of Minesoft, surrounded by employees,
(Minesoft) Global patent search provider, Minesoft, is the first acquisition for MLM 2 in building a market-leading IP solutions platform, focused on unlocking the power of intellectual property.
After over 25 years in the intellectual property industry, Minesoft has closed on a substantial growth investment from MLM 2, an information services and software platform, and Warburg Pincus, a leading global growth investor. With this strategic move, Minesoft will have an opportunity to continue to dynamically grow. This significant growth investment will accelerate the development of new products, expand and scale globally, including in the US, and enhance existing products with analytics, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Minesoft marks the first acquisition for MLM 2, backed by a $1 billion equity commitment from Warburg Pincus. MLM 2 continues to pursue additional acquisitions in information, software, and technology-enabled services and aims to become the most advanced IP information and services provider through extraordinary organic and inorganic investment. Mason Slaine, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman of MLM 2, will assume the role of Executive Chairman of Minesoft.
Co-founded by Ann Chapman-Daniel and Ophir Daniel in 1996, Minesoft is an industry-leading patent information solutions provider, developing mission-critical international searchable patent databases and web-based products for IP research. The Company offers patent searching, IP document retrieval, patent analytics and competitive intelligence systems for many of the leading enterprises and IP law firms in the world.
“Innovation has become the cornerstone of global growth, and patent search is critical to investing in innovation for global enterprises. This acquisition reflects the hard work of our employees, the loyalty of our customers, and our position as the most comprehensive patent research platform in the world,” said Ann Chapman-Daniel, Co-Founder and CEO, Minesoft. “We are excited to see Minesoft continue its next chapter of growth with MLM 2 and Warburg Pincus. Together, we are committed to continuing to focus on solving our customers’ most critical IP problems with our leading solutions,” added Ophir Daniel, Co-Founder and CTO, Minesoft.
“Our investment in Minesoft is the first step in our vision to build the leading information services solutions provider in the world. We plan to leverage our decades of IP expertise, significant investments in people and technology, and additional acquisitions to create a world-class platform of scale,” said Mason Slaine, Co-Founder and Executive Chairman, MLM 2.
About Minesoft: Founded in 1996 to develop databases and software solutions for the information industry, Minesoft specializes in tools and services for retrieving, storing, and distributing patent information throughout the enterprise. Minesoft develops web-based patent search and software solutions offering searchable databases, competitive intelligence tracking, patent analytics and customized corporate knowledge management. Minesoft’s clients include Fortune 500/FTSE 100 type companies around the world, national IP Offices, IP Legal and Patent Attorney firms.
About MLM 2: M LM 2 is an information services and software platform formed in partnership with Warburg Pincus, a leading global private equity firm. MLM 2 focuses on partnering with information, software, and technology-enabled services companies with a long-term view to value creation. The company’s mission is to invest in and develop sizable businesses where the latest technology and a sharp focus on customer needs can unlock further value. Management has collectively over 100 years of experience leading companies in information services, software, and tech-enabled services across a variety of industries including intellectual property, life sciences and fintech. About Warburg Pincus: Warburg Pincus LLC is a leading global growth investor. The company has more than $73 billion in assets under management. The firm’s active portfolio of more than 235 companies is highly diversified by stage, sector, and geography. Notable technology investments include Avalara (NYSE: AVLR), Clearwater Analytics (NYSE: CWAN), Interactive Data Corporation, IPAN GMBH, Reorg, and Turnitin, among others. Warburg Pincus is an experienced partner to management teams seeking to build durable companies with sustainable value. Founded in 1966, The company is headquartered in New York with offices in Amsterdam, Beijing, Berlin, Hong Kong, Houston, London, Luxembourg, Mumbai, Mauritius, San Francisco, São Paulo, Shanghai, and Singapore. For more information please visit www.warburgpincus.com. Follow us on LinkedIn.
Dun & Brad Street
10-Year Strategic Agreement With Google Cloud
to Drive Cloud-based Innovation
Companies focus initial phase of co-innovation around supply chain visibility, analytics and business-centric intelligence. Dun & Bradstreet Holdings, Inc. (“Dun & Bradstreet”) (NYSE:DNB), announced a 10-year strategic agreement to leverage Google Cloud for infrastructure modernization and jointly innovate new industry-specific solutions and services to help businesses operate more efficiently .
As part of the agreement, Dun & Bradstreet will accelerate its infrastructure modernization using Google Cloud as its preferred cloud provider, enabling the companies to deliver next-generation solutions to meet the needs of organizations. The depth and breadth of Dun & Bradstreet’s business data and insights, combined with Google Cloud’s technology, will fuel the joint innovation agenda that focuses on helping customers overcome today’s biggest business challenges.
The companies’ first innovation initiative will focus on developing solutions to solve the increasing challenge of managing supply chain risk. To address this challenge, Dun & Bradstreet will become one of the founding data providers for Google Cloud’s Supply Chain Twin solution, which is underpinned by BigQuery, Google Cloud’s serverless, multicloud data warehouse, and provides supply chain virtualization for businesses.
Dun & Bradstreet is a leader in helping businesses understand their supplier relationships through its near real-time supplier data set. By integrating Dun & Bradstreet’s leading supply chain data with Google Cloud Supply Chain Twin, the two companies will develop new solutions that improve end-to-end supply chain visibility for customers and help uncover hidden risks in global supply chains. In addition to focusing on supply chain visibility, the two companies will collaborate on innovative cloud-based solutions in analytics and business-centric intelligence for Dun & Bradstreet’s clients and explore ways to work together on go-to-market initiatives.
Source: BIIA
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