The Invisible War Criminals

24:39And I believe the same can be said of people like Dario Amadei of Anthropic and Mustafa Suleiman of Microsoft. Tim Cook of Apple, he's a wolf in sheep's clothing. He slowly allows the rot to seep into Apple's products. Apple intelligence is goddamn awful. It sucks. It gets in the way. The summaries suck. Image playground sucks. Everyone saying this doesn't suck is up their own asshole. They need to look. Look at the actual products. They don't work. And they've slowly been adding these bothersome subscription options. And they chip away at the user experience. The one company that I really didn't want to do this.

25:11And yet, let's take a step back to the beginning of the show. Apple's App Store and its repeated support of exploitative, micro-transaction-laden mobile games built to create gambling-like addiction in adults and children alike. They make billions of dollars off of them. And because Apple's products are less shitty, they get a much easier time. Now, let's talk about two of my faves, my besties. Now, I hold Sundar Pichai in a certain kind of esteem, by which I believe that Sundar Pichai of Google is the Henry Kissinger of technology, a glossy executive that escapes blame despite having caused harm on a global scale.

25:42The destruction of Google search at the hands of Sundar Pichai and Prabagar Raghavan should be written about like a war crime and those responsible treated as such. And by the way, Prabhagar, if you're hearing this, hello, baby. I love you. I love saying your name, and I'm going to be saying it forever. Now let's get to Microsoft. Satya Nadella has aggressively expanded Microsoft's various monopolies, the most egregious of which, by the way, is the Microsoft 365 suite, which is a monopoly over business software that everyone kind of hates, that Microsoft prices to undercut the competition, effectively setting conditions of most business software as either cheaper than Microsoft or slightly better than Microsoft.

26:18Nadella has overseen layoffs of tens of thousands of people in the last three years alone, and despite his bullshit growth mindset culture, he treats his employees and customers as equally disposable. And of course, he's the guy that has made OpenAI happen, which in turn means he's responsible for generative AI at scale. And let's end with Meta's Mark Zuckerberg, who is a putrid ghoul that has overseen the growth and proliferation of some of the single most abusive and manipulative software in the world. Meta has grown to a market cap of$1.5 trillion dollars by intentionally making the experience on Instagram and Facebook worse, intentionally frustrating and harming billions of people, actively interfering with the fabric of society.

26:57These are the people in charge. These are the people running the tech industry. These are the people who make the decisions that affect billions of people every minute of every day, and their decision-making is so flagrantly selfish and abusive that I'm regularly astonished by how little criticism they receive. These men lace our digital lives with asbestos and get told they're geniuses for doing so because money comes out. But the truth is, I don't know or care whether these men know who I am or read my work because I only care that you do. I don't give a shit if Sam Altman or Mark Zuckerberg knows my name.

27:31I don't care about their riches or their achievements. I care that when given so many resources, such privilege and such opportunity to change the world, they chose to make it worse. These men are tantamount to war criminals, except in 30 years, Mark Zuckerberg may still be seen as a success, though I will spend the rest of my life telling you the damage he's caused. I care about you, the user, the person listening to this, the person that may have felt stupid or deficient or ignorant, all because the services you pay for or that monetize you have been intentionally rigged against you. You aren't the failure, the services, the devices and the executives are.

28:10If you cannot see the significance of the problems I discuss every week, the sheer scale of the rot, the sheer damage caused by unregulated and unrepentant managerial parasites, you are living in a fantasy world and I both envy and worry about you. You're the frog in the pot and trust me, the stove's on. 2025 will be the year of chaos, fear and a deficit of hope, but I will spend every breath I have telling you what I believe and telling you that I care and that you are not alone. For years, I've watched the destruction of the services and the mechanisms that were responsible for allowing me to have a normal life, to thrive, to be able to speak with a voice that was truly mine.

28:47I've watched them burn or worse, turned into these abominable growth vehicles, men disconnected from society and humanity. I owe my life to an internet I've watched turned into these abuse factories worth billions, if not trillions of dollars, and I've watched the people responsible get glad-handled and applauded. i will scream at them into my dying fucking breath i have had a blessed life and i'm lucky that i wasn't born even a year earlier or later but the way i've grown up and seen things changed has allowed me to fully comprehend how much damage is being done today and how much worse is to come if we don't hold these people accountable the least they deserve is a spoken or written record of their sins and the least you deserve is to be reminded that you are the victim.

29:42Time for a sofa upgrade? Visit washablesofas.com and discover Anabay, where designer style meets budget-friendly prices, with sofas starting at$699. Anabay brings you the ultimate in furniture innovation with a modular design that allows you to rearrange your space effortlessly. Perfect for both small and large spaces, Anime is the only machine washable sofa inside and out. Say goodbye to stains and messes with liquid and stain-resistant fabrics that make cleaning easy. Liquid simply slides right off. Designed for custom comfort, our high-resilience foam lets you choose between a sink and feel or a supportive memory foam blend.

30:19Plus, our pet-friendly stain-resistant fabrics ensure your sofa stays beautiful for years. Don't compromise quality for price. Visit washablesofas.com to upgrade your living space today with no risk returns and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Get up to 60 % off plus free shipping and free returns. Shop now at washablesofas.com. Authors are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply. Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50%, and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park.

30:57This week on a very special episode of Health Discovered, we're taking a closer look at a condition that affects hundreds of thousands of men each year, prostate cancer. I first found out about my cancer at the age of 45. Anything with cancer, you just think death sentence. In this episode, we'll explore the science behind detection, along with the practical steps men can take to protect their health. Listen to Health Discovered on America's number one podcast network, iHeart. Open your free iHeart app, search Health Discovered and start listening. So today's show is brought to you with support from Square, who I really love.

31:36They offer quick payment processing, really easy to use terminals. Everything spins up really quickly. Every store I use them in, I don't really think about the experience, which is exactly what I want from any kind of tech. The loyalty programs work really easily. They're over at Court Street Grocers, S &P, Van Leeuwen Ice Cream. They're just a very easy to use and straightforward piece of tech. I can't recommend them enough. I've heard great things from businesses using them. And as a customer, never upset to see them in a store. Square keeps up so you don't have to slow down. Get everything you need to run and grow your business without any long-term commitments.

32:09And why wait? Right now, you can get up to$200 off Square hardware at square.com slash go slash better offline. That's S-Q-U-A-R-E dot com slash G-O slash better offline. Run your business smart with Square. Get started today. Stop settling for weak sound. It's time to level up your game and bring the boom. Hit the town with the ultra-durable LG XBoom portable speaker and enjoy vibrant sound wherever you go. Elevate your listening experience to new heights, because let's be real, your music deserves it. The future of sound is now with LG XBoom. And for a limited time, save 25 % at LG.com with code FALL25.

32:55Bring the boom! XBoom.

33:04I don't think you realize how powerful it is being armed with knowledge, the clarity of what's being done to you and why, and the names of the people responsible. This is an invisible war, and a series of invisible war crimes perpetuated against billions of people in a trillion different ways every moment of every day. And it's everywhere, a constant in our lives which makes enumerating and conceptualizing it difficult. But you can help. You talking about the truth behind generative AI or the harms of Facebook or the gratuitous destruction of Google search will change things because these people are unprepared for a public that knows both what they've done and their sickening, loathsome, selfish and greedy intentions.

33:42Saying Prabhagar Raghavan is both very fun. Try it yourself. Say Prabhagar Raghavan in the shower, on the toilet. Prabhagar Raghavan in an NFL game. And then when someone says, who's Prabhagar Raghavan? You say, well, he's the guy who destroyed Google search. Nah, look, I get it. It's just talking, right? But the way that people disconnect from these services and take a stand starts with the clear discussion of the problem and reframing I don't get technology to Prabhupada Raghavan destroyed Google search It spreads through groups, organizations and governments. It gets somewhere Most people, believe it or not, don't know about the raw economy or about the people responsible and assume they got older rather than technology getting worse Really, this is a moment of solidarity.

34:21We're all harmed by the raw economy We're all victims. And it takes true opulence to escape it. And I'm guessing you don't have it. I certainly don't. But talking about it, refusing to go quietly, refusing to slow down the slop willingly or pleasantly is enough. The conversations are getting louder. The anger is getting too hard to ignore. These companies will be forced to change through public pressure and the knowledge of their deeds and pressure on the media outlets you read and listen to that choose willingly to prop them up. Holding these people to a higher standard at scale is what brings about change.

34:54Be the wrench in the machine. Be the person that explains to a friend why Facebook sucks now and who chose to make it suck. Adam Masseri, by the way. It's Adam Masseri, Mark Zuckerberg, and the rest of the growth team. Naomi Gleit's another great one as well. Javier Olivan. They're all in. Go listen to the episode and tell your friends. Be the person to explain who Prabhagar Raghavan is and what his role was in making Google search worse. Say his name with your friends. Say it to the mailman. Be the person who tells people that Sam Altman burns$5 billion a year on unsustainable software that destroys the environment and is built upon the largest scale larceny of creative works ever to happen, all because he's desperate for power.

35:32He is already a billionaire. He was already there. Because every time you do this, you destabilize them. They've succeeded in a decades-long marketing campaign where tech people get called geniuses for making things that are necessary to function in society, and they're making them worse. You can change that. I also want to be clear, I don't give a shit if you sign me. It's cool if you say where you found it, but I really don't care. I really don't. Tell people. That's what matters. Tell everybody. Spread the word. You yourself can be a little better offline. I don't mean that as a pun, but you know what I mean.

36:06Spread the bloody word. Say what they've done. Say their names. Say their names again and again and again so that it becomes a contagion. They've twisted and broken and hyper-monetized everything. how you make friends how you fall in love how you bank how you listen to music how you find information never let their names be spoken without disgust be the sandpaper in their veins and the graffiti on their fucking legacies i'm sick of it i'm sick of it and if you're with me just tell people don't even talk about me i'm not important what's important is that you know and the others know too and you'll feel a lot of dread going into the next year but that's what the darkness wants.

36:42That's what authoritarianism craves. Hopelessness, emptiness, an energy deficit that anchors you to the earth. And I can't promise you that I'm fixing anything with a podcast. I can't promise you what I'm saying is going to fix you in any way, but I hope it at least invigorates you. I hope it makes you feel less alone. I hope you know that others feel the way you do too, and that someone somewhere is outraged on your behalf because I am. now we're going to get to the schmaltzy part because i have to i'm a big emotional guy last year in my life's been incredible i've been very lucky to do this show it's allowed me to meet wonderful people that i adore i'm going to talk about them now and if you don't like it what's wrong with you i get so angry let me be happy for a moment and be happy for these people they're absolutely wonderful a year in i want to thank sophie lichterman and robert evans for having faith in me to do this.

37:32I stood alone in my kitchen in February and I was like pacing around and I was like, I don't know what I'm going to do, but I'm not going to tell them because they contracted me. And I mostly worked it out as it went along and they were extremely supportive. And I wasn't sure where I would take this, but both of them told me to go as hard as I needed to, however I wanted to. Not once have either of them said, nah, or hey, Ed, I don't know about this, or head can you change this except in one episode's case where it was actually the pilots and it needed a re-recording it was not good enough but that's what they're there for they've humored these insane 500 word rants at like 11 p.m on a tuesday where i'm like i think that this should happen and then they've taken these concepts and been like hey why don't you do this but fundamentally they have and all of Cool Zone Media has been insanely supportive, both of the ideas, but also the outrage.

38:29And also the true support they've given me to do this as creative expression, but also a value generating podcast has been incredible. And regardless of how you feel about what I do, there really isn't anything out there like Better Offline. It's a result of having the kind of an army behind me, both as part of the show and these people who just show me incredible love, who I adore so much and I'm so grateful for. And you're just going to have to sit there and let me list them. And if you don't like it, you need to tell your friends you love them instead. Pause the show, call your mom, call your friends, tell everyone you know you love them.

39:02Well, the life is short. Let's start with the thanks. I want to thank Matt Asowski, Ian Johnson, and Daniel Goodman for producing the show. Matt Asowski is the person who will hear this first, and he also hears the cuts between where I'm swearing and I mess up really obvious words. these they're all amazing the actual iheart radio producers are angels all of them they care so much about this daniel goodman as well has been incredible getting me in the studios in new york there's gonna be a lot more of that next year as i'm gonna be in new york way more say hello i of course want to thank matt hughes for editing these scripts and riffing on many of the ideas and supporting me unwaveringly matt hughes is the fifth beetle if there were five of us i guess the second beetle i don't know but i love matt so much he's a wonderful friend but also he's as angry as i am about this shit we cook together it's wonderful i also want to thank casey kagawa right at the top because casey is actually the person who really worked on the rock economy with me back in february 2023 he has been someone who's been formative more work love you man i love all these people i'm not just going to say i love you every time but just i've told all of you matt Weinberger, of course, Kylie Roberson, Christina Warren, Tajana Vecnovic, Phil Broughton, Caleb Wilson, and Arif Hassan, they've all regularly helped me work ideas out, even when I'm just rambling to them in Signal.

40:20And if you're not on this list, please reach out. I'm sorry. What I'm getting at is that, look, I'm lucky to have so many wonderful people that I've been able to connect with in my life. And whatever you hear or read me say is only possible as a result of these people that have given me this strength. And all of them came from the internet. All of them came from it. All of them are a result. Every single person I've listed there is someone I've met digitally. I'm not kissing up to the platforms, but the concept of the internet has been so important to me. And I think it has been to you too. And the anger in my heart is that I see it being stolen from us.

40:56I see it being taken away by people who make so much money making it worse. And the forces I criticize, they don't see beauty in human beings. They don't see us as these remarkable things that generate ideas both incredibly stupid and incredible. And they don't see talent or creativity as something that's innately human. They see it as a commodity to be condensed and monetized and replicated so that they ultimately own whatever value we have. Something you'd only believe was possible if you were a disgusting management consultant gargoyle with no connection to real people that should be put in the carnival prism.

41:27Look, you deserve better than what they've given you. You deserve better than what I've given you, which is why I'm going to work even harder in 2025. I'm lucky to have you. I'm so grateful for this podcast. It's a privilege to do this, and I love hearing from you. Email me at ez or z at betteroffline.com. I try and respond to every email. I have a big following on Blue Sky. That's the place to find me. I hear from a lot of people thanking me, and each time I want you to know it's extremely meaningful, and I love it and thank you. It means a great deal to me. You take even a second out of your time, let alone the 30 minutes for this episode or however much it ends up being.

42:05I'm really lucky and I hope I'm helping and I'll continue to try. I'll continue to do my best here. Look, wanky as it sounds, this has been a very personal journey. The last year has been personally and professionally crazy for me, but also digging through all of the tech industry, trying to work out why Facebook's bad, Instagram's bad, Google's bad. I did this because I did not understand. You hear on this podcast, me working things out. You hear my personal journey with technology and the fact that my life is technology. My life's kind of chaotic, but a lot of that chaos is reined in by technology, by being able to digitally handle things.

42:49I don't know what I'd without it. I write nine words per minute. My hand physically hurts. I don't know how I'd get by without the digital connections I have. I don't know what I would do without this. And I don't know if you feel the same. I don't know. And maybe I'm strange for being so online. I don't mean extremely online in the performative sense, like I'm on Tumblr and I can tell you what memes are popular. I mean, I'm online talking to my friends. I'm online dicking around on Blue Sky. I'm online writing business emails or writing scripts. It's how my life has been. It's how I've done everything.

43:24It's how I've got everything and I'm so grateful for it. And then this last year, I've just been constantly reading the people, sending emails to each other, celebrating how much worse it's got, how much more profitable it is, and seeing journalists that actively see these people acting this way. These people who are either making platforms worse or making things that don't work very well, that burn the environment, that burn billions of dollars of cash, and clapping and being like, oh, sir, oh, Mr. Altman, you're so good. Oh, Mr. Amidai, please give me more broken anthropic products. I need them.

43:58And it's fucking sickening to me. Build a real internet. Build something that matters. Help people be stronger, be better, have deeper connections. not this rot economy bullshit and I know I'm a dramatic person and I'm not going to get less dramatic I'm sorry if anything it's going to get more dramatic but the outrage and emotion you hear in me is because I've watched something that formed me as a person get destroyed or poisoned toxins dumped on top of it it's used as forced to slurp it down and it pisses me off it pisses me off because as I've said in these two episodes you can really see the scale at which the rot economy hurts people.

44:42But also, like I said, this is a personal journey. Even though it's a business thing with numbers and such, economic analysis and all this, a lot of it's me trying to work out why something I love is being hurt. Why the tech industry that really gave me my life is run by people who don't seem to care about technology or the people it serves. It fills me full of anger because there's goodness here. There's greatness here. The people I hear from every week, even every day now, I'm really lucky. I do so, I hear from them because of the internet. They managed to get through the noise to me and it's lovely and I'm so grateful.

45:21I promise you the next year is going to be wild. I'm going to put my all into it. The first week of January, you're going to get the most insane CES coverage. Me, Edward Ongueso Jr. and David Roth of Defecta will be on the floor. We will have two episodes a day, an hour and a half each, with a rotating cast of different people, including Robert Evans and Gare Davis. You're going to have some really fun coverage of the show. But what CES is going to mean every year going forward, is a bubble of sorts. A bubble of how everyone's feeling about technology. I don't think they're feeling good. But know this, listener.

46:00You're who I care about. I don't care about the tech people. I care about the tech and how it helps you. And if it hurts you, I want to hurt it back. Thank you so much for listening to last year. I can't believe how far this show has gone, but I want to work my ass off to make it even bigger and better for you.

46:25Thank you for listening to Better Offline. The editor and composer of the Better Offline theme song is Matt Ossowski. You can check out more of his music and audio projects at matosowski.com. M-A-T-T-O-S-O-W-S-K-I dot com. You can email me at ez at betteroffline.com or visit betteroffline.com to find more podcast links and, of course, my newsletter. I also really recommend you go to chat.wheresyoured.at to visit the Discord and go to r slash betteroffline to check out our Reddit. Thank you so much for listening. Better Offline is a production of Cool Zone Media. For more from Cool Zone Media, visit our website, coolzonemedia.com, or check us out on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

47:32We'll be right back.

47:47Enjoy a no-risk experience with pet-friendly, stain-resistant, and changeable slipcovers made with performance fabrics. Experience cloud-like comfort with high-resilience foam that's hypoallergenic and never needs fluffing. The sturdy steel frame ensures longevity, and the modular pieces can be rearranged anytime. Check out washablesofas.com and get up to 60 % off your Anabay sofa, backed by a 30-day satisfaction guarantee. If you're not absolutely in love, send it back for a full refund. No return shipping or restocking fees. Every penny back. Upgrade now at washablesofas.com. Offers are subject to change and certain restrictions may apply.

48:30Parking shouldn't slow you down. ParkWiz gives every driver a shortcut. Book ahead, save up to 50 % and skip the hassle of circling the block. Park smarter, park faster. ParkWiz. Download the ParkWiz app today and save every time you park. Are you a business owner or entrepreneur in need of a fast funding solution? Amerifactors provides fast capital. Call today for a free no-obligation quote at 800-884-FUND. Startups, rapid growth stage, or struggling, even with less than perfect credit, including bankruptcies. In business for over 34 years, thousands of satisfied clients have transformed their cash flow with Amerifactors.

49:07Call Amerifactors today at 800-884-FUND. That's 800-884-3863. Or visit amerifactors.com. There's a million things to stress about when flying. Overweight luggage, TSA lines, delays, overpriced airport lunches. Your rental car shouldn't be one of them. With Avis First, your rental comes with a personal concierge who meets you at arrivals, hands you the keys to a premium car, and refills it for you at market price when you're done. You've rented before, but trust me when I say you've never rented quite like this. Welcome to Avis First. Visit avis.com to learn more. Thursday night football is on, and it's only on Prime Video.

49:50Going deep. This week, it's a California showdown. Division rivals lock horns when the 49ers meet the Rams. What a great job. Coverage begins Thursday at 7 p.m. Eastern with football's best party. TNF Tonight presented by Verizon. Not a Prime member? Not a problem. Simply sign up for a 30-day free trial. 49ers, Rams, Thursday at 7 p.m. Eastern. Only on Prime Video. Restrictions apply. See amazon.com slash amazonprime for details. This is an iHeart Podcast.