28 Comments
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Debra Butler's avatar

'Mediocrity is driven to make everything as small and pointless as itself.'

This reminds me so much of The Fountainhead

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Vicki Reeve's avatar

Yes to every single word of this! (Even the most sophisticated, well-trained AI has no hope of measuring up to your elegant, witty and expressive writing.)

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Rosie Pearson's avatar

Thank you for this. Love the Zuck/Fuck riff. Just so heartwarming and necessary at the moment to feel the warmth of friends through thoughtful clever playful words.

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Gillian Eaton's avatar

Thank goddess you are here and speaking truth to power/mediocrity/boysclub. When I first worked in Detroit, I was given advice that has remained the truth - "White men own everything. You may think you created it, but they own it. Everything." From that moment on, I saw its reality everywhere. Horrifyingly, the work they coopted, stole, or took credit for was always watered down, diminished, or monetized out of its original intention. Also, anything with the word Public describing it, they also think is theirs. But this will end. Voices will be heard. I believe this is the last hurrah of white male domination.

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Anita Randon's avatar

Beautifully crafted rage & humour 🙏. Inspired on this cold, blue London day to challenge (and laugh) more.

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Sharon Massey's avatar

Salute your perfect pitch rage. Give a much needed voice to pent up frustrations.

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Anita Randon's avatar

Well said!

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Rukmini Iyer's avatar

It is so bizarre that AI can hijack copyright & there seems to be so little recourse. Harper Collins offered a 50-50 split on not very much cash to send the contents of books to anonymous AI firm as an opt in, but was advised to decline (why was the AI firm anonymous?!)

On a completely unrelated note, I wanted to come over & say how much I loved ‘Oranges’ at Rachel Cugnoni’s leaving party a few years back, but was too nervous - now it’s tulip season I inevitably think of your book ‘The Power’! V much enjoying the newsletter 🍊

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Rukmini Iyer's avatar

‘The Powerbook’ - my brain! See, knew I would embarrass myself.

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Ponderers of the Written Word's avatar

"but you understand all this stuff, and we all know this stuff, and we went along with it," The question becomes how to fight it. How to stand against it. We all know it now, but is it too late to stop the train from rolling over us (humanity)?

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Bancroft's avatar

With all that fauna of guys obsessed with power, money and control (no way eternity) we don't have a single perverse Queen, just those strange dolls full of silicone beside the Trolls. Let's call Shakespeare!

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Rob Kay's avatar

There are credible suggestions that some Shakespeare plays and sonnets were not written by Shakespeare.

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specul8or's avatar

Regulatory capture coupled with checked out legislators enables the tech bros to steal and monetize humans' creations. We need better people in regulatory positions and government.

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Claire Grace's avatar

Brilliant. Terrifying times these.

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Nicola Billington's avatar

No comment to make - you've said it all, everything that we're aware of but choosing to ignore.

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Kate Bacon's avatar

Thank you for (weirdly - because this AI theft is serious) cheering me up on a Monday morning!

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Rob Kay's avatar

Everything is just a composite of second hand stuff - everything is borrowed junk.

I cannot believe that JK Rowlings is worth a Billion Bucks - she just mind-jumbled every stale schoolboy public school cliche into a new cliche.

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Rosalind's avatar

oh yeah, the 6th letter of the alphabet, I've been using it for a while...

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Deborah Bonham's avatar

Thanks Jeanette. You so can say it! Your articulation and incisive intelligence are a blaze on this creeping monster!

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