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If there is one hallmark of the current regime in power in the country, it is the bravado and the swagger with which Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conducted his administration in the last seven-odd years.

Love it or hate it, Modi has managed to mesmerize the country so much that he managed to push the worst of his decisions like Demonetisation, the ill-conceived GST reforms and even the sudden lockdown and still saw his party winning elections while all kinds of dissent and dissenters were ruthlessly crushed.

We are aware of the story of 83-year-old Jesuit priest Stan Swamy suffering imprisonment without being granted bail even on health grounds. Centres of students dissent like Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) were attacked by goons while the Delhi Police kept watching the mayhem going on inside the campus. Tall civil society activists like Teesta Setalvad were either slapped with income tax or legal notices with the loud and clear message being: keep quiet, or else...

The government conveyed to all and sundry that there was no scope of any protest or dissent as long as Narendra Modi was in power; if anyone dared the government on any count, that person will have to bear consequences. The Modi government literally continued crushing all sorts of dissent with an iron hand while the people continued to support the Prime Minister.

But as the Urdu saying goes, Har Firaun ke liye ek Moosa bana hai (every Pharao gets his own Moses), and Modi too got a Moses in the form of the farmers agitation at Delhis borders.

Almost two months after thousands of farmers from Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh gathered outside Delhi demanding repeal of the farm laws enacted by it, the Modi government, as everybody said, blinked on Wednesday, stating that it was ready to freeze farmer laws for 18 months and was willing to change them after discussions with the agitating farmers.

It was the first time that the Modi government swallowed its pride after repeatedly declaring that there will be no going back on the three contentious laws that deal with agriculture reforms.

But what explains this sudden change of heart of the Modi government on the issue of dissent and protests? The government evidently realized that the farmers protest had touched the hearts and minds of at least the populace of rural India and it might cost the government politically.

The announcement came a day after RSS general secretary Bhiyaji Joshi told a national daily that both the farmers and the government must find common ground to resolve the deadlock. It was quite evident that the RSS, with its ears to the ground, conveyed to no one else but the Prime Minister himself that not resolving the farmers issue could hurt the BJPs poll prospects.

Well, the agitating farmers called Modis bluff and forced him to blink. It is indeed a major victory of not just the farmers but also all democratic forces which have been reeling under an inhumane administration that was till now unwilling to heed to even the peaceful protest. But the credit surely goes to those men and women who have been braving it out at Delhis borders demanding a repeal of the farm laws for almost two months. Their do or die kind of resolve ultimately forced the government to bend.

It could very well be a turning point for the Indian Opposition that had been helplessly watching the Modi juggernaut marching ahead so far. Herein lies a political message for the Opposition parties that the way to succeed in opposing the government on any issue lies in peaceful street protests provided there is a unity of purpose as well as ranks as displayed by the farmers.

The farmers agitation clearly shows that the Modi magic can be dispelled only through Gandhian means of moral force that farmers displayed through their protest by putting up in the open in this biting cold of December and January. Their sacrifices won the hearts and minds of countrymen and evidently frightened even an autocratic ruler like Narendra Modi.

It is for the Opposition parties now to take to the streets in a Gandhian mode and win the peoples hearts and minds like the farmers did. It will not just force Modi to bend but will consolidate votes for them as well.

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Farmers agitation clearly shows even an autocrat like Modi can be made to bend through Gandhian means - National Herald

Apple's portfolio of existing technologies could make its "Apple Car" a formidable competitor in the electric vehicle market, investment bank Cowen says.

In a note to investors seen by AppleInsider, Cowen analyst Krish Sankar says that the current EV market has evolved in a way that could offer new methods or opportunities for Apple to enter the space.

The company is already well-positioned to do so, Sankar believes. Apple has a strong product and intellectual property portfolio in several areas key to the autonomous and electric car market. That includes software, AI, navigation, energy storage, and cloud services.

Sankar says Apple's expertise is enabled by its silicon design capabilities; its software platforms; its data center operations; a proprietary mapping database; a library of media and entertainment services; and an ecosystem of existing mobile devices.

"Branding aside, we think these strengths make Apple a desirable partner for traditional automakers," Sankar said.

But there are a few automotive-related areas in which Apple has yet to show promise. Sankar points to autonomous driving software and the ability to manufacture devices larger than a computer at scale.

With Apple's strengths and weaknesses in mind, Sankar outlines a few paths the Cupertino firm could take to enter the electric vehicle market.

The company could partner with an established automaker that currently lacks EV or AI expertise. Until recently, Apple's car project was said to be focused on under-the-hood autonomous systems, rather than actual vehicle design.

It could also release an actual production vehicle by outsourcing manufacturing to a third-party company. Current rumors indicate that Apple is in talks with Hyundai about its EV ambitions.

The acquisition of an existing electric vehicle company could also offer a "sustainable market advantage," but Sankar says that this method would lack the capital to scale up manufacturing. In early 2020, Apple reportedly mulled an acquisition of California EV startup Canoo before talks fell apart.

"We believe each option entails tradeoffs between time to market, capital efficiency, operating margin profile across demand cycles, and the degree of control over design or manufacturing outcomes," Sankar writes.

In any case, the analyst predicts that a $1 million unit "Apple Car" shipment base could generate about $0.25 of incremental earnings-per-share (EPS). That's about a 6% accretion versus its 2022 EPS estimate.

If Apple were to get its operating margins high enough, it could hit a $0.50 or 11% accretion in EPS.

Sankar's 12-month AAPL price market remains unchanged at $133 per share. That's based on a 25x earnings multiple to Apple's core business, including iPhone and hardware, and a slightly lower 41x multiple on the recurring Services segment.

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Apple has the means to disrupt the electric vehicle space, analyst says - AppleInsider

Google is investigating recent actions by Margaret Mitchell, who helps lead the company's ethical AI team, Axios has confirmed.

Why it matters: The probe follows the forced exit of Timnit Gebru, a prominent researcher also on the AI ethics team at Google whose ouster ignited a firestorm among Google employees.

What's happening: According to a source, Mitchell had been using automated scripts to look through her messages to find examples showing discriminatory treatment of Gebru before her account was locked.

What they're saying: In a statement, Google confirmed that Mitchell's email account has been locked and that the company is investigating why Mitchell downloaded a large number of files and shared them with people outside the company.

Between the lines: Earlier Tuesday, Mitchell had posted a tweet critical of Google CEO Sundar Pichai's planned meeting with historically Black college and university leaders, writing:

What's next: "We are actively investigating this matter as part of standard procedures to gather additional details," a Google representative said.

Go deeper: Tech research becomes hazardous ground

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Scoop: Google is investigating the actions of another top AI ethicist - Axios

How fascinating when times gone by, seemingly so distant from our own, are suddenly linked to us by the unchanging threads of human nature.

1816. A rainy afternoon in Geneva. The poet, Shelley, and his wife Mary are with Lord Byron. Trapped indoors by the weather, they start writing and telling horror stories. It is Mary who pens the tale that endures into the 21st Century, a story that was a forerunner of contemporary science fiction and the inspiration for countless films: Frankenstein.

Mary Shelleys story is part of our literary heritage, yet is often misunderstood. Frankenstein is not the monster but the creator of the unnamed creature of the tale. Ironically, this creature is, at first, more humane than his hapless creator. Vulnerable and longing for acceptance, he unleashes anger only when shunned by Frankenstein. At the storys heart is the notion that we are morally responsible for what we create. How pertinent that is when applied to the modern-day monster that social media has become.

Long before Donald Trump used and abused social media to manipulate the American election (I won! I won!), or to incite violence at Capitol Hill, former executives of the giant platforms Google, Twitter, Facebook had recognised that the unregulated monster their word was rampaging out of control. In Netflixs 2020 docu-drama, The Social Dilemma, it was even described as an existential threat to humanity.

This was not the foot soldiers talking. This was the commanders: presidents, CEOs, ethicists, engineers. People who, at work, used algorithms to predict the ways in which users would click, click, click on the right buttons, but who fell victim to the technology at home, click, click, clicking themselves, despite understanding exactly the manipulations at play. We understood it consciously and we did it anyway, confessed Sean Parker, former president of Facebook. Your psychology is used against you, warned Tristan Harris, a former design ethicist at Google.

The problem is that the services we think are free are not. Funded by advertisers, they are worth trillions of dollars. For that investment, advertisers want a return. We think we choose what we do. In reality, our invisible strings are being pulled. We dance to someone elses tune without even hearing the music. Every action you take is being carefully monitored, says former Twitter executive, Jeff Seibert. What you look at; how long you look at it.

Its not just the economic implications that are frightening; its the societal consequences as Donald Trump illustrates. Selfies on Instagram, where kind commentators affirm your beauty and unkind ones criticise your sticky-out ears, have changed the psyches of a generation. In the first decade of this century, the suicide rate among 15-19-year-old girls increased by 70%. In the 10-14 age group, it soared by 151%. Chillingly, the executives admitted that many industry insiders restrict their childrens computer access and ban social media accounts.

This is not simply about being enticed to buy or sell or like or comment. It is about controlling information, manipulating truth. We have access to more information than ever before, but perhaps we also have less clarity. We absorb fake news as if its reality, says Tristan Harris. We have less and less control over who we are and what we believe.

Enter Donald Trump. Before his latest escapades, the executives described wealth being used to confuse and polarise communities, to destabilise Kenya, or cause democracy to crumble in the Philippines. But America? If we cant agree what is true, said Harris, or even that such a thing as truth exists, humanity is lost. What worried executives most? The answer was stark. Civil war. How prescient that was!

The Victor Frankensteins of social media have finally frozen Trumps accounts. There is always a societal tightrope between freedom and responsibility, but it is one we need to walk. In the New York Times, American journalist Jennifer Senior brilliantly outlined Trumps malignant narcissism and recounted how an administration official described him as a total monster. But now Trump is threatening to create his own social media platform: one lawless creature begets another.

On that rainy Geneva afternoon, Mary Shelley could have had no idea how relevant her story would be 200 years later.

The thread between her time and ours is the notion of humans as creative beings, inventive and resourceful but flawed.

Creativity without responsibility, invention without ethics, is a disaster for mankind. The sad creature of Shelleys tale only hinted at what we now have: the true stuff of nightmares.

Continued here:
Catherine Deveney: Today's unregulated 'monster' social media is rampaging out of control - Press and Journal

About 6,000 Amazon warehouse workers in Alabama will vote on forming the first union in the e-commerce giant's history, according to a new petition filed with the National Labor Relations Board.

The petition, filed by the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union, is asking to represent the approximately 6,000 employees who work at Amazon's facility in Bessemer, Alabama. Workers, whether they wish to be represented by the union or not, will receive their ballots on February 8. Voters must return their ballots by March 29. Ballot counting will be held on a video conferencing platform and will begin on March 30.

Read more: Over 600 Amazon warehouse workers at 148 facilities could have gotten COVID-19, but total numbers are hard to determine because Amazon hasn't been telling its warehouse workers about all cases, multiple employees say

Eligibility extends to all sorts of positions, such as lead fulfillment associate and temporary warehouse associates, but excludes all truck drivers, professional employees, and engineers, as well as others. Anyone who has worked an average of at least four hours a week in the past 13 weeks is eligible to vote.

According to the petition, the Retail, Wholesale, and Department Store Union requested in November to represent about 1,500 employees until Amazon asked for that pool to expand and cover 6,000 employees.

In a statement to Insider, Amazon spokesperson Heather Knox said the company works "hard to support our teams and more than 90% of associates at our Bessemer site say they would recommend Amazon as a good place to work to their friends. We don't believe the RDWSU represents the majority of our employees' views. Our employees choose to work at Amazon because we offer some of the best jobs available everywhere we hire, and we encourage anyone to compare our total compensation package, health benefits, and workplace environment to any other company with similar jobs."

Representatives for the BAmazon Union did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

The employees will vote via mail, which Amazon fought against, pushing instead for an in-person vote held in a parking lot adjacent to the facility, the petition noted. Amazon also wanted to use the company's Distance Assistant and other company-owned equipment to conduct the election, which the petitioner said could cause a conflict of interest.

Read more: Leaked memo shows Amazon is warning employees to 'be vigilant' around their safety as far-right threats to blow up data centers emerge after Parler ban

The petition signals the start of a large labor battle. As the Washington Post notes, union voting usually involves dozens or hundreds of workers this involves nearly 6,000.

Amazon has historically been a staunch opponent of its workers unionizing. The firm listed, but quickly removed, a job opening in 2020 for an analyst that would monitor employee's efforts to organize.

A Motherboard report from September found that Amazon had been using a tool to monitor dozens of private and public social media groups to find drivers that were organizing strikes or protests. And in November, reports surfaced that Amazon had hired detectives with the infamous Pinkerton spy agency to monitor European workers' labor union organizing efforts.

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About 6,000 Amazon warehouse workers to vote on a union - Business Insider - Business Insider