What we’re reading (11/23)
“How Venture Capitalists Are Deforming Capitalism” (The New Yorker). “Most professional V.C.s fit a narrow mold: according to surveys, just under half of them attended either Harvard or Stanford, and eighty per cent are male. Although V.C.s depict themselves as perpetually on the hunt for radical business ideas, they often seem to be hyping the same Silicon Valley trends—and their managerial oversight has dwindled, making their investments look more like trading-floor bets.”
“Student Loan Losses Seen Costing U.S. More Than $400 Billion” (Wall Street Journal). “The U.S. government stands to lose more than $400 billion from the federal student loan program, an internal analysis shows, approaching the size of losses incurred by banks during the subprime-mortgage crisis. The Education Department, with the help of two private consultants, looked at $1.37 trillion in student loans held by the government at the start of the year. Their conclusion: Borrowers will pay back $935 billion in principal and interest. That would leave taxpayers on the hook for $435 billion, according to documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.”
“Congress Is Eyeing Face Recognition, And Companies Want A Say” (Wired). “Microsoft and IBM sent congratulatory public messages to president-elect Joe Biden this month. Both expressed hope that his administration would ease the nation’s political divisions, and suggested it consider crafting the first federal rules governing face recognition. ‘When it comes to issues such as safeguards for facial recognition, we have no national law at all,’ Microsoft president Brad Smith wrote. ‘We need new laws fit for the future.’ IBM CEO Arvind Krishna told Biden his company was ‘ready to work with you’ on prohibiting use of the technology for ‘mass surveillance, racial profiling, or violations of basic human rights and freedoms.’”
“Snap Is Launching A Competitor To TikTok And Instagram Reels” (CNBC). “Snap on Monday announced the launch of Spotlight, a Snapchat feature that functions like TikTok and Instagram Reels. Spotlight will show users the top snaps that have been submitted for consideration by the app’s more than 249 million daily users in a feed that they can swipe or tap through. Spotlight snaps will play in a continuous loop until users swipe to the next one.”
“‘I’m Hungry’: In-N-Out Fans Clog Traffic, Camp Out For Days As First Colorado Locations Open” (USA Today). “The iconic California-based fast food chain In-N-Out opened its first restaurants in Colorado on Friday, and police say the line at one location led to highway backups as people waited in an hours-long line for their chance to order. ‘Right now we estimate the line to be 1.5-2 miles long & the wait is now 14 hours,’ the Aurora Police Department tweeted Friday afternoon, although police acknowledged the line was so long it was difficult to estimate.”
