2023-02-07 Links

Ben Thompson, in his usual style, explains the Tech Recession using a biblical reference. While the technology industry is hurting (layoffs and funding drying up with bankruptcies on the rise), the rest of the economy seems to be doing better in the US (even increases in job numbers, if this tweet is to be taken at face value).

Cedric Chin of Commoncog has some ideas on how to become data driven. Using the distinction between Voice of the Customer (specifications) and Voice of the Process, by Donald Wheeler resonates strongly with my own (limited) experiences, although I did not have the vocabulary to describe it.
“You cannot investigate changes in your underlying process if you do not know which data points signal real change.

Google plays its hand (finally?) at its version of ChatGPT, called Bard. Given much of the foundational work on LLM’s was done by Google (& of course the cautions that Timnit Gebru paid a steep price for), this is not a surprise, I suppose?

Service-sector jobs like never before: “I made nearly $2 million in 2 years selling my nursing-school study notes on Etsy and TikTok”