Echoborg

An Echoborg is a person whose words and actions are determined, in whole or in part, by artificial intelligence. The outsourcing of decisions. My wife and I participated in a discussion panel with an Echoborg designed to do hiring interviews. Our group's goal was different. To try get the Echoborg to discuss how people and AI could work best together. In some ways, companies are like Echoborgs. We talk of them as people because they act through people. There is the pretence of an agreement between people in the employment contract (but one is just a legal person). The challenge our group faced was speaking with/arguing with the Echoborg as if it was a real person, because it spoke through a real person. The most echocult like of companies aim to only develop talent from inside the manufactured club, not hire outside, and have a revolving door where people who leave are no longer welcome. These companies are not real people, even if we anthropomorphise them. The key is to remember companies serve us, and we are all part of a bigger container. Companies are merely useful devices that serve a (temporary) purpose. It is the people, both inside and outside, that matter and to whom we owe our loyalty.

Making your Jam

I buy many of the stronger arguments about eating less meat, and so am slowly changing my habits. I also buy the argument that we have a quota of self-discipline. There are no brownie points for martyrs and ideologues. Actions are what matter, so deep pragmatism is the most effective path. By definition. My approach has been to gently expand my vocabulary (the foods my tongue recognises) and sentences (the foods I can cook). Addition is the best form of breaking of control. If I look forward to vegetarian dishes, I don’t feel hard done by, by the missing meat. I now love making soup and jams… and experimenting. My meat consumption has gone down. Similarly, I think the way to unwind our identity problems (Nations, Companies, Prejudice) is competition. Start seeing yourself in more places till those places become a part of you. We are a collection of our habits, and our habits build from the words and sentences we attach meaning to and build meaning from.

Look See

Businesses are legal people. They can sign contracts and take on a personality of their own. People get hired by “them”. People get fired by “them”. We go through hook-ups, break-ups, and make-ups. Except the playing field isn’t level. The bigger a company gets, the more abstract the idea of “them” becomes. A decision they make may only be the decision of just one individual in that firm. It may be a decision that no one takes responsibility for, because it just happens by default as momentum takes control. Businesses can also engage in the same Conspicuous Consumption and Ego games that people do. Appearing to be successful. Appearing to be powerful. Fundamental Investing asks you to look through the smoke and mirrors at whether the company will survive. More importantly, will it thrive? Don’t see the magic. See the magician. Can it endure for the long term? Can it make it through surprises and changing environments? Is it actually creating value? Don’t just look. See.

Magic

Beyond Nations

Nationalism is a very young concept. As a way of organising ourselves, we have trialled and errored lots and lots. Nations came out of the enlightenment as a push back against Monarchs and 'the divine rule of Kings'. The appetite of Monarchs meant they were less likely to define their subjects too tightly. More was better. As we started to define ourselves by a 'The People', Racism and Prejudice reared its ugly head. Companies also started life like countries. The East India Company ruled India for 101 years. Companies had armies and flags. Eventually we realised that wasn't such a good idea. Mercantilism was when Countries treated themselves like Companies that competed in Win-Lose scenarios. The Kings and Queens were war-like CEOs. Gradually we realised that was stupid. Free Trade can be win-win. It is important to remember all these things (money, countries, religions, languages) are shared stories that help us cooperate. We can rewrite and update the stories as we learn. Carry on trialling. Carry on erroring. Carry on learning.

British East India Company

Public Company

A Public Company offers shares. Its ownership is dispersed among the general population. Stock Exchanges allow individuals to become owners. These companies are 'listed'. Because companies are formed under the legal systems of particular countries, they have a nationality. Even if the company has clients and suppliers all over the world. They are legal people. Like legal money. Like Nations themselves. They are ideas that become real because we choose to believe they are real. The Dutch East India Company (VOC) was the first company to issue shares of ownership to the public. A key feature of companies is the separation of the identity from the owners. Realising you are not your job is one thing. Taking your money and putting it to work in a company that has nothing to do with you is another. You are detaching. You are no longer the breadwinner.

Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka is one of the world's most populated (17 million in Greater Dhaka area), and most densely populated (28,410 per square kilometre), cities. Once its nickname was the 'Venice of the East' because it was home to so many Eurasian merchant groups. The British East India Company took control of the city from the Nawab of Bengal. Under the system of Mercantilism trade was seen as a form of National warfare with winners and losers. Dhaka got plugged into Britain's imperial networks. The colonial tax, and restriction on trade in the interest of British manufacturers, led to the city's decline. By 1824, Dhaka was described as 'the city of magnificent ruins'. After the city mutinied in 1857, rule was passed from the company to the British government. In 1971, it became the capital of an independent Bangladesh.

Sights of Dhaka