Latest news with #Greed
1News
13-07-2025
- Business
- 1News
Kiwi founder of Marketplace says Facebook is a 'complex mirror'
A Kiwi entrepreneur who held senior roles in Facebook says "it's hard to say" if the social media platform represents a net good in the world. Leaving Auckland for California, Bowen Pan went on to spearhead the development of Facebook Marketplace from 2014 to 2018. Facebook app log-in screen (file image). (Source: He then became a product leader for Facebook Gaming from 2018 to 2020. Q+A asked Pan to reflect on the issues raised by fellow Kiwi Sarah Wynn-Williams in Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism, her memoir where she recounts her time as Facebook's public policy director. ADVERTISEMENT Pan told Q+A: "One thing I will say is my view around Facebook has always been that it's somewhat of a mirror on society and on people, and that mirror is very complex because sometimes you may like what you see. Sometimes you may not like what you see." Wynn-Williams' book included allegations that Facebook's management was "deeply unconcerned" about its role in the Rohingya genocide, and that the company had worked closely with the Chinese Communist Party to create censorship tools. Facebook admitted in 2018 that its social media platform was used to incite violence in Myanmar and that it was making progress to tackle the issue. Facebook's owner Meta rejected accusations in the memoir. 'This is a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives,' a Meta spokesperson previously said. Speaking to Q+A, Pan said there was a "very complex question" about how the social media giant should handle human nature. ADVERTISEMENT "What level of control, and what level of filtering should you have on that mirror? And whose responsibility is that?" A person contemplating whether to delete the Facebook app off their phone (file image). (Source: When considering the impact of algorithms on that mirror of society, and whether it led to increased polarisation, Pan said: "I don't have strong opinions around that." Pan said he "deliberately stayed" in areas of Facebook where he saw "more of the frontier-type opportunities". He was also asked whether he thought Facebook was a net positive in the world. "I think that's probably really hard to say. "There is certainly a lot of good and a lot of positives Facebook has brought, and a lot of consequences that are really hard to know when you first have the product built." ADVERTISEMENT Time for a Kiwi tech boom? Pan moved to the US after working at TradeMe in the early 2010s. At the time, he said there weren't many other places in New Zealand left for him to grow. Entrepreneur Bowen Pan speaks to Q+A, July 2025. (Source: Q+A / Irra Lee) But the tech leader told Q+A that he had returned home to "a different country". Pan joined the board of media company NZME last month as an independent director. He was also an advisory board member at Auckland University's business school. He said the Kiwi start-up sector was currently "low-key exciting" and reminiscent of "very early-day Silicon Valley". "I've really noticed the change in trajectory and momentum in the last seven to eight years, in the level of ambition and the type of companies here. ADVERTISEMENT "I think the talent and the hard work has always been there, but it just takes that many [repetitions] for this ecosystem to slowly build." For the full story, watch the video above Q+A with Jack Tame is made with the support of New Zealand On Air
The Hindu
27-06-2025
- Business
- The Hindu
Careless People: Inside Facebook's Failures and Ethics Crisis
Published : Jun 27, 2025 15:46 IST - 5 MINS READ Sarah Wynn-Williams' Careless People is a closely observed account of Facebook's ascent to global prominence and the persistent failure of its leadership to recognise or address the implications of that growth. The book avoids the tone of sensational exposé. Its focus is institutional, procedural, and grounded in lived experience. Wynn-Williams served as Facebook's Director of Global Public Policy from 2011 to 2017 and worked directly with Mark Zuckerberg and Sheryl Sandberg on issues relating to foreign governments, regulation, and strategic political risk. Her entry into the company was self-initiated. At the time, Facebook had no international policy team and no meaningful engagement with foreign state actors. Wynn-Williams identified this as a critical gap, given the company's growing influence over speech, access to information, and political mobilisation. Her proposal was met with limited interest. Executives dismissed the need for a diplomatic or policy-oriented function. Facebook operated with the assumption that global politics would remain peripheral to its business. Careless People: A Cautionary Tale of Power, Greed, and Lost Idealism By Sarah Wynn-Williams Flatiron Books, 2025 Pages: 400 Price: Rs.899 This assumption came under strain as the platform became a site for organising political movements and circulating disinformation. The Arab Spring marked a turning point in Facebook's visibility on the international stage. Despite this, Wynn-Williams describes a consistent pattern of reactive decision-making. Policy frameworks were created in response to controversy or regulatory pressure, rather than through internal forecasting or principled planning. Also Read | Facebook owner Meta is planning a potential Twitter rival Wynn-Williams presents Mark Zuckerberg as technically capable and highly focused on engineering outcomes, but uninterested in public governance or the ethical consequences of platform decisions. Sheryl Sandberg emerges as more attuned to external perception, although her interventions were framed in communications language and had limited operational impact. There was no sustained effort within the company to develop ethical guidelines for speech, privacy, or civic disruption. Decisions about platform rules were delegated to teams with minimal institutional memory and limited understanding of regional political dynamics. A controlled, clear account of institutional decay The book contains an extended reflection on Wynn-Williams' attempts to introduce early-warning systems for geopolitical flashpoints, including proposals for structured risk review processes. Most of these proposals were rejected or deferred. Her colleagues considered them unnecessary, or believed that they would slow the company's capacity to scale. She identifies this tendency as part of a broader problem. The firm viewed growth metrics as the primary indicator of success. Political considerations were treated as reputation management rather than structural concerns. This becomes particularly visible in her account of Myanmar, where Facebook ignored sustained internal warnings about the platform's role in amplifying anti-Rohingya hate speech. Efforts to improve moderation or restrict ethnic slurs were deprioritised, even as user growth accelerated and offline targeted violence intensified. The narrative is interspersed with personal reflections. Wynn-Williams recounts a near-fatal shark attack at the age of thirteen, an experience that shaped her instinct for survival and confrontation with authority. This personal history informs her view of institutional passivity and her frustration with a corporate culture that consistently deprioritised accountability. Her tone remains composed. She avoids self-pity or moral grandstanding. The result is a controlled and clear account of institutional decay. The title, drawn from the American writer F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, is used here to describe the behaviour of actors who possess influence without consequences. The carelessness that Wynn-Williams identifies is not incidental. It results from a structural configuration that separates decisions from responsibility. Facebook's platform design encouraged maximal engagement. It offered limited tools for transparency or independent oversight. The leadership considered these conditions necessary for innovation and user retention. The book advances several contributions to the understanding of global platform governance. First, it documents the internal barriers to reform that exist even when individual employees raise ethical concerns. Second, it describes how private infrastructure has become the default venue for political discourse in many parts of the world. In the absence of external constraints, private platforms make decisions that affect public life without mechanisms for appeal, justification, or contestation. Third, it presents an insider's account of how international policy work is subordinated to domestic business interests, even when the company operates in hundreds of jurisdictions. No exaggerated conclusions The book avoids exaggerated conclusions. It presents Facebook as an organisation structured around product development and growth, with limited interest in democratic accountability. It also resists attributing systemic failure to individual malice. Wynn-Williams shows how institutional culture, incentives, and habits of leadership produced outcomes that were difficult to challenge from within. Careless People contributes to the literature on platform power, digital governance, and institutional design. It complements academic and journalistic work on surveillance capitalism and algorithmic governance by supplying a primary source account of how decision-making unfolded inside a dominant technology firm. It will be of interest to policymakers, scholars, and others concerned with the interaction between corporate platforms and the public sphere. Also Read | Hire and fire at will: What do global tech lay-offs mean for India? Wynn-Williams presents no theory of reform. Her aim is to document what happened, how decisions were made, and what structures prevented accountability. The narrative closes without prescriptions. The book serves as evidence of the limits of voluntary ethics in private institutions and the consequences of permitting firms to mediate public communication on a global scale without enforceable obligations. What Careless People ultimately reveals is how a generation that built the most powerful communication system in human history chose, at every turn, to treat that power as someone else's problem. John Simte is an advocate based in New Delhi.
Yahoo
04-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Adele tribute act Natalie Black to perform at Saltaire venue
An Adele tribute act is set to perform in Saltaire. Natalie Black will take to the stage at the Caroline Street Social Club on Friday, June 27. She has been performing as an Adele tribute act since 2011, including at weddings, on cruises, in television, and even in the 2020 film 'Greed' alongside Steve Coogan. 'Set Fire to the Rain,' 'Make You Feel My Love,' 'Someone Like You,' and 'I Drink Wine' will be among the songs performed by Ms Black on the night. A spokesperson said: "Natalie's unrivalled likeness in both vocal quality and appearance makes this a night to remember. "Expect to see replica costumes, moving heartfelt storytelling, and the infamous Adele cackle!" Those with a special occasion they would like to spotlight should contact Ms Black directly via Doors will open at 7pm and tickets can be bought in advance for £10 at or from the club.
Time of India
07-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Time of India
Solo Leveling creator shuts down major fan theory about Jinwoo's shadow army
Solo Leveling creator shuts down major fan theory about Jinwoo's shadow armyCredit- IMDb Greed's rank bamboozled us all Shadow power is restricted at first, shadowy power is limited at the start. Igris is a far more powerful character than Devirs Chugong put this misconception to bed by stating: Where to watch Solo Leveling solo leveling Final thoughts Solo Leveling has already proven to be one of the new anime hits of 2024, with its thrilling, adventure-laden narrative and enigmatic personalities grabbing fans' attention right from the start. The action-packed series tracks the world's most lowly hunter, Sung Jinwoo, as he rises to the top after being given powerful new abilities in a brutal world teeming with horrific monsters and treasure-filled dungeons. Fans have been gobbling up his larger-than-life odyssey. A recent statement from the creator just turned our perception of one of the show's most controversial aspects, Jinwoo's shadow army, totally on its of the largest fan theories centered on the character Greed, the shadow embodiment of Korean-American stalker Hwan Dongsoo. Audiences were understandably thrown when Greed – of all characters – was granted the lofty General rank, equal to Beru, the Ant King. This just didn't make sense to me, as Dongsoo is terribly underwhelming to the point he's embarrassed by Jinwoo and his father, leaving him with obnoxiously little screen now we actually know what's going on. In a post originally hosted on Korean platform DCInside (translated and discussed on Reddit by Neo GAF user N0T0RI0US), Chugong discussed his 'to fix or fill their pothole' Dongsoo was just incredibly, incredibly powerful. He was an S-Rank hunter that even overshadowed Cha Hae-in. He received a big power-up from Madam… It's just that the only people he fought are Jinwoo and his dad, both of whom stand in another league completely.'So when fans saw him go down fast, that was only due to the fact that he was matched against absurdly buffed enemies. Greed's rank wasn't an error—Dongsoo truly was deserving of the were under the impression that shadow soldiers were more powerful the more powerful Jinwoo became. According to Chugong, that's not entirely accurate. Instead, the System that bestowed Jinwoo his powers actually places restrictions on new shadows when they're first born. Each of these limits gradually rises as Jinwoo gets closer to awakening his true self as the Shadow how Greed and Beru appeared to be evenly matched at first, even if Beru became way stronger afterwards. Beru's power was already near the Marshal rank by the time Greed was summoned, and Jinwoo's power level at that point let Greed keep a lot of his original a fan favorite exception to this has been shadow soldier Igris, one of the very first shadows Jinwoo summons. He was always the most loyal and powerful, but most people slept on him because he showed up so early in the narrative.'If Igris had come down in his true form, all the National Level hunters across the globe working together wouldn't have been able to hope to defeat him—much less every S-Rank in the world combined.>>>That means Igris is not only strong. He's one of the strongest characters in the entire Solo Leveling universe, right out of the Leveling is officially available to stream in the US and UK exclusively on Crunchyroll, with both subbed and dubbed versions released. Episodes are available for purchase on digital platforms including Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, FandangoNOW, Google Play, Microsoft Movies & TV, and new insights from Chugong effectively put an end to numerous fan theories regarding the series and further clarify the reasoning behind the power scaling in Solo Leveling . As Season 2 just began streaming, there are plenty more exciting developments on the way, including Jinwoo becoming the true Shadow Monarch.
New York Times
15-04-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
In Milan, an Artist's Surreal ‘Playhouse' Filled With Weeping Statues
When the Italian artist Francesco Vezzoli was in his early 20s, he lived in the back room of an office in an 18th-century building in the middle of Milan. It belonged to the lighting brand Flos, and Piero Gandini, then the company's owner, 'was a patron of mine in the 15th-century sense, in that he was literally paying for my bed,' the artist says. Nearly 20 years later, when he came across an apartment for rent in the same building, he immediately took it. 'It was the greatest gift. I already knew how the space worked,' says Vezzoli, now 53. 'The fewer things you have to worry about, the more you can dedicate to your [art].' He now also uses a unit on the floor below as his studio and gallery. 'If the same slice became free on another floor,' he says. 'I'd get it just for the sake of it.' Vezzoli's apartment and studio are his 'playhouse,' as he puts it — populated by his own cast of artistic muses and celebrity idols. His 1,600-square-foot home has glossy, amber-toned parquet floors and is dimly lit. And the few lamps there look like biomorphic sculptures; among them is FontanaArte's egg-shaped Uovo model from 1972, which sits atop a 1939 Meret Oppenheim table with spindly, bird-shaped legs. In the living room, cream-colored venetian blinds block the persistent glow from nearby billboards. 'I know what a great view is, and I know I can't afford it,' Vezzoli says, 'but I can build my own little universe inside my place.' Since the late 1990s, Vezzoli has been known for making films, embroideries and performance works that deftly satirize pop culture and art history. In his 2009 faux advertisement 'Greed, a New Fragrance by Francesco Vezzoli,' he cast the actresses Natalie Portman and Michelle Williams as two ingénues who brawl over a perfume bottle. For his 2024 exhibition at Venice's Museo Correr, he reimagined Classical paintings with embroidered details and renderings of Hollywood actors: His version of Botticelli's 'Birth of Venus,' for example, stars a strutting Richard Gere. In Vezzoli's home, a surprising range of cultural references and figures similarly collide. He calls his living room the 'Ladies' Room' because the walls are adorned with several archival images of formidable women, including Barbara Bush, Betty Ford and his own mother, all embellished with Vezzoli's signature needlework tears. His life-size bronze statue of Sofia Loren, cast in 2011 and modeled after the Metaphysical painter Giorgio de Chirico's robed muses, presides over the center of the room. In the adjoining dining area, surrounding a round, black lacquered table and dramatically high-backed wooden chairs by the Scottish Art Nouveau architect Charles Rennie Mackintosh are collages from Vezzoli's 'Olga Forever' series, featuring Pablo Picasso's first wife, the Russian ballet dancer Olga Khokhlova, weeping tears that morph into Cubist figures. 'I would hate for people to say this is an expensive apartment,' he says. 'I would love for people to say it's special because Francesco has created his own weird narrative.' In addition to Vezzoli's own art, both his apartment and studio are full of vintage Memphis Group pieces; he's been infatuated with the design collective's furniture and iconography since his early teens. 'I was very precocious,' he says. 'I was a Fiorucci kid, a Studio 54 kid, a Memphis kid: all of these things I [was too young to experience] but was desperate to grasp.' At 14, he competed on an Italian quiz show — he ended up winning the episode — and wore a Memphis tie for the occasion. After graduating from university in the mid-90s, he moved to Milan, where he was introduced to Memphis's founder, Ettore Sottsass, at a dinner party. The designer soon became a mentor, and Vezzoli recently curated an exhibition on Sottsass and one of his most prolific collectors, the fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, at the Almine Rech gallery in Monte Carlo. Among Vezzoli's Memphis acquisitions are ceramic Yantra vases by Sottsass, inspired by Hindu diagrams; a blocky wood-and-laminate Palm Spring table; and a V-shaped club chair. There's also a 1970 Studio 65 sofa modeled after the actress Mae West's lips and a 1990 Masanori Umeda armchair that looks like a blooming flower. Vezzoli's most surprising finds, however, are his most understated. Over the past five years, he's accumulated roughly 200 vases by the Italian designer and sculptor Giovanni Gariboldi, who began working for the porcelain company Richard Ginori in the 1930s under the mentorship of the brand's artistic director at the time, the renowned architect Gio Ponti. In Italy, until the second half of the 20th century, 'the bourgeoisie would give these kinds of vases as wedding gifts,' he says. 'I like the fact that few people know Gariboldi's work, because I'm likely the biggest collector.' Vezzoli has color-blocked the vases on shelves throughout his space: shades of teal in the living room; red in the studio's hallway; and white in the bedroom. He's as much a collector as he is a director, each carefully sourced piece furthering the plot of his own surreal story.
