Hit Pieces, Fairness, Drugs & VR

People vs Algorithms

This week, we dig into the latest front into the so-called hit piece. Last week, Business Insider published a pair of stories that dug into the academic record of Neri Oxman, a former MIT professor. Oxman happens to be the wife of Bill Ackman, a powerful activist investor who has been on a campaign against the leaders of top universities, including Harvard's Claudine Gay, who resigned a week ago after plagiarism accusations. The Wall Street Journal meanwhile continued its scrutiny of Elon Musk with a piece that looked into his drug use and whether it has negatively impacted his stewardship of his companies and the requirements of federal law since Starlink is a government contractor. The pieces raise the question of what a fair target for accountability journalism, and whether drug use is the issue or behavior exhibited during drug use (or without drugs of any kind, outside the intoxicant of ego). Finally, we consider the Apple Vision Pro and the prospect of people on planes with it strapped to their faces.

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