BartonFink: GOG also now sends me emails with discount offers but you have to pass a reCAPTCHA test in order to see what the offer is, which I avoid doing. What kind of telemetry does Google access when you try and pass that test?
borisburke: Who knows?
Google uses the image captcha's as a way to train AI. Often you are required to identify something that is unclear or indistinct, something that an AI would have difficulty with. And I have no problem with that. But I don't know what else they are harvesting and since I don't trust them, I too avoid the Capcha-wall offers.
Forgot about this reply of mine. I do have difficulty with Google/Alphabet using me to train to their AI. Firstly, Alphabet is one of the most lucrative companies in the world and secondly, they do not pay me anything to improve their AI. At least workers for the richest man in the world, Jeff Bezos, have gotten a pitiful wage from him and some can get at least food stamps, while his company barely pays any tax at all. Hardly paying any tax at all is also something that Alphabet excels at. Thirdly, I really don't see a critical need for the use of a reCAPTCHA test on most sites that use them. It just seems that these websites are doing Alphabet more of a favour by having them then the other way around. I can see a use for the process for things like preventing bots from purchasing GPUs, for example but not for ordinary interaction on the world. It's not exactly a paywall by having it so widely used, more of of telemetrywall...if you want to get into that garden, you have to pass Alphabet your personal details, I suspect. Since the necessity of the test is negligible in most cases, I'd say that its primary function is to improve Alphabet's AI in order to make money for it in the future.
I'm sure that Google loves me and others doing their work for nothing. It's not exactly slavery but it will do them nicely all the same.
Before I could post this, GOG Galaxy asked me whether I wanted to download the Galaxy beta update now or later. I clicked on Later. After closing the app and then restarting it, it updated automatically. At least Windows allows you to defer some updates indefinitely or at least for a few months.
