Author: William Lise

I am a long-term (50-plus years) resident of Japan, and former electrical engineer, and I have been translating and interpreting for over four decades here in Japan.

The nothingburger AI voice is here.

[Microsoft didn’t wait to shadow-ban this LinkedIn post, they did it immediately.
But here’s the thing. They don’t give a shit.
Microsoft is not just looking out for its AI promotion agenda. They’re also socially irresponsible assholes.]

The post that was shadow-banned by the Microsoft broligarchic algorithm:

It’s not A, it’s B.
But here’s the thing…,
They didn’t just C, they D-ed.

Everything lately seems to sound like the above, filled with the same constructions and with the same nothingburger AI voice.
Can’t people write anymore without AI?
The bar has been lowered so much you’ll trip over it if you’re not careful.

Some Improvements in Japan over the Last Few Decades

What do these four arguably Japanese things have in common?

  • a group shouting “ikki! Ikki!” in unison at an izakaya to prod someone to chug their drink
  • urinating against the side of a building
  • chucking noodles onto the sidewalk after drinking too much
  • swinging an imaginary golf club while waiting on a platform for a train.

What these things have in common, at least as I observe them, is that they are considerably rarer than they were some decades ago here in Japan.

The first three are related to improved drinking habits and manners, and perhaps a heightened realization that looking like a jerk is not cool.

I’m not sure why the imaginary golf clubs have become rare. Perhaps it is because it is rather difficult to maintain your imaginary golf swing form while holding a phone in one hand. Maybe someone closer to the problem could offer a suggestion.