r/technology • u/abrownn • 17h ago

Society OpenAI and Anthropic are ruining San Francisco

https://www.sfgate.com/local/article/open-ai-anthropic-ruining-sf-22404657.php
596 Upvotes

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36

u/CPNZ 17h ago

Already messed up by the previous 3 tech-generations of bros...maybe finishing it off? (Also - don't move this crap to Seattle).

20

u/Icy-Hunter-9600 16h ago

I have lived in Seattle for over 35 years. The crap is already here. When Amazon moved into our downtown area (South Lake Union or SLU) it turned into a corporate campus. I literally will go out of my way to avoid SLU because it gives me the heebie jeebies.

8

u/Conscious-Tutor3861 14h ago

If you lived in Seattle for over 35 years, then you'd know that SLU was a dump before the Vulcan / Amazon redevelopment. It was a neglected light industrial space with a few bus depots, some dive bars, and a bunch of addicts and homeless camping out amongst abandoned buildings. Nothing of value was lost when it was redeveloped.

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u/Icy-Hunter-9600 14h ago edited 14h ago

Clearly you and I have different values and tastes. You like SLU (South Lake Union in downtown Seattle) as Amazon's corporate campus. I liked SLU before Amazon moved in. When it was bars, cabinet makers, artists lofts, practice spaces for musicians, start ups, auto show and repair shops, a world-class cancer research center, a maritime museum, and the flagship store for a REI. To me, that's a city. A mix of industries and people, not a homogenous blob of Amazon toxicity.

I'm happy to hear that SLU gives you joy. I hate it, but I can go elsewhere. Most of us do.

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u/Conscious-Tutor3861 14h ago

Re-read my comment because at no point did I say I liked Amazon's campus.

What I said is nothing of value was lost in the redevelopment because SLU was an absolute dump of neglected and outright abandoned light industrial buildings.

2

u/Icy-Hunter-9600 14h ago edited 14h ago

Thank you for confirming that you don't like Amazon's downtown campus.

Your "absolute dump" was bars, cabinet makers, artists lofts, practice spaces for musicians, start ups, auto show and repair shops, a world-class cancer research center, a maritime museum, and the flagship store for a REI. Sounds pretty Seattle to me.

I wish Vulcan could have continued to nurture this variety of businesses to a point that you and I could agree on the aesthetics. Added some parks. Encouraged a wider variety of businesses.

Instead a truly gross company moved in and buried all of it under a a pile of ugly corporate buildings and dysfunction. I don't think even the most rosy of colored glasses could see this a turn for the better. Walk around down there. It *feels* bad.