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'I had to RUN to my Mac mini like I was defusing a bomb': OpenClaw AI chose to 'speedrun' deleting Meta AI safety director's inbox due to a 'rookie error'
(www.pcgamer.com)
this post was submitted on 24 Feb 2026
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Technology
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...thats kind of how branding has always been under capitalism to a certain extent. Get people to think your brand is the best so they buy more instead of whatever is convenient. It has definitely gotten more extreme but i think that has more to do with the applications of what we are talking about.
Cell phones are embedded into nearly every aspect of our lives. So the brand symbolism carries that weight for people too.
Previously, brands like cocacola still had a death grip on society but it was one specific sector. So while it created a sort of cult vibe, it was definitely different.
I get what you are saying and generally agree, but!
It actually was not always the way it is now.
Play RDR2.
Look at the advertisements for things, actually read them.
They're actually pretty accurate to the advertisements of the time.
They are extremely based on 'facts', convicing the prospective buyer that the product is the best product, is very useful, can do this, is unique in this way.
Of course, sometimes the 'facts' are lies... but the general idea is not to sell a ... emotion, or personality, or element of identity, or sense of belonging.
Its almost always to convince the buyer that this product is useful to them, and is priced reasonably for what it can do.
The turning point away from this was mostly or largely due to Edward Bernaise, the nephew of Sigmund Freud.
More or less, he applied Freud's ideas and some of his own, some of others, to marketing.
His first big hit was angling Cigarettes as 'Torches of Freedom' to suffragettes.
At that point in time, smoking tobacco was generally seen as disgusting and low class for women, but not for men.
So, he was basically the first guy that went around and paid people to smoke cigarettes, while being trendy, with pre-designed slogans.
... It worked.
Because he was selling identity, not products, and this is much more effective.
Prior to that... brands basically were just built on the reputation of their products.
Now... now its so insane that for many say, video games and movies... far more time of the entire experience of the product is the hype train, the controversy, the twitter wars... prior to the product even coming out.
And then, its often just a flash in the pan.
But... you will still have dedicated fans, ongoing internet arguments, for literal years, even decades, since the last time anyone involved actually viewed or played the product.
Thats all designed for, to maximize the chances of that happening.
Marketing literally is applied psychology.