What photograph —this— of glimmering fake? A pixelated divinity or momentum-brushed slate? Where down in the valley does bones chatter lead with a chittering encore bled from the unfed?

Oh, crafty peculiar! Oh, host wry on strife! Oh, pardons of margins that disable life! Oh, where does the specter turn his back to the knife when the states converge to din?

What lights up false radar with means to lean end? The woodchucks are starving and teethe on pretend. Where trundles the loads leveraged counter to balm in a city divested to harm with alarm?

Oh, crafty peculiar! Oh, host wry on strife! Oh, pardons of margins that disable life! Oh, where does the specter turn his back to the knife when the states converge to din?

What calculates plenty to schuck out high score? A levy of merchants confessed to deplore where children and scapegoats all die on the floor for the greed of those in charge.

© 2026 AnOublietteofThought. All rights reserved.

Pernahkah kita menyadari bahwa saat menikmati konten di media sosial, sistem seakan-akan mampu membaca pikiran kita? Video yang terus bergulir seolah tahu persis apa yang sedang kita minati. Banyak orang mengira fenomena ini semacam sihir modern yang diciptakan oleh handphone dan internet.

Namun nyatanya di balik aktivitas kita menggunakan handphone rupanya aktivitas tersebut direkam oleh sistem yang menciptakan algoritma. Padahal, ia juga bekerja di atas fondasi logika matematika yang sangat terstruktur. Bagaimana umpan balik kita dalam menciptakan algoritma media sosial tersebut? Di balik personalisasi timeline yang terasa personal dan terdapat penerapan konsep dasar mengenai logika teori himpunan. Hal ini juga didukung dengan pencapaian dari tujuan tertentu yang ditetapkan oleh sistem mengharapan pengguna lebih lama menggunakan media sosial tersebut. Dengan melakukan pengumpulan data yang dapat berkaitan satu sama lain tanpa melupakan elemen-elemen dari data pengguna.

Penerapan dan Kilas Balik: Pemahaman Teori Himpunan secara Sederhana

Dalam konteks ilmiah algoritma mengacu pada suatu prosedur yang diikuti secara bertahap untuk menyelesaikan suatu masalah atau melakukan perhitungan. Algoritma dalam matematika adalah proses bertahap yang membantu menyelesaikan masalah melalui perhitungan dan mempertimbangkan beberapa variabel secara logis. Kedua jenis algoritma ini harus memiliki akhir yang pasti untuk mencapai solusi.

Di media sosial algoritma matematika merepresentasikan perilaku kita dalam istilah data yang bisa dianalisis oleh sistem komputer. Segala sesuatu mulai dari menulis komentar,menekan tombol suka, memposting sesuatu, menonton video selama beberapa detik semuanya diubah menjadi matematika dalam bentuk titik data.

Teori Himpunan terdapat pada matematika dan ilmu komputer yang menganalisis mengenai interaksi antarobjek melalui representasi visual dan sisi. Apabila dikaitkan dengan konteks media sosial, setiap pengguna yang melakukan aktivitas pengumpulkan data dengan follow, like, komentar pada konten yang disukai bahkan membagikannya. Pengumpulan elemen-elemen tersebut akan membuat suatu rangkaian sistem algoritma yang dapat membantu menganalisis pola pertemanan, konsumsi konten hingga merekomendasikan konten maupun teman baru yang memiliki minat yang sama.

Secara sederhana, himpunan dari data pengguna adalah sebuah wadah yang terstruktur atas data yang memiliki definisi yang jelas. Dalam himpunan data tersebut terdapat batas-batas yang disebut dengan elemen. Menurut ilmu matematika murni, objek dapat berupa angka maupun variabel yang berupa konteks digital yang akan dimuat dalam satu akun pengguna saja.

Untuk menghubungkan elemen-elemen yang ada, matematika mengenalkan operasi dasar yang disebut, irisan, gabungan, dan komplemen. Irisan dapat disebut sebagai, wilayah premis yang memiliki kesamaan konten. Kedua adalah gabungan, yaitu kumpulan dari keseluruhan data yang dimuat oleh pengguna selama menikmati konten. Terakhir adalah komplemen, yang merujuk keluar premis yang sudah dimuat oleh pengguna itu sendiri. Ketiga logika dasar matematika ini sangat berpengaruh untuk menjadi mesin utama dari berjalannya algoritma media sosial.

Dampak Eksplorasi Media Sosial terhadap Penggunanya

Pada dasarnya penggunaan media sosial dapat memilih konten-konten yang diinginkan dengan cara mencari konten terkait, frekuensi penayangan konten juga mempengaruhi algoritma. Namun akan ada masanya konten media sosial yang sedang booming akan lewat di beranda pengguna karena jumlah penayangan atau hanya sekedar bagian dari promosi.

Penerapan algoritma pada media sosial nyatanya memberikan dampak yang significant pada kehidupan nyata pengguna. Penemuan informasi atau konten media sosial yang begitu cepat dan tepat dengan minat pengguna dinilai sangat membantu. Algoritma juga membantu pengguna bertemu dengan audiens lain yang memiliki minat yang sama lewat komentar atau konten beranda. Ketersediaan ruang ekspresi diri yang terarah bahkan menjadi sarana hiburan semakin membuat pengguna betah scrolling media sosial. Pada algoritma ini juga menjadi penolong bagi pelaku UMKM dalam menjangkau calon konsumen melalui iklan terpersonalisasi maupun berbayar.

Tidak lupa di sisi lain dari dampak positif dari algoritma media sosial juga menyebabkan dampak buruk bagi penggunanya. Kecanggihan ini menyimpan konsekuensi yang besar dan perlu diwaspadai karena pengguna dapat terjebak dalam efek ruang gema atau echo chamber. Pengguna dibuat mengonsumsi putaran konten yang disukai saja hingga hanya dikenalkan dengan satu sudut pandang saja tanpa ada pembaruan berita penting lainnya. Akibat terpersonalisasi konten secara terus-menerus dapat memicu kesehatan mental menurun, ketergantungan dan menurunkan kepekaan pengguna terhadap interaksi yang ada di dunia nyata.

Refleksi dan Penutup

Keterkaitan antara matematika dan media sosial membuktikan betapa canggihnya teknologi saat ini. Di satu sisi ia memudahkan kita, namun di sisi lain ia menciptakan ruang gema yang mempersempit cakrawala informasi. Oleh karena itu, digital awareness sangat dibutuhkan agar kita tidak sepenuhnya dikendalikan oleh sistem. Terkadang, kita harus keluar dari zona nyaman dengan menjelajahi hal-hal di luar rekomendasi algoritma, membiarkan diri terpapar oleh pemikiran yang komplementer, dan merebut kembali kendali atas apa yang kita konsumsi. Sebab di balik layar kaca yang dingin itu, kita bukan sekadar angka atau variabel dalam algoritma bahwa kita adalah manusia yang memiliki hak penuh untuk menentukan arah navigasi digital kita sendiri.

Perlu diingat bahwa peran kita sebagai individu sangat berpengaruh besar dalam menciptakan elemen dalam semesta himpunan yang terus beririsan. Namun semua itu dapat kita kendalikan dengan menentukan batas-batasnya.

Daftar Pustaka

Rahman Rudi, dkk. (2025). Pengaruh Algoritma Media Sosial Terhadap Pola Konsumsi Informasi di Kalangan Gen Z di Universitas Hang Tuah Pekanbaru. 13(2). 351-358.

Lanman McCall. (2026, Juli 1). A marketer’s guide to how social media algorithms work and how to master them. Sproutsocial

Tenny Tjia. (2026). Dampak Algoritma Media Sosial pada Pola Pikir Generasi Muda. Radio Republik Indonesia

Dr. Hidayaturrahman, S.Kom., M.T.. (2025). Cara Kerja Algoritma Media Sosial yang Mengatur Feed Kita. Binus.ac.id

Isnainiuha. (2024). Himpunan. Kanal Pengetahuan dan Menara Ilmu Fakultas Matematika dan Ilmu Pengetahuan Alam Universitas Gadjah Mada

I came back from LA with friends just now. It was me and 4 other girls, and we got food several times, and spent a ton of the day at this Korean sauna. We spent a good amount of time in the nude portions which were gender separated and I had a blast, but then we grouped back up and spent a lot of time in the coed area. We all napped together, traded some massages, yapped and relaxed. And then we drove home and got ready to see eachother again tomorrow for a movie with other friends. And no one was afraid of me, in the way my mother instilled into me. My friends feel safe and comfortable around me, and do not view me as a monster solely due to my gender. I have friends who feel safe with me, want to have sleepovers, and accommodate me. I wish I could go back and tell younger me this, and counter condition sooner this schema I carried forth for so many years.

#procesos

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Créditos · © 2026 Juanma Menéndez

Esta obra está licenciada bajo una Licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0).

Esto significa que puede ser compartida, copiada, adaptada y distribuida en cualquier medio o formato, incluso con fines comerciales, siempre que se dé el crédito adecuado al autor.

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Même si aujourd’hui, personne ne me lit. Au fond, ce que je cherche à faire, avec ces bouts de pensée, c’est les confronter au monde et exister.

C’est partager l’expérience empirique de moi-même dans l’espoir qu’elle parle à d’autres.

Et d’être compris.

Cette expression (« l’expérience empirique de soi-même ») revient à Alain De Botton. Je l’ai trouvé magnifique et décidé d’en faire quelque chose.

As the woman pulled him deeper into the heart of the shadow district, Simon didn't offer resistance. It was only later that he'd learn her name, his savior, but at that moment, he couldn't fathom mustering the will to break free from her iron grip. Her fingers clamped firmly around his wrist, compelling him to tread the path she had set before him.

The sun, climbing toward its zenith, cast a diminishing array of shadows from the towering, decrepit stone structures. The district earned its name for the rare sunlight that breached the overhead canopy only when directly overhead. The intricate network of sky bridges connecting the buildings created an intricate labyrinth. In this place, Simon knew escape was improbable.

Deep within the district, where multiple sky bridges converged to form a domed ceiling, the stony world took on an eerie twilight. The only sources of light emanated from dim storefronts and a scattering of feeble lampposts, their meager, orange glow absorbed by the pervasive darkness. It was here that Kit pulled him into an establishment, the faded name of 'Enchanted Chalice' barely visible, having eroded with age and neglect.

The exterior of The Enchanted Chalice was unpretentious, its modest façade veiled by layers of ivy and the relentless march of time. Weathered wooden boards groaned beneath the weight of entering patrons, shrouding the atmosphere in perpetual twilight. The air bore a heavy scent of aged oak, incense, and an elusive aroma that eluded Simon's senses.

Dimly lit lanterns dangled from the rafters, casting a warm, amber radiance that danced with the encroaching shadows. The walls featured tapestries displaying mythical beasts, ancient maps of uncharted territories, and other enigmatic subjects, their details obscured by the dense smog from the fireplace and lit pipes.

Simon's gaze darted around the establishment, attempting to take in the surreal scene. He pondered if he would ever emerge from this place. Behind a scarred bar counter, the innkeeper, a weathered woman swathed in a patchwork cloak, served a bubbling concoction to a patron who appeared to float, the lower half of their body resembling that of a serpent.

In another corner, a fortune-teller hunched over a deck of well-worn cards, her eyes aglow while she animatedly conversed with a disinterested companion. Kit unceremoniously thrust Simon into a corner booth, its rough-hewn wood offering minimal comfort. He scooted to the farthest corner as she slid in beside him. A striking, dark-skinned girl approached, clad in a faded blue skirt that cascaded to her feet, a soiled white chemise, and a dark lace bodice that scarcely contained her, its loose strings dangling at the sides.

“Didn't expect to see you back so soon, Kit,” the young woman drawled, her tresses resting on her shoulders.

“Hey, Nidi. Negotiations with the Fen didn't go as planned,” Kit grumbled as she accepted a flagon of ale, thumping it down in front of her. “He's as stuck up as Tavith thought.”

Nidi gestured toward Simon, who was doing his best not to seem like he was cowering in the corner. “Who's the kid?”

“Simon Barter,” he replied, striving to mask the tremor in his voice.

“Found him wandering the shadows,” Kit explained, taking a few swigs of her ale. “The idiot thought he could rescue me from Fen's bruisers. I suppose I took pity on him.”

“You could have just shown me the way out,” Simon suggested.

Kit raised her gloved hand, silencing him. “Hush.”

Nidi interjected, raising an eyebrow, “You want a beer? If you're old enough to drink, that is.”

There was no way Simon was about to reveal his money pouch. “No, thank you,” he added quickly.

Nidi giggled, resting her hands on her hips. “Oh, we've got a polite one. You should keep this one.”

Simon retorted, “I'm not anyone's property.”

Kit, in the middle of her drink, pointed to the door. Thumping the flagon down, she wiped her mouth. “There's the door, kid. If you think you can find your way out.”

Simon surveyed the space between him and the exit, populated by a motley crew of unsavory characters. “I'll stay here. I'm tired.”

“Tired, right.”

Those condescending smirks grated on him, but what other option did he have? He had left home and already found himself in the seediest part of town, where a single misstep could spell his disappearance, never to be seen again.

“Let me know if you want any food, Kit,” Nidi finally said as she turned to walk away. “On the house for ya.”

Simon couldn't help but watch the sway of her hips as she departed.

“She's quite easygoing,” Kit interrupted his thoughts, a touch of mirth in her voice. “Fifty silver talons, and she'll show you her bed and a good time.”

“No!” Simon balked at the woman's crudeness, his face turning scarlet. “Uh... I mean, no thank you. I'm just trying to get out of the city.”

“Yeah, I figured,” Kit said, leaning back and propping her feet on the table. “The new bag, your age, your sheer bewilderment, and your apparent fear of women.” “I just got turned around,” Simon attempted to defend himself. “And I'm not scared of girls.”

“Sure.”

Doubt dripped from that word, but he didn't have a chance to respond before Kit downed more of her drink. Silence settled between the two, and during this lull, Nidi returned, placing a plate of steaming potatoes and slices of meat in front of him.

“I didn't order—”

“Shut up,” was Nidi's curt response before she walked away.

The smile on Kit's face grew a bit. “I guess she likes you. Eat up. Don't insult the tavern by turning down their gift.”

“Oh.”

The concept of a “gift from the tavern” had reached Simon's ears before. It was the practice of offering travelers and nobility complimentary items as a form of respect. He couldn't fathom why this particular tavern had extended him this courtesy.

“Kit Morigin,” the woman said, leaning forward, her feet off the table. “Where are you headed?”

“Simon Barter,” he replied, with a mouthful of potato. “I was on my way to Oakridge.”

“Why?” Kit inquired.

“Why do you ask?” Simon countered.

“I'm bored,” Kit admitted. “There's nothing to do until a friend of mine returns. Why are you heading to Oakridge? It's larger than here, and the chances of getting lost are pretty high.”

“The Traveler's Guild.”

Both of Kit's eyebrows shot up, her beautiful yet well-worn face reflecting surprise. “You're a Traveler?”

“I want to apply to be a Traveler,” Simon confessed. What else could he say or do? He was at the mercy of this person.

Kit erupted into laughter, earning curious glances from a few hooded individuals who then returned to their conversations. “What's so funny?” “You. You want to be a Traveler? You're an idiot.”

“Hey!” Simon protested, his anger beginning to surface. “What do you mean by 'idiot'?”

“Where's your weapon, boy?”

Weapon?

“Uh... what?”

“Do you know how to wield a sword? A dagger? A bow?”

“Ummm... no.”

Kit's grin widened as she leaned back. “The Traveler's Guild isn't a social club, cub. It's composed of men and women seeking their fortune through cunning or combat. You possess no skills that would interest them.”

“How do you know?”

With a swift motion, she reached into her cuirass and retrieved a medallion. It was as battered as her other equipment, but Simon recognized the silver piece bearing the symbol of an eagle, the Traveler's Mark.

“You're a Traveler?” Simon exclaimed in shock.

“Yeah, I've been one for quite a while. Earned my silver a few years back,” Kit said with a nonchalant shrug. “It's no walk in the park. It'll devour dreamers like you.”

Why had that not dawned on him? Simon looked down at the wooden table that had seen many years of wear, tear, and knife points. He had some basic sword steps from a few guards when he was younger but that had been more to amuse themselves than to actually teach him. He looked up to see the keen look on the Traveler crossed from him. Simon took in a breath and nodded with resolve. 

“I can learn. My father used to say that the most useful skill is to be able to learn, then nothing is impossible.”

“You're willing to learn as you go? That's a great way of getting killed.”

Simon frowned and folded his arms.

Kit seemed to contemplate something, then stood and made her way into the crowd.  Simon watched her vanish in the crowd, fear spiking being left alone.

Like a predator though, Nidi slid into the booth by him.  

“Hey, sweetie,” The barmaid said with a grin that now made him more nervous than scared. “She left you all alone.“ 

“She'll be back.” Goddess, he hoped she would be coming back.

“Was the food good?” She asked. “Made it myself. Thought you deserved more than Thrak would slop on a plate.“ 

Simon swallowed and glanced down at the plate. She scooted closer and leaned over giving him a full view down her chemise. The young man immediately found something interesting on the table beside her.  

“Anything else I can do for you?” She cooed.   “I'm good. Thank you.“ 

“We could go upstairs. I can let Kit know you and I want to get 'better acquainted.'“ 

Simon's throat got dry at the proposition. The thought of this young lady without clothes on a bed caused his heart rate to jump.   She giggled seemingly reading his mind.  

“I appreciate it but...“ 

“You got a maid waiting for you?” She quizzed letting her hand creep on top of his.  

“N..n...no.“ 

“Then why not? I think you're cute. Plus, I like giving young men their first 'experience'. Free of charge!“ 

“Hey! I'm not—–“ 

Nidi's laughter tinkled around him. 

“It's written all over your face, my hero. Come. I promise it'll be memorable.“ 

Simon was now praying he was facing the shady people instead.  

“Nidi!“  Kit had returned and whatever trance she had on him broke. She sighed.  

“Leave the poor boy alone. He looks like a rabbit about to run.“ 

Nidi sighed and scooted back.  

“I was just being sociable, Kit.“ 

“Sure,” Kit responded sitting down across from him again. “And I'm a priestess of the Cult of Purity. Be gone harlot.“ 

Simon winced at such a strong word, but all Nidi did was give his arm a squeeze, laugh, and flounce back to work.

“Sorry, forgot to warn you she's a bit of a predator.” Kit laughed and dropped an item on the table.  

“What's that?“ 

Kit leaned back in her chair, her eyes glittering with a mix of nostalgia and mischief as she gestured grandly at the weathered scabbard, which lay like a slumbering guardian between them on the rugged, wooden table. Its leather surface, once vibrant and polished, had seen its fair share of battles and adventures. “This,” Kit said, her voice a warm, inviting drawl, “is your first sword. I convinced Thrak to give it up as he's too old to be adventuring anymore.”

Simon's eyebrows furrowed in curiosity as he glanced at the scabbard, then back at Kit. “Thrak? The Cook?”

A fond smile tugged at Kit's lips as she began to weave the tale. “Oh, yeah. Thrak used to do a lot of adventuring until an unfortunate incident when a new initiate wasn't being careful. Poor guy took an arrow to the knee, and he hasn't been the same since,” she continued with a wistful sigh, her eyes dancing with a hint of mischief. She pushed the scabbard closer to him, the leather surface bearing the scars of countless journeys.

Simon intrigued and somewhat baffled, reached for the weathered scabbard gingerly. His fingers brushed over the rough surface, feeling the history it held. Carefully, he gripped it and pulled the blade gently out of the leather sheath, which held it securely in its embrace. The blade that emerged was simple, only about twenty-four inches long, with a hilt that was a quarter of that size. It had only one cutting edge, with a slight curve near the point. The crossguard was simple black steel, unadorned and utilitarian, yet it felt surprisingly solid in his hand.

“Thrak says her name is 'whipped cream',” Kit explained, her tone laced with humor.

Simon blinked in confusion. “I'm sorry, what?” He turned to see the massive green hulk of a person in the doorway, a goblin named Thrak, his imposing presence contrasting with the cozy atmosphere of the room. Thrak's four long braids of black hair ran down his back, his stained shirt, and wide, unblinking eyes fixed on Simon, his massive arms crossed over his chest.

Kit shrugged and offered a cryptic smile. “Don't ask me. I don't know goblin culture. He expects you to do honor to his 'sword wife.' He expects you to take care of her, make sure she stays sharp, keep her close, and give her a kiss before you sleep. Thrak says she will serve you well if you do.”

Simon's curiosity got the better of him. “Is...it magic?”

Kit chuckled heartily. “Oh, hell no. Goblins are just particular about their swords.”

Simon slid the blade back into her...its sheath and set it down on the table. “I don't know if I could do her justice for Thrak.”

Kit slid the scabbard back to him, her tone serious. “Too late. You can't turn her down. Thrak would take that as a severe insult.”

Simon, realizing he had no choice, accepted the sword, looking over to Thrak and bowing in respect. In return, the goblin did the same and lumbered back into his kitchen, a gesture of trust and camaraderie.

“Now, you have a sword. You can have this from me,” Kit said, her voice shifting to a more business-like tone. She handed over a sealed piece of parchment with a wax seal on it. Simon raised an eyebrow in confusion.

“This?”

“A letter of introduction from me to the Oakbridge Guild,” Kit explained. “It'll guarantee you at least one mission to try it out. You aren't accepted; it just asks that you be allowed a trial before consideration. Better put your best foot forward. Leader Hordak is not one to suffer fools.”

Simon's eyes sparkled with gratitude as he accepted the letter and placed it in his pouch with great care. But then, he hesitated, studying Kit with suspicion.

“Why are you helping me?”

Kit leaned in, her gaze piercing. “Because, unlike what you might be thinking, I don't like the idea of pretty boys getting slaughtered because they're damn fools. At least this way, I have a bit of salvation in case you wind up impaled on an Elven death pole.”

Simon hadn't thought about that aspect of his future adventures, and it sent a shiver down his spine.

“Now!” Kit exclaimed, her infectious enthusiasm returning. “Let's get you going!” She stood abruptly, ready to usher Simon into a world of uncertainty and adventure.

Simon hesitated and she looked over to Nidi who was watching them. “Unless you'd like to take an hour with Nidi! She's been salivating since we arrived.”

Simon hopped up.

“Let's go!”

Kit laughed.

Oracle's most honest document this autumn was a cash flow statement.

It was filed with the US Securities and Exchange Commission on 11 September 2026, in the quarterly report covering the three months to 31 August, and it lays out with a bookkeeper's calm where the money came from and where it went. Revenue rose from $14.9 billion to $19.3 billion, and net income climbed 63 per cent to $4.76 billion. Capital expenditure, almost all of it data centres, came to $28.5 billion, against $8.5 billion a year earlier. Oracle sold roughly 141 million new shares through an “at-the-market” programme for net proceeds of $19.9 billion, using up the entire $20 billion facility in a single quarter. And in a note on restructuring, the company recorded that “subsequent to August 31, 2026, our management supplemented the 2026 Restructuring Plan by approximately $700 million to reflect additional actions that we expect to take,” lifting a plan previously estimated at up to $2.1 billion to roughly $2.8 billion.

The same note describes what the plan is for. It exists, Oracle says, “to implement certain strategic measures and further improve operational efficiencies, including through the adoption and integration of artificial intelligence technologies across certain functions”.

Three days after the quarterly report was filed, the additional actions began. On Monday 14 September, according to The Deep Dive and The Week, affected staff, including employees in India, lost access to company systems and received an email early that morning, signed by Oracle Leadership, telling them their roles had been eliminated and that “today is your last working day”. Oracle has not said how many people were affected. The only public count is partial: Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) notices dated 14 September cover 359 employees in Washington state, at two Seattle offices or working remotely, according to FOX 13 Seattle, and 441 in California, at Redwood City, Santa Clara and Pleasanton, according to TheStreet, with separations scheduled from 13 November. TheStreet counts at least 2,578 Oracle job cuts in US WARN notices so far in 2026, but those notices cover only some US sites, so the figure is a floor, not a total. Its annual report for the year to 31 May had already recorded a fall in headcount from about 162,000 to about 141,000, a net loss of 21,000 people, or 13 per cent.

The story of the email has been told, including in these pages. This piece is about the cash flow statement, because it answers a question the email never could. When a profitable, fast-growing company pays for its AI buildout partly by cutting its wage bill, who is actually underwriting the AI transition?

Five Parties Paid For The Quarter

Start with the ledger, because the popular version of this story gets the proportions wrong in an interesting way.

The popular version says Oracle sacked workers to pay for data centres. The filings say something more complicated. In the first quarter of fiscal 2027, Oracle's operations generated $23.1 billion of cash, up 184 per cent on a year earlier. Much of that came from customers, and according to chief financial officer Hilary Maxson on the earnings call, most of the new contracts signed in the quarter used customer prepayments, “bring your own hardware” deals or similar structures that will not need extra capital from Oracle. New shareholders put in $19.9 billion. Lenders already hold $125 billion of Oracle's senior notes and other long-term borrowings, after the company raised $42.7 billion in senior notes during fiscal 2026 alone. Those are the big cheques.

Now find the workers. Oracle's income statement shows that, compared with the same quarter a year earlier, sales and marketing expense fell from $2,063 million to $1,811 million, research and development from $2,491 million to $2,401 million, and general and administrative stayed flat at $376 million. These are the personnel-heavy lines; Oracle's own annual report attributes the $320 million fall in sales and marketing spending during fiscal 2026 “primarily” to lower employee-related expenses. Taken together, the three lines fell by about $342 million year on year.

Put those numbers next to each other and the arithmetic is almost embarrassing. Oracle's interest expense rose by $505 million over the same period. Depreciation rose by $1.8 billion. The quarter's capital expenditure was more than 80 times the year-on-year saving on those three people-heavy lines.

Even across a full year, the scale holds. Oracle's 2026 proxy statement puts the total compensation of its median global employee at $94,740. As a crude illustration only, since nobody knows what the departing staff actually earned, 21,000 people paid that median would cost about $2 billion a year. Oracle spent $55.7 billion on capital expenditure in fiscal 2026 and ran negative free cash flow of $23.7 billion. Payroll cuts cannot fund a buildout of that size. At most they trim its edges.

So the honest answer to “who pays for the data centres” is: customers first, then new shareholders, then bondholders, with workers a distant fourth in dollar terms. A fifth party, the taxpayer, appears later in this story.

The reason this matters is that it turns the question round. If payroll savings are too small to pay for the buildout, why cut payroll at all? The answer is that the payroll line is not where the money comes from. It is where the risk goes.

Why The Smallest Contribution Carries The Heaviest Loss

Every party on that ledger is underwriting the transition, but they are doing it on very different terms.

A shareholder who bought into Oracle's at-the-market programme chose to buy, at a price they accepted, in a liquid market they can leave tomorrow. A bondholder lends at a yield priced for the risk, and that risk has been spelled out. On 9 July 2026, S&P Global Ratings cut Oracle's long-term rating from BBB to BBB-, one notch above speculative grade, admitting that it had “underestimated the scale of the investments required to expand the AI business” and noting that OpenAI accounted for about half of Oracle's $638 billion contracted backlog. Lenders who stay have been told the risk and are being paid to carry it. In the first quarter alone, Oracle paid $1.565 billion in dividends to preferred and common stockholders and booked $1.428 billion of interest expense.

The departing employee's contribution works differently. It is not chosen, not priced and not diversified. Reporting by Business Insider, summarised by Business Today in April 2026, set out the US severance formula: four weeks of base salary for the first year of service, one additional week for each further year, capped at 26 weeks. Unvested stock, which for many technology workers is a substantial part of their pay, is forfeited. Reported terms for India, drawn from employee accounts rather than any company statement, are structured differently and vary by location.

Twenty-six weeks is half a year. The best long-run evidence on what job loss actually costs comes from the economists Steven J. Davis and Till von Wachter, whose 2011 Brookings Papers on Economic Activity study tracked American workers through Social Security records from 1974 to 2008. Men displaced in mass layoffs when national unemployment was below 6 per cent lost, on average, the equivalent of 1.4 years of their pre-displacement earnings in present-value terms, discounting over twenty years. When unemployment exceeded 8 per cent, the loss doubled to 2.8 years. The study is not specific to technology workers and is not a prediction for any individual. But it sets a benchmark, and the maximum severance Oracle offers in the United States covers roughly a third of the typical loss in good times.

There is one more asymmetry. In the first quarter, according to the 10-Q, Oracle made $324 million of cash payments under the 2026 Restructuring Plan. Dividend payments in the same quarter were nearly five times that figure. Both are legitimate obligations. One is a return on capital that its owners chose to commit. The other is the closing payment on a contribution its providers never agreed to make.

How Severance Learns To Look Like Modernisation

To see how a person becomes a modernisation cost, follow the accounting.

Under US generally accepted accounting principles, severance sits in one of two places. Benefits paid under an ongoing, established plan fall under ASC 712 and are accrued when they are probable and can be reasonably estimated. One-off packages fall under ASC 420, the standard for exit and disposal costs, and, as PwC's accounting guidance sets out, a liability is generally recognised when the plan has been communicated to employees in enough detail for each of them to work out what they would receive. Either way, the cost lands in a line Oracle calls “restructuring and other”.

That line is then removed from the number most investors watch. Oracle's first-quarter earnings release reconciles GAAP results with non-GAAP ones, and restructuring is one of the items stripped out, alongside stock-based compensation and the amortisation of acquired intangible assets. In the quarter, GAAP operating margin was 35 per cent. Non-GAAP operating margin, with restructuring and the other adjustments removed, was 42 per cent. The non-GAAP earnings per share figure that led the headline, $1.92, carries no trace of severance.

Excluding restructuring is standard practice and Oracle discloses every adjustment in full. The point is what the convention implies. A restructuring charge is presented as something outside the business's ongoing performance, a one-off cost of transition. Yet Oracle has recorded restructuring expense every year: $404 million in fiscal 2024, $299 million in fiscal 2025, $1.779 billion in fiscal 2026. Its quarterly report says the company expects “to incur additional restructuring expenses in future periods”. The cost recurs, but it is reported as if it were exceptional.

The most revealing sentence, though, is not in the accounting notes. It is in management's discussion, where Oracle explains what happened to the money it saved. Certain of the savings from the 2026 Restructuring Plan, it says, “were offset by investments in resources and geographies that we believe better address the development, marketing, sale and delivery of our cloud-based offerings, including investments in the development and delivery of our second-generation cloud infrastructure.”

That is the reallocated payroll, described by the company that reallocated it. Savings from one set of people and places were moved to other resources and other geographies. Severance is booked as the cost of making that move, then removed from adjusted earnings, so the move looks almost free.

The Taxpayer Was Underwriting Before Anyone Was Fired

The fifth party on the ledger did not sign anything either, and its contribution started long before September.

In 2020, Daron Acemoglu, Andrea Manera and Pascual Restrepo published a paper through the Brookings Institution and the National Bureau of Economic Research asking whether the US tax code favours automation. They found that it does. Effective tax rates on labour stood above 28.5 per cent, while the effective rate on capital invested in equipment and software had fallen to about 5 per cent. Their conclusion was that the heavy taxation of labour and light taxation of capital encourage firms to automate more tasks, and use less labour, than is socially optimal. Under the tax structure they modelled as optimal, labour would be taxed at around 9 per cent and capital at around 22 per cent.

The authors traced much of that low capital rate to generous depreciation provisions passed between 2002 and 2017. The most generous of them has since been made permanent. The 100 per cent bonus depreciation introduced in 2017 had been phasing down, reaching 40 per cent for 2025, until legislation signed in July 2025, commonly known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, permanently restored it for qualifying property acquired after 19 January 2025. The Internal Revenue Service issued interim guidance in Notice 2026-11 in January 2026. In general, qualifying property means assets with a recovery period of 20 years or less, which covers the servers, storage and networking equipment that fill a data centre, though not the buildings. A company buying those assets can deduct the whole cost in the year it places them in service, rather than spreading it over their useful life.

Oracle's effective tax rate in the first quarter of fiscal 2027 was 15.1 per cent. Its filings do not break out how much of that reflects accelerated depreciation, and nothing here suggests Oracle is doing anything other than using the law as written. But the structure is clear. Each dollar of salary carries payroll taxes. Each dollar of qualifying data centre equipment can now be written off immediately. When a company shifts spending from people to machines, public policy is pushing it the same way.

Then there is the safety net. In the United States, displaced workers can turn to state unemployment insurance, which typically replaces only part of lost wages for a limited period. A large share of Oracle's workforce sits outside that system altogether: of roughly 141,000 employees at the end of fiscal 2026, about 92,000 worked outside the United States, where severance, notice and benefits are governed by national law and, in many places, by much thinner public provision. Whatever severance does not cover is met by the worker's savings, by family, and by whatever state they happen to live in.

Shareholders Are Paying Too, On Different Terms

None of this means shareholders are getting a free ride, and the strongest version of Oracle's case deserves a hearing.

The share price has taken a beating. Fortune reported on 26 September 2026 that Oracle had closed at $137, down 53 per cent over the previous twelve months. The new shares sold through the at-the-market programme went for an average of about $141 each, and the share count rose by about 5 per cent in a single quarter, from 2.88 billion to 3.02 billion. Anyone holding Oracle stock owns a smaller slice of a company that S&P projected in July would run a free cash flow deficit of nearly $42 billion in fiscal 2027, up from the agency's earlier forecast of about $24 billion. Seven years ago this ledger ran the other way: in fiscal 2019, Oracle spent $36.1 billion buying back its own shares. In the most recent quarter it bought back none.

Even the executives' headline pay is less certain than it looks. Oracle's 2026 proxy statement reports fiscal 2026 total compensation of $627.5 million for co-chief executive Clayton Magouyrk and $256.6 million for co-chief executive Michael Sicilia, against $94,740 for the median employee, a ratio of 6,623 to 1 for Magouyrk. Those totals are largely the accounting value of one-time stock option awards made when the two were appointed in September 2025, awards the proxy itself values at $250 million and $100 million at target. Fortune reported that by the end of the fiscal year all of the options granted to Magouyrk, Sicilia and executive chair Larry Ellison were underwater, and the proxy says the awards “had no intrinsic value” at that date. They may never pay out.

Ellison, who according to the proxy beneficially owns 38.2 per cent of Oracle's common stock, has also signalled that he is staying put. Oracle's quarterly report disclosed that he adopted a trading plan on 22 June 2026 allowing him to sell up to 50 million shares. On 12 September, the company announced that he had cancelled it, that no shares had been sold under it, and that he had no other plans to sell.

So the people at the top are exposed to the same bet, and in paper terms they have lost a great deal on it. The difference is not whether they bear risk but what kind. A stake of 1.158 billion shares, at the $2.00 per share in common dividends Oracle declared in fiscal 2026, would generate roughly $2.3 billion a year in cash, more than the entire $1.779 billion restructuring expense of fiscal 2026. A falling share price reduces wealth that remains. A severance letter ends income that was the wealth. Both are losses, but only one can be recovered by waiting.

A Record Low For Labour's Share Of Output

Oracle is one company, but its pattern fits a national trend that was under way long before anyone mentioned large language models.

On 15 September 2026, the day after Oracle's emails went out, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics published a short note. Labour share in the nonfarm business sector, the fraction of output paid to workers as wages, salaries and benefits, was 52.8 per cent in the second quarter of 2026, “the lowest level ever recorded” in a series that begins in 1947. For most of the post-war period it ranged between 60 and 66 per cent. It began a sustained decline after the turn of the century, and it stood at 56.3 per cent at the end of 2019.

The productivity figures released a few days earlier explain why the decline matters. Nonfarm business productivity rose 1.4 per cent at an annual rate in the second quarter and 2.2 per cent on a year earlier. Real hourly compensation, meanwhile, fell at an annual rate of 3.3 per cent in the quarter. Output per hour is rising; the share of it paid to the people producing it is falling.

It would be wrong to blame that decline on AI, and the BLS makes no such claim. The trend predates the technology by two decades, and economists still disagree about what drives it. But the Oracle quarter is a small, precise example of how the macro statistic is made: revenue up 30 per cent, operating income up 57 per cent, personnel-heavy expense lines down, capital spending more than tripled. At the national level, labour share is just a ratio of totals. It falls one company at a time, through decisions like these.

Microsoft, Meta, Amazon And Salesforce Run Variations

Is Oracle the leading edge of a new corporate normal? The comparable firms suggest the pattern is real but varies, and the variations show who is underwriting the change.

Microsoft employed about 223,000 people at 30 June 2026, according to its annual report, down from about 228,000 a year earlier. In April, chief financial officer Amy Hood told investors that headcount had fallen year on year and was expected to keep falling, while the company booked about $900 million of charges for a voluntary retirement programme. Microsoft's additions to property and equipment rose by almost 80 per cent, from $64.6 billion in fiscal 2025 to $115.9 billion in fiscal 2026. And it still returned $48.7 billion to shareholders over the year, $22.3 billion in buybacks and $26.4 billion in dividends. Microsoft can pay for the buildout out of its own cash flow and keep paying shareholders. Its workforce is shrinking anyway.

Meta told staff in April that it would cut roughly 10 per cent of its workforce, about 8,000 people. Its second-quarter results recorded $1.18 billion of severance expense tied to the May reduction, headcount of 75,472, down 1 per cent on a year earlier, and revenue up 28 per cent to $60.8 billion. It narrowed its 2026 capital expenditure outlook to between $130 billion and $145 billion. Free cash flow for the quarter came to just $784 million.

Amazon announced 14,000 corporate job cuts in October 2025 and around 16,000 more on 28 January 2026, together about a tenth of its corporate workforce. By its second quarter of 2026 it was planning capital spending of around $220 billion for the year, and free cash flow on its trailing measure had turned negative, at minus $7.6 billion. Andy Jassy, the chief executive, has explicitly rejected the AI reading of his cuts. “The announcement that we made a few days ago was not really financially driven, and it's not even really AI-driven, not right now at least,” he told analysts in October 2025. “It's culture.”

Salesforce gave the clearest statement of reallocation. In September 2025, chief executive Marc Benioff said on The Logan Bartlett Show that AI agents had allowed the company to cut its support headcount from about 9,000 to about 5,000. “I've rebalanced my support headcount,” he said, “so I can now put those people into sales.”

Together the cases show both the pattern and its limits. Every one of these firms is growing revenue, holding headcount flat or cutting it, and raising capital spending to levels without precedent. Every one has made workforce reductions while doing so. But the headcount changes at Microsoft and Meta are small in percentage terms, Amazon's chief executive denies the causal link, and the cash that pays for the data centres overwhelmingly comes from somewhere other than payroll. The debt markets show where. JPMorgan, in research reported by Bloomberg in August 2026, raised its forecast for technology, media and telecoms bond issuance this year to $540 billion and estimated that hyperscaler debt alone would reach $317 billion.

Oracle stands out because it has the weakest balance sheet of the group. Microsoft funds the buildout from cash flow. Meta and Amazon are pushing their free cash flow towards zero and below. Oracle has had to sell equity at depressed prices, borrow at the lowest investment-grade rating, and ask customers to prepay. When every source of funding is under strain, the one that requires nobody's consent comes under the most pressure. That makes Oracle less an exception than a stress test. It shows what the pattern looks like when the balance sheet runs out of room.

Payroll Has Become The Adjustable Line

So is this the new normal? The evidence supports a narrower claim than the headlines, and a more durable one.

It does not support the idea that AI is about to empty corporate offices. Microsoft's headcount fell about 2 per cent in a year and Meta's 1 per cent. The cash going into data centres comes overwhelmingly from operating income, bonds and new shares. Even at Oracle, the quarter's saving on personnel-heavy expense lines came to roughly 1 per cent of its capital expenditure.

What the evidence does support is a change in the order in which claims on a company's cash are met. In the buyback era, which at Oracle peaked with $36.1 billion of repurchases in fiscal 2019, shareholders came first and payroll was a fixed cost of doing business. In the AI buildout, capital expenditure comes first, contractually locked in through long-term leases and supplier commitments that Oracle's own annual report warns could leave it “locked into multi-year commitments” for surplus capacity if demand disappoints. Shareholders come next, still paid their dividends while buybacks are largely paused. Payroll has become the variable that absorbs the difference: the one line that can be cut within a quarter, by email, without renegotiating anything with anyone.

That is what the Oracle pattern reveals about who underwrites the AI transition. Customers and investors pay most of the bill, and they choose to. Taxpayers subsidise it through a code that, on the best available evidence, taxes labour far more heavily than equipment. Workers carry the part of the risk that has nowhere else to go, at a price nobody negotiated with them, and their losses are recorded in a line that the preferred measure of corporate performance leaves out.

The arrangement is not unique to AI. What AI adds is a justification. Oracle's filings tie the restructuring explicitly to “the adoption and integration of artificial intelligence technologies across certain functions,” and its annual report states that the adoption and deployment of AI “have resulted, and may continue to result, in reductions to our workforce.” Whether AI actually did the work of the people who left, or merely made it easier to explain why they were no longer affordable, is something no filing can settle. Either way, the effect on the ledger is the same.

The Ledger Line That Cannot Be Refinanced

What becomes of the workers whose severance is booked as a cost of modernisation?

The evidence offers a sobering but bounded answer. The US unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent in September 2026, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, which places today's American job losers in the better of the two scenarios Davis and von Wachter measured. Their benchmark for such times is a loss equivalent to well over a year's earnings, spread across the years after displacement, rather than permanent exclusion from work. Some, particularly in countries with weak protections and in roles that AI tools can increasingly reach, will find it harder. In every case, their severance and their losses will appear in Oracle's accounts only once, in the restructuring line, and then be adjusted away.

A different arrangement is imaginable, and some of it is already on the record. Acemoglu, Manera and Restrepo argued that rebalancing the tax treatment of labour and capital would raise employment. Severance formulas, notice periods and the treatment of unvested stock are policy choices, set by companies and in part by law. The disclosure rules that already make Oracle state a cost estimate for its restructuring plan, down to the $700 million supplement, could be extended to say how many people that cost represents, and where.

Until then, the ledger works like this. Shareholders who lost half the value of their stock this year can wait for a recovery. Bondholders are paid interest for the risk they knowingly took. The company can raise capital again next quarter, and almost certainly will. The people on the restructuring line have no equivalent. A career, once booked under “restructuring and other”, cannot be refinanced.

On 18 November 2026, Oracle's shareholders will cast an advisory vote on the pay of its named executive officers. The people who left on 14 September get no ballot. Their contribution to the AI transition has already been recorded, and then adjusted out of the figures.

References & Sources

1. Oracle Corporation, “Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended 31 August 2026”, US Securities and Exchange Commission, September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1341439/000119312526389274/orcl-20260831.htm
2. Oracle Corporation, “Oracle Announces Q1 Results Driven by Triple Digit Growth in Cloud Infrastructure Revenues”, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, 10 September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1341439/000119312526387905/orcl-ex99_1.htm
3. Oracle Corporation, “Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 May 2026”, US Securities and Exchange Commission, 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001341439/000119312526277521/orcl-20260531.htm
4. Oracle Corporation, “Larry Ellison Cancels His Plan to Sell Oracle Stock”, Exhibit 99.1 to Form 8-K, 12 September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1341439/000119312526389753/d20034dex991.htm
5. Oracle Corporation, “Definitive Proxy Statement (Schedule 14A) for the 2026 Annual Meeting of Stockholders”, 25 September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001341439/000119312526402816/orcl-20260925.htm
6. Oracle Corporation, “Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 31 May 2019”, US Securities and Exchange Commission, June 2019. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1341439/000156459019023119/orcl-10k_20190531.htm
7. The Motley Fool, “Oracle (ORCL) Q1 2027 Earnings Call Transcript”, 11 September 2026. https://www.fool.com/earnings/call-transcripts/2026/09/11/oracle-orcl-q1-2027-earnings-call-transcript/
8. JP Alegre, “Oracle Starts New Layoff Round Six Months After Its Last One”, The Deep Dive, 14 September 2026; FOX 13 Seattle, “Oracle to lay off 359 Washington workers in November”, 16 September 2026; and Aparajita Chatterjee, “Oracle layoffs top 2,500 workers as AI spending surges”, TheStreet, 23 September 2026. https://thedeepdive.ca/oracle-starts-new-layoff-round-six-months-after-its-last-one/ and https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/oracle-lay-off-washington-workers and https://www.thestreet.com/employment/oracle-layoffs-top-2500-workers-ai-spending-surge-2026
9. Meera Rajeev, “Oracle layoffs: What severance pay can Indian workers expect?“, The Week, 15 September 2026. https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2026/09/15/oracle-layoffs-what-severance-pay-can-indian-workers-expect.html
10. Business Today Desk, “Oracle layoffs 2026: How much severance US employees are getting?“, Business Today, 7 April 2026. https://www.businesstoday.in/technology/story/oracle-layoffs-2026-how-much-severance-us-employees-getting-524393-2026-04-07
11. Amanda Gerut, “Oracle gave Larry Ellison and his new co-CEOs nearly $1 billion in stock options. By fiscal year end, all were underwater”, Fortune, 26 September 2026. https://fortune.com/2026/09/26/oracle-larry-ellison-ceo-pay/
12. Luis Rijo, “S&P cuts Oracle to BBB- as AI buildout widens cash deficit to $42bn”, PPC Land, 18 July 2026. https://ppc.land/s-p-cuts-oracle-to-bbb-as-ai-buildout-widens-cash-deficit-to-42bn/
13. Bloomberg, “JPMorgan sees tech bond sales surpassing half a trillion dollars in 2026”, republished by The Star, 10 August 2026. https://www.thestar.com.my/business/business-news/2026/08/10/jpmorgan-sees-tech-bond-sales-surpassing-half-a-trillion-dollars-in-2026
14. Microsoft Corporation, “Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended 30 June 2026”, US Securities and Exchange Commission, July 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/789019/000119312526323660/msft-20260630.htm
15. Alexei Alexis, “Microsoft CFO flags workforce cuts as AI spending surges”, CFO Dive, 30 April 2026. https://www.cfodive.com/news/microsoft-cfo-flags-workforce-cuts-ai-spending-surges-layoffs/819027/
16. Meta Platforms, “Meta Reports Second Quarter 2026 Results”, Exhibit 99.1, 29 July 2026. https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2026/q2/Meta-06-30-2026-Exhibit-99-1-FINAL.pdf
17. Bloomberg Law, “Meta Tells Staff It Will Cut 10% of Jobs in Push for Efficiency”, April 2026. https://news.bloomberglaw.com/tech-and-telecom-law/meta-tells-staff-it-will-cut-10-of-jobs-in-push-for-efficiency
18. Paul Thurrott, “Amazon Revenues Jump 20 Percent to $200.6 Billion”, Thurrott.com, 30 July 2026; and ABC7 New York, “Amazon cuts 16,000 jobs in the latest round of layoffs”, 28 January 2026. https://www.thurrott.com/amazon/339894/amazon-revenues-jump-20-percent-to-200-6-billion and https://abc7ny.com/post/amazon-cuts-16000-jobs-latest-round-layoffs/18491495/
19. Fortune, “Amazon CEO Andy Jassy says layoffs are about culture, not AI”, 1 November 2025. https://fortune.com/2025/11/01/ceo-andy-jassy-amazon-layoffs-about-culture-not-ai
20. Outlook Business Desk, “AI Agents Replaced 4,000 Customer Support Jobs at Salesforce, Says CEO Marc Benioff”, Outlook Business, 2 September 2025. https://www.outlookbusiness.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-agents-replaced-4000-customer-support-jobs-at-salesforce-says-ceo-marc-benioff
21. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Labor share at its lowest level, 52.8 percent, in second quarter 2026”, The Economics Daily, 15 September 2026. https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2026/labor-share-at-its-lowest-level-52-8-percent-in-second-quarter-2026.htm
22. US Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Productivity and Costs, Second Quarter 2026, Revised”, 3 September 2026; and “The Employment Situation, September 2026”, 2 October 2026. https://www.bls.gov/news.release/prod2.nr0.htm and https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
23. Daron Acemoglu, Andrea Manera and Pascual Restrepo, “Does the US Tax Code Favor Automation?”, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Spring 2020, and NBER Working Paper 27052. https://www.brookings.edu/articles/does-the-u-s-tax-code-favor-automation/
24. BDO USA, “IRS Issues Interim Guidance on Bonus Depreciation Rules” (on IRS Notice 2026-11), January 2026; and PwC Viewpoint, “Restructurings and one-time termination benefits”, Pensions and Employee Benefits Guide, section 8.5. https://www.bdo.com/insights/tax/irs-issues-interim-guidance-on-bonus-depreciation-rules and https://viewpoint.pwc.com/dt/us/en/pwc/accounting_guides/pensions-and-employee-benefitspeb/peb_guide/Chapter-8-PEB/85_Restructurings_and_onetime_termination_benefits_20.html
25. Steven J. Davis and Till von Wachter, “Recessions and the Costs of Job Loss”, Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, Fall 2011. https://www.brookings.edu/bpea-articles/recessions-and-the-costs-of-job-loss/

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Tim Green UK-based Systems Theorist & Independent Technology Writer

Tim explores the intersections of artificial intelligence, decentralised cognition, and posthuman ethics. His work, published at smarterarticles.co.uk, challenges dominant narratives of technological progress while proposing interdisciplinary frameworks for collective intelligence and digital stewardship.

His writing has been featured on Ground News and shared by independent researchers across both academic and technological communities.

ORCID: 0009-0002-0156-9795 Email: tim@smarterarticles.co.uk

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I grew up assuming that a price tag was a kind of promise. The number on the shelf was the number for everyone. The wealthy shopper and the college kid paid the same for a gallon of milk, and if you wanted a better deal you clipped a coupon or waited for a sale. Lately I have been thinking about how fragile that assumption has become, and how quietly it is being tested.

The term for what worries people is “surveillance pricing.” It means using what a company knows about you, your location, your browsing, your purchase history, to estimate the most you would be willing to pay, and then charging you that. Bloomberg ran a segment last week warning that it may be coming to a store near you, and CBS reported this week on how retailers could pair AI with personal data to do exactly that.

What struck me in reading through the coverage is how much of the fight is happening before anyone has shown the practice is widespread. In January 2025, the Federal Trade Commission published findings from a study of firms that sell pricing tools, including Mastercard, Accenture, and McKinsey. Those intermediaries worked with at least 250 clients, and their systems could draw on precise location, demographics, and abandoned shopping carts. But as TokenPost noted in its summary, the FTC material showed the technology exists, not that a specific retailer charged a specific customer more for the same item.

There has been at least one concrete case. Last December, Consumer Reports and the Groundwork Collaborative found that Instacart shoppers were seeing price differences of up to 23 percent on some products, which they estimated could cost a family more than $1,200 a year. Instacart ended the practice.

Lawmakers have not waited for more examples. Maryland's ban on personalized grocery pricing took effect on October 1, the first of its kind. It is narrow, covering large food retailers and delivery apps, and only staple foods, not candy or hot meals. Connecticut passed a law with an interesting twist: businesses outside of retail that use personal data to raise a price have to say so, in capital letters, “THIS PRICE WAS INCREASED USING YOUR PERSONAL DATA.” New Jersey enacted its own measure in July, Seattle has moved on a grocery ordinance, and New York legislators passed a broader bill this summer. By one count, more than 40 bills on the subject were introduced in statehouses this year.

Walmart, which plans to have digital shelf labels in all of its U.S. stores by the end of this year, has been working hard to get ahead of the suspicion. CEO John Furner wrote to customers that the company does not “set different prices based on who you are or the time of day, and we won't.” Its corporate affairs chief, Dan Bartlett, put it more crisply: “We price products, not people.” The company says the digital tags simply let it update thousands of prices without staff swapping paper labels by hand, which is a reasonable thing to want.

I find myself holding two thoughts at once. The first is that personalized pricing is not inherently sinister. Airlines, hotels, and student discounts have long meant different people paying different amounts, and some advocates argue that tailored prices could even help shoppers with less money if they are used to cut prices rather than raise them. Banning a technology before it does harm can also freeze out uses we have not imagined yet.

The second thought is that groceries are different. Food is not a luxury purchase where a little extraction at the margins hurts nobody. And the deal at the heart of a posted price is trust. FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, appointed by President Trump, made the point simply when his agency sought public comment on the issue this summer: consumers who see a listed price expect it to be the same price everyone else sees. Once that expectation goes, every purchase becomes a negotiation you did not know you were in, against a counterpart that knows far more about you than you know about it.

What I keep coming back to is that the companies themselves seem to understand this. Walmart is not promising restraint out of charity. It is promising it because it knows shoppers would walk if they believed the shelf was reading them. Markets can discipline this, as long as people can see it happening. That is the real case for disclosure rules like Connecticut's. Not every personalized price is wrong, but nobody should have to wonder.

I would rather live in a world where the price tag is still a promise. It looks like we may have to write that promise into law to keep it.

Thoughts? Reach me at danielk@outlook.com.

In Summary: * Rather than be dismayed at how much work remains to be done (because there's ever so much of that, and maybe always will be) I choose to be happy that I've done my best on several fronts today and got some good work done. Of course, more remains to do tomorrow, but I won't worry about that tonight.

Prayers, etc.: * I have a daily prayer regimen I try to follow throughout the day from early morning, as soon as I roll out of bed, until head hits pillow at night.

Health Metrics: * bw= 212.31 lbs. * bp= 127/78 (65)

Exercise: * morning stretches, balance exercises, kegel pelvic floor exercises, half squats, calf raises, toe raises, wall push-ups, BP breathing exercises, pilates

Diet: * 05:30 – pizza * 09:00 – 1 peanut butter Sandwich * 13:00 – 3-plate Buffet meal at King Buffet * 17:00 – have been snacking on little Halloween snacks through the afternoon

Activities, Chores, etc.: * 03:00 – wake * 04:20 – bank accounts activity monitored * 04:45 -read, write, pray, follow news reports from various sources, surf the socials, take daily meds, unpack, organize * 10:15 – listening to the pregame show ahead of this afternoon's IU vs Ohio St. football game * 14:00 – retrieve new trash bin * 15:30 – picked up bits of paper trash the lawn mowers left scattered around the yard * 17:10 – moving into the meds and prayers phase of the evening

Chess: * 10:00 – moved in all pending CC games

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The Solemn Year

What rights to olde And in as May, we near The tropical, blue men Sinking dives to the EU And as some hand,- we rightly fail in our dues Freedom face- of the century Acts of gold And landing then,- the brake express at near Such wrighting news But story of the widget Inexplained by year Forbiddance then That broccoli is in view And to this accord,- we are grown, Canadian men For ports of Danube In light ahead War, oh war Why solemnity in its place In finding you,- our prayer to night Inadversible they show- The solemn strength Haranguing few But simple ark and skew In such rewritten That fortune in its tide,- To win each aspect To light upon this sore,- the braving hat foretold Forever old,- but merciful And one to many Stay to thrive Our Bleury and our safe Might to open- just as many shores The destined route Favoured and in peer Only owls land To mercy on my gold- Buried land The entity as new And what regret and vision In safety toy and ladder Ships portend The story of invention And flutter near Blue ribbons to the ridge What nights define- to proofread- In letter joy.

As the wife and I were leaving earlier this afternoon to take care of some business in town we found our road blocked by two shiny, clean trash bins left smack in the middle of the street. She stopped the car and I wheeled the two bins off to a side of the road, and we went on our way.

When we returned a few hours later we noticed the bins had been wheeled across the road in front of another trailer. Thinking they might have been assigned to the folks who lived there, I climbed the steps up to their front porch and saw an eviction notice taped to their front door. Huh. I got no response when I knocked on the door.

So I wheeled the newest looking bin, complete with a cover like I need on mine, over to my trailer, and I wheeled my old cracked, lidless bin back to the vacant trailer in its place. Until and unless I'm told otherwise, that trash bin with the lid is mine now.

Chapter 1: The Conversation You've Been Avoiding

There is a moment when you finally find yourself alone, perhaps sitting on the edge of your bed after everyone else has gone to sleep, and something you've been trying not to think about comes back into your mind. You reach for your phone, hoping to distract yourself, but nothing holds your attention. You know what is bothering you. There's something you've done, something you've allowed to continue, or something you've been telling yourself isn't as serious as it really is. You haven't spoken honestly about it to anyone, and lately you've even found yourself avoiding certain things in prayer. You still believe in God. You still want to follow Jesus. But there's a part of your life you keep carefully hidden, as though refusing to speak about it might somehow make it less real.

I've been thinking about that private struggle while reflecting on the woman caught in adultery and her encounter with Jesus in John 8. In my accompanying YouTube message, I explore what that encounter may have felt like from the woman's perspective, using Scripture as the foundation while imagining the emotions she might have experienced. But here, I want to talk about something quieter. I want to talk about what happens inside a person who knows they've done something wrong and begins withdrawing from the very relationship with God that could help them confront it.

There's a connection between her encounter and the quiet struggle to approach Jesus when you feel unworthy of His compassion. Sometimes we become convinced that we need to get our lives together before we can approach God honestly. We imagine that if we could just stop making certain mistakes, become more disciplined, or somehow feel less ashamed, then we could finally pray without embarrassment. But that thinking creates a difficult situation. We're trying to solve our deepest spiritual struggles while keeping them hidden from the One whose mercy we desperately need.

I wonder how many people experience that without ever telling another person.

You might continue attending church, reading Scripture, and doing everything people expect from you. You may be the dependable person in your family, the one everyone calls when they need something. Yet privately, there's a decision you regret or a pattern of behavior you haven't confronted.

Maybe you've been dishonest with someone who trusts you. Perhaps you've allowed resentment toward a family member to grow until you can barely speak kindly about them. Maybe you've been seeking comfort through something you know is damaging your relationships or pulling you away from the life you want to live.

Whatever it is, you've developed ways of keeping it separate from the rest of your life.

That's one of the strange things about shame. It can convince us that hiding is safer than honesty, even when hiding is slowly exhausting us.

The woman in John 8 didn't have the opportunity to decide when her wrongdoing would be exposed. The scribes and Pharisees brought her before Jesus while He was teaching in the temple. They placed her before the gathered people and described the adultery in which she had been caught.

Scripture doesn't tell us what she was thinking. We don't know her personal history, what circumstances surrounded her actions, or what she felt as the accusation was made. We should be careful not to fill those unknown details with assumptions.

But we do know that she was standing before Jesus while others were using her wrongdoing to test Him.

John 8:6 explains that the religious leaders were attempting to find grounds for accusing Jesus. Their purpose extended beyond confronting the woman's sin.

Jesus responded in an unexpected way.

He stooped and wrote on the ground. When the questioning continued, He said, “He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her” (John 8:7, KJV).

One by one, the accusers departed.

Eventually, Jesus addressed the woman directly and asked whether anyone had condemned her.

She answered, “No man, Lord.”

Then He said, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:11, KJV).

I keep returning to those words because they hold together two truths that we often separate.

Jesus showed mercy, and Jesus called her to change.

He didn't ask her to pretend nothing had happened. He didn't suggest that sin was unimportant. But He also didn't treat her wrongdoing as a reason to abandon the possibility of repentance.

For someone who has been avoiding honest prayer, that distinction matters.

Sometimes we're afraid to approach God because we've confused confession with humiliation. We imagine that acknowledging our failures means being reduced to nothing more than those failures.

But biblical confession is not about informing God of something He doesn't already know. It's about becoming truthful before Him and turning away from what is wrong.

First John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

That promise is not permission to continue hurting people. God's forgiveness calls us toward repentance, responsibility, and a changed life.

But it does mean that hiding from God is not the answer to our spiritual struggles.

Think about someone who has been carrying a secret financial problem. Perhaps they've borrowed money without telling their spouse, allowed unpaid bills to accumulate, or concealed spending that has placed their family under pressure.

At first, they may have believed they could solve everything before anyone discovered the truth. They intended to pay the money back or repair the damage quietly.

But the problem grew.

Eventually, even prayer became uncomfortable because they knew what needed to be addressed and were frightened of the consequences.

The faithful next step might involve confessing the truth to God, speaking honestly with their spouse, seeking financial guidance, and accepting responsibility for rebuilding trust.

None of that guarantees an easy outcome.

The conversation may be painful. Trust may take years to restore. Some consequences may remain.

Yet honesty creates the possibility of meaningful change where concealment allows the problem to continue.

I think that is worth considering when we reflect on the woman standing before Jesus.

Her encounter wasn't an invitation to ignore what she had done. It was an encounter in which Jesus refused to join her accusers in condemnation while speaking directly to the need for a different life.

Maybe you've been praying carefully lately, choosing words that sound faithful while avoiding the subject that troubles you most.

Perhaps it's time to stop treating prayer as a conversation in which you must present only the parts of yourself that seem acceptable.

You can tell God where you've been dishonest. You can acknowledge the resentment you've been feeding, the harmful choices you've been defending, or the responsibility you've been avoiding.

And you can ask Him to help you take the next faithful step, even when that step requires courage you don't feel you possess.

The mercy of Jesus is not something we need to manipulate into existence by finding the perfect words. His compassion is part of who He is.

And when we begin approaching Him truthfully, we may discover that the conversation we've been avoiding is the very place where repentance and healing need to begin.

Chapter 2: When You Stop Hiding and Begin Living Honestly

You sit across from someone you love, listening as they explain why they're hurt. You know some of what they're saying is true, but you feel the familiar urge to defend yourself. You want them to understand how difficult things have been for you. You want to explain the pressures you were under and why you made the decisions you made. Yet somewhere in the conversation, you recognize that explaining your circumstances will not change the fact that your actions caused pain. You have a choice to make about whether you're going to protect your pride or begin taking responsibility.

I believe this is one of the quiet places where following Jesus becomes real. We can spend years learning Scripture and speaking about forgiveness while still struggling to admit when we've hurt someone. But repentance asks something of us. It invites us to stop defending what we know was wrong and begin making room for a different way of living.

When Jesus told the woman in John 8 to go and sin no more, He directed her toward a future that required change. We don't know what she did afterward, but His words remind us that mercy is not the end of our responsibility. It's an invitation to respond to God's goodness with honesty and obedience.

Perhaps you've been carrying something privately because you're frightened of what will happen when you acknowledge it. Maybe an apology is overdue, a damaging habit needs attention, or you've been avoiding an uncomfortable truth about yourself.

You don't have to solve every consequence in a single day. Some problems require time, wise guidance, and difficult conversations. But you can begin by becoming honest before God about what needs to change.

There is also an important difference between healthy conviction and the kind of shame that convinces you there is no hope. Conviction leads us toward repentance and responsibility. Destructive shame can leave us hiding, afraid that admitting the truth will mean losing whatever dignity we have left.

Jesus did not tell the woman that her wrongdoing was acceptable. He called her away from sin while refusing to join those demanding her condemnation.

That combination of truth and mercy matters for the person who has been quietly avoiding God.

Maybe tonight, when the house becomes still again, you can allow yourself to pray without carefully arranging every word. You can acknowledge what you've done, ask for forgiveness, and seek the strength to take responsibility for whatever comes next.

And if you've already confessed, repented, and begun changing, perhaps you also need to stop treating every difficult memory as proof that God's mercy cannot reach you.

You may still have relationships to repair and consequences to face. People may need time before they trust you again. But those realities do not make sincere repentance meaningless.

I hope you'll remember that Jesus Christ does not require you to pretend you're without sin before you seek His mercy. He calls you to come into the truth and allow that truth to shape the life you're living.

The conversation you've been avoiding may be difficult, but you don't have to continue hiding from the One who already knows you and still calls you toward a different future.

Your friend, Douglas Vandergraph

Explore the complete Douglas Vandergraph Master Index: https://douglasvandergraph.com/douglas-vandergraph-master-index/

Watch Douglas Vandergraph’s faith-based videos on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@douglasvandergraph