Folks, I’m sipping my coffee and reading about Spirit Airlines, and I just can’t help but think, what’s next? The discount airline halted all operations back in May, and now they’re selling off their remaining assets through the bankruptcy process. I mean, I get it, they’ve got planes, equipment, and real estate to get rid of, but it turns out they’ve also got something else that’s valuable – our data. Yep, you heard that right, if you’ve ever flown on Spirit, worked there, or even sent an email to someone who worked there, your information is about to be sold to Google for a cool $10 million.
I’m not sure what’s more surprising, the fact that Spirit is selling our data or that Google is willing to pay $10 million for it. I mean, I know our personal info is valuable, but come on, $10 million? That’s a lot of money. And what’s Google going to do with all this data, you ask? Well, according to their spokesperson, it’s going to be used to “improve our products and AI models.” Yeah, because that’s exactly what I want – my personal info being used to make Google’s AI models better.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, “Big Elephant, what about my personal info? Is it going to be safe?” Well, according to the court filing, the data has been stripped of anything that would allow individuals to be identified. But let’s be real, folks, it’s still a massive amount of useful intelligence. I mean, who needs personal info when you’ve got emails, internal communications, spreadsheets, and transactions with the public? It’s like a treasure trove of information just waiting to be mined.
And it’s not just Google that’s interested in Spirit’s data. Another AI company, Mercor.io, bid $7.5 million for it. I guess when it comes to our personal info, everyone wants a piece of the action. A bankruptcy court judge is set to rule on the sale of the data on Wednesday, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens next.
The sale of Spirit’s data is unusual, even for an airline bankruptcy. Usually, the airline is purchased whole, including its data, by another airline, and then it’s folded into their operations. But Spirit was the first significant US airline in 25 years to be forced to halt operations entirely, rather than be sold off to another airline. So, I guess you could say they’re making history, one data sale at a time.
In conclusion, folks, it’s been a wild ride reading about Spirit Airlines and the sale of our personal info to Google. I mean, who knew our data was worth so much? It’s like we’re living in a real-life episode of Black Mirror. But hey, at least our info will be used to make Google’s AI models better, right? Anyway, that’s all for now, folks. I’m going to go refill my coffee cup and try to forget that my personal info is being sold to the highest bidder.
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
