Sadly, tech journalism legend and pioneer Stewart Cheifet has died. (I knew him from appearing on his show, Computer Chronicles, and also from the how-to VHS tapes we made together.) He introduced millions to PCs, making complex topics accessible to all. obits.goldsteinsfuneral.com/stewart-chei...

In May of 2024 Elon Musk casually predicted the availability of AGI by 2025. (Just a reminder that Musk’s predictions should never be taken seriously.) x.com/elonmusk/sta...

Can you believe this is our 30th episode of 2025?! So grateful for @mikeelgan.bsky.social and this endeavor we’ve started

Don't miss the last Superintelligent podcast of 2025!! @emilyforlini.bsky.social and I talk about our tech resolutions for the new year, and also the emerging new world of "ambient robotics" for the home!! Watch, listen, and subscribe!! www.superintelligentpodcast.com/p/new-years-...

Word of the moment: "emodiversity" www.technologyreview.com/2025/12/31/1...

Give the gift of a life-changing journey gastronomad.net/blog/2025/12...

Malady of the moment: "biophobia" studyfinds.org/biophobia-gr...

You can’t call a concept a “dream come true.” (It might be a dream, but it hasn’t come true.) www.yankodesign.com/2025/12/30/m...

DECK: "The effort is a virtual goldmine for OpenAI." ALT DECK: "The effort represents the enshittification of OpenAI." futurism.com/artificial-i...

How it started: "I feel very confident predicting 1 million autonomous robo-taxis for Tesla [in 2020]." - Elon Musk How it's going: "It’s Starting to Feel a Lot Like Tesla’s Robotaxi Program Is Mostly Smoke and Mirrors" futurism.com/advanced-tra...

Why didn't they call it Malcolm in the Middle Age? www.youtube.com/watch?v=HZjK...

Mexico has 150 different kinds of chilis. Mexico City chefs use them more for subtle, exquisite flavors more than spiciness. This variety is grown in a remote mountain indigenous village, and it has no name. The locals call it "the chili." gastronomad.net/mexico

Every good thing you've heard about the exquisite food culture of Mexico City is true. gastronomad.net/mexico

Start the new year right with a paid subscription to my Machine Society newsletter! ($5 per month! Try it free!) machinesociety.ai

Claim of the moment: "Meta's AI tools are going rogue" www.businessinsider.com/meta-ai-gene...

Chinese parents using AI to shame their adult children into marriage aren’t weird. They’re just ahead of the curve. machinesociety.ai/p/how-ai-slo...

How AI slop bypasses reason to hack your feelings machinesociety.ai/p/how-ai-slo...

I asked Gemini to read Book One of Meditations and concisely list the virtues Marcus Aurelius advocated. Here they are: elgan.com/the-virtues-...

HEADLINE: "How Elon Musk’s Promises for Self-Driving, AI and Robots Clashed With Reality" ALT HEADLINE: "Elon Musk is a liar" www.theinformation.com/articles/elo...

Someone proposed a Tenochtitlan: Templo Mayor LEGO kit. (Templo Mayor was the main temple in the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, now known as Mexico City.) beta.ideas.lego.com/product-idea... Here's a recreation of the city: tenochtitlan.thomaskole.nl

New Podcast Episode: Intelligent Machines: Intelligent Machines Best of 2025 Our Favorite Interviews from 2025 with @leolaporte.me

Lunch with my friends in Provence. I love my friends. I love Provence. gastronomad.net/provence

The only thing worse that real American Budweiser is fake Chinese Budweiser. mashable.com/article/fake...

HEADLINE: "Tuya Smart Launches 'Hey Tuya:' A Super AI Life Assistant Bringing Physical AI to Everyday Life" ALT HEADLINE: "New Product Cares For Your Baby and Pet -- So You Don't Have To!" www.tuya.com/news-details...

Year 1 data on congestion pricing in Manhattan… * Vehicle traffic: -11% * Foot traffic: +3.4% * Storefront vacancy: -0.9% * Pollution: -22% * Revenue for mass transit: $548M So YES this has been a huge success.

Give the gift of a life-changing journey gastronomad.net/blog/2025/12...

HEADLINE: "Grimes Says She Has AI Psychosis, Recommends You Should Get it Too" ALT HEADLINE: "Raging Narcissist Panics After Discovering Nobody Is Talking About Her, Says Crazy Shit" futurism.com/artificial-i...

Clapback of the moment:

Question of the moment: How did a fake, AI-generated clip get added to the DOJ's set of Jeffrey Epstein files. Seriously, by what actual process does that get included? www.jpost.com/internationa...

Map of the moment: "Lights up," which shows the increases in light seen from space because of Christmas decorations. felt.com/map/Lights-u...

Cybercrime of the moment: "pig butchering" www.wired.com/story/expire...

Are the prediction markets taking bets on who will cause the Kessler Syndrome chain reaction? If so, what's the over/under on SpaceX? www.theregister.com/2025/12/23/s...

Phrase of the moment: "machine gaze" searchengineland.com/image-seo-mu...

FALSE CLAIM: "If we lose the House majority, the radical left will impeach President Trump." TRUE CLAIM: "If we lose the House majority, the radical left, the moderate left, the center-left, the center and a few on the right will impeach President Trump."

Phrase of the moment: "Netflix for stalkers"

Phrase of the moment: "synthetic public opinion" www.eweek.com/news/synthet...

I celebrated my 18th year on Reddit today by posting a food pic, which was promptly removed for me violating some arcane, pointless bullshit that I don't have time to pay attention to.

First the Epstein emails were put into a fake Gmail interface. Now the Epstein photos have be dropped into a fake Google Photos interface: www.jmail.world/photos

The DOJ released Jeffrey Epstein's collection of presidential portraits.

How self-driving cars could shut down a city machinesociety.ai/p/how-self-d...

Most people now get their news from social sites — and that’s a big problem. Here’s the solution. www.computerworld.com/article/4109...

Wasn't the whole thing that these devices were one person at a time? Oh wait, that may not be the worst thing about this photo

Pamela Jo Bondi, doing her part to help an administration that calls itself, with a seemingly straight face, "The Most Transparent in American History."

During our Mexico City Gastronomad Experience, we taste Mexico's best natural wines on top of one of the oldest buildings in the Americas. gastronomad.net/mexico

Trump pardoned former Honduran president Juan Orlando Hernández, who was in prison in the US on drug trafficking charges. Why? Because the criminal backs this utopian community on an island in Honduras favored by Trump's friends. Here's where the project is at: www.dezeen.com/2025/12/18/i...

New York City housing facts of the moment: 1. Airbnb is banned in NYC 2. NYC currently has 50,000 vacant apartments www.city-journal.org/article/vaca...

SpaceX is buying thousands of Cybertrucks. What’s next, Twitter buying rockets? futurism.com/advanced-tra...

Et tu, Pooh?

Four apps to solve the news crisis in 2026 www.computerworld.com/article/4109...

This is mental illness.