Dumbscaling 101.

Nobody needs billions, or billionaires.

Project Kontinuum, a “United Nations” approach to the problem of media.

The Idaho Stop Rule for bikes: Treat stop signs as yield signs and red lights as stop signs. Makes sense to me. #cycling

"Europe’s liberals are mandating assimilation programs for immigrants in the name of secularism; bolstering the military in service of European cooperation; restricting migration in order to protect tolerance; defying European legal precedents in the name of preserving the larger European project."

AI paranoia is often just more hype that overestimates the power of the tech. But huge insidious risks WILL come with blind adoption. See: "Gradual Disempowerment: Systemic Existential Risks from Incremental AI Development."

Let's be truly Canadian about this. If you try to see everything, even sports, as a non-zero-sum game, you realize that everyone who watched the post-season got to see some superb athletes do some amazing things. And the players all got very well paid to play a ball game. A win all around.

"The invisible Hand of Big Tech" - Brazilian groups are leading the way in criticism of Big Tech Platforms. As good a use of google translate as I can think of.

Bigger = Worse is increasingly becoming a good rule of thumb.

Populism is more about thinking style than content.

Pissed that the terrific writing and political drama of the first 5 episodes of season 3 of The Diplomat takes a cheesy turn towards soap opera in episode 6 and beyond. Why does this always happen in mainstream American TV?

Sounds like a stupid conspiracy theory, but I wouldn't put it past big media to have concocted all this to reassure an increasingly distrustful readership. Or past the administration to throw them a bone for being good boys and girls. It smells of "I'm shocked, shocked!..."

Don't want to be spoilsport, but come on, isn't this a little bit too on the nose?

WTF?

💬 Open communication is key to reaching people in highly polarised situations, reveals a new study from researchers @unistuttgart.bsky.social, published in @bjpols.bsky.social. Read more 🔗 https://cup.org/4mYfFxn

"a story of a Democratic establishment cynically weaponizing identity politics to stop a Sanders-led populist takeover of the party, a tactic Democratic elites have utilized frequently to protect themselves." Sounds pretty close to the mark.

Foroohar rightly argues that "most Americans really have no idea what socialism is, given that much of what passes for it in the US would be considered middle of the road in much of Europe."

At 80, Douglas Hofstadter is still helping us see the world's patterns in fresh - and fundamentally human - ways. Take that, #AI.

I loved talking to Signal's @meredithmeredith.bsky.social, who is such a consistent, clear voice of sanity (and always a great interview). We talked about (of course) SignalGate, what AI means for Signal, why tech bros continue to be such a disappointment, and much more. Read, listen, etc!

Things have gotten much easier for big tech: now they just need to hack Trump's vanity (a big but very simple system) to get permission to hack everything and everyone.

What will happen when the bullshit industrial complex bursts is anybody's guess. But it won't be pretty. Best case scenario: the "AI" hypesters shut up and startups focus on sustainable, real-world uses for high powered statistical pattern recognition. Worst case: nostalgia for the 1930s.

Nature has been in bed with big AI since at least 2017. It has huge leakage between its marketing and editorial offices and much of the AI "research" it pushes is riddled with hype and bullshit reframing of statistical data processing as "intelligence".

This is great, simple messaging with wide appeal. We are allies, not rivals.

Albanese won't be bullied...

The Globe has a "time use" reporter... ohhh the irony.

Let's hope we also hit peak hype soon.

i have been thinking a lot about how the entire concept of “the deal” is antithetical to transparency, fair play and rule of law, as larry notes. the deal is necessarily nonstandard, ad hoc and dependent on the whims of the dealmaker

“But even if you don’t have hope, it doesn’t really matter. This is about defiance. It’s about doing the right thing, fighting for democracy and for people to not be exploited.” Luke Kemp, on his new book Goliath’s Curse. www.theguardian.com/environment/...

Ezra Klein and Yoram Hazony have a long, reasonable chat about what works better for America, diversity or tradition. But read between the lines and it's really about one thing only: who gets to be in charge. And for "conservatives" it sure as hell isn't someone who doesn't look like them.

The Progressive Party is what it should say on the tin - and the manifesto.

Apparently Canada is still trying to figure out what Trump wants. But we've always known: he craves what looks like a big win to the suckers in his base and to the last person he spoke to. He wants to boast and humiliate. So let's give him what Europe gave him: Bullshit he can shovel.

As usual, Trump's big win over Europe is Bullshit. US LNG exports are already at capacity, and Europe cannot force companies to invest in the U.S, nor will it even give the them incentives to. This is what you get when you elect a reality tv star for president. paulkrugman.substack.com/p/fossil-fool

Interestingly, the safest future occupation is "Dredge Operator," one who "removes sand, gravel, or other materials in order to excavate and maintain navigable channels in waterways." Given that DATA is the new sand & the internet is the new canal system, this makes perfect sense. #AI, #FutureOfWork

Yay! Best person for the job.

So much for writing, journalism, art, research, science, culture. Soon enough anything that goes online will become unpaid, remashed grist for the AI mill to turn to slop. RL might be the only way left to escape America's tech stack. Live theatre anyone? #generativeAI, #theatre, #touchgrass

FFS. He's Donald Trump: he publicly gets off on bullying and humiliating people every single day and he never admits a mistake. That always should have been enough to disqualify him from any job other than clown or village idiot.

Just voted for Chris Smith in the Cambridge University chancellor election. IMO he provides the best balance of connection to the University, competence, experience and progressive values. #Cambridge

on.ft.com/4nyBgh9 The global economy is suffering from the Rashomon effect

Happy Canada Day!🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🍁💪🏒🍁 True North Strong and Free. #Canada #CanadaDay #proudlycanadian

Toronto needs a Museum of Migration, too.

@froomkin.bsky.social is right here, again.

Our weekly newsletter is out, and we covered so much this past week! If you find value in Tech Policy Press, please share our newsletter with people in your network who would find our coverage useful to their work! buff.ly/NeyYGjB

As wealth gets increasingly concentrated at the very, very top, Canada needs to stop following America's exclusively market-driven social models. People want to live in homes and communities, not "markets".

Just saw why I havent been watching apple keynotes for years. Cringe.

Fun way to learn how Generative AI really "thinks"...

How insecure do you have to be to chase "the unmistakable pang of superiority” by buying a 700 foot fricking yacht! Pathetic.

Governments everywhere, including Canada, are joining the AGI lottery. Chasing an ill defined, improbable goal while ignoring proven technologies aimed at real problems.

It seems most Canadians understand all too well that he is the visiting King of the United Kingdom, of which Canada is not a part. Him being "King of Canada" is like one more medal, and about as meaningful to us. Most of the quoted officials were just being honest and realistic.

Reverse lemmings?

Yet his actions speak louder than words: the only thing that can guarantee peace on his borders, apparently, is NATO membership.