I wrote about using Raycast's new Glaze app to make a superhero-themed to-do app, and other adventures in next-generation vibe coding https://www.platformer.news/glaze-app-raycast-vibe-coding-review/

I wrote about the rapid spread of social media bans and why I think the researcher Candice Odgers' recent TED talk on the subject missed the mark. (Thank you for coming to MY TED talk.) https://www.platformer.news/social-media-bans-candice-odgers-haidt/

From data center problems to inflation, AI's externalities are growing faster than the industry can keep up with. And so the backlash is, too: https://www.platformer.news/ai-backlash-data-centers-jobs-inflation/

After almost four wonderful years at the Times, later this summer @kevinroose.com and I are leaving Hard Fork to start a new podcast. We'll share more soon, but in the meantime Kevin has a lovely reflection here […]

If your Meta account is wrongfully suspended, you're usually screwed unless you have a friend on the inside. The Oversight Board has now noticed that this sucks https://www.platformer.news/meta-account-bans-oversight-board/

New in Platformer: months ago, Meta discussed ending funding to its Oversight Board. But today, after months of negotiations, the board said Meta has increased its funding by $13 million, which will keep it going at least through 2028 https://www.platformer.news/meta-oversight-board-funding-2028/

I talked to @boris_cherny about the end of software engineering as we know it — and why AI may be responsible for more job creation than destruction https://www.platformer.news/boris-cherny-interview-ai-jobs/

I wrote about Google's new “Ask YouTube” and other ways the web is being summarized to death https://www.platformer.news/google-agents-daily-brief-newsletters-ask-youtube/

Almost a decade ago, James Manyika bet that tasks would be easy to automate — but jobs wouldn't. Now at Google, he says he's willing to bet against Microsoft, Anthropic, and any other company whose execs say a bloodbath is coming for white-collar work […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Great. Now bring the number down to zero https://mstdn.social/@Mediagazer/116597236704935461

“The number of births fell first and fastest in the areas that received high-speed mobile connectivity earliest. The authors argue that smartphones have transformed how young people spend time with one another, sharply reducing in-person socialising and leading to the collapse in their fertility […]

Is Threads growing or shrinking? Apptopia says it's the former — while Meta says that's "objectively false." I wrote about whether the Twitter clones are in trouble https://www.platformer.news/threads-bluesky-x-usage-utopia-twitter-clones/

We're changing up Platformer's schedule to shift away from aggregation and toward original reporting. Some thoughts on how a newsletter glut and AI pressures got us here: https://www.platformer.news/platformer-schedule-changes-ai-automation/

I talked with Meta employees about the company's move to track their computer use and turn them into training data. Is this the future of knowledge work? https://www.platformer.news/meta-mci-monitoring-layoffs-knowledge-work/

I wrote about tech companies' move to promote universal basic income to calm the AI backlash and why it's probably not going to work https://www.platformer.news/ubi-ai-public-wealth-fund-musk-openai-bores/

Some fascinating new research on the scientific case for being nice to your chatbot https://www.platformer.news/chatbot-emotion-research-anthropic-alignment-interpretability/

Anthropic's Mythos model represents a dangerous new moment for cybersecurity. Experts tell me that hackers and nation states may catch up within months — and that the cat-and-mouse game between attacker and defender is about to become much more high-stakes […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

Here's a great and more detailed rundown of the two groups I mentioned @caseynewton: https://www.platformer.news/social-media-trials-230-content-design/ His conclusion: "Section 230 continues to do a lot of good, and should be handled with care. But to argue that it must be frozen in amber and […]

From Grok to Grammarly, more and more people are finding that AI systems have appropriated their identities for financial gain. I wrote about another of those companies — Spotify — taking a belated step to do something about it […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

I wrote about Bluesky's CEO switch. Jay Graber deserves lasting credit for building a big and bustling community. But the challenges ahead of the company are significant: https://www.platformer.news/bluesky-ceo-change-graber/

NEWS: Grammarly tells me it will let "experts" like me opt out of having their names used against their will and for no compensation as part of its "expert review" feature https://www.platformer.news/grammarly-expert-review-reviewed/

In which Ella Markianos attends a protest at OpenAI and finds an anti-movement gradually gathering steam. A fun story, given the stakes https://www.platformer.news/openai-protest-military-ai-movement/

Sam Altman's deal with the Pentagon seems too good to be true. So what happens when the truth inevitably comes out? https://www.platformer.news/openai-pentagon-surveillance-drones-backlash/

When there are no laws meaningfully regulating military AI use, the Pentagon’s promise to use AI “lawfully” mean almost nothing. The authoritarian AI crisis has arrived https://www.platformer.news/anthropic-pentagon-authoritarian-ai/

The possibility that Meta might build facial recognition again has to be considered against the backdrop of a fast-growing surveillance state in the US — and deepening ties between the tech industry and the military https://www.platformer.news/meta-facial-recognition-return/

NEW: OpenAI has disbanded its Mission Alignment team and transferred employees to other teams. Joshua Achiam, a leading voice on safety issues at the company, will become its chief futurist https://www.platformer.news/openai-mission-alignment-team-joshua-achiam/

NEW: OpenAI has disbanded its Mission Alignment team and transferred employees to other teams. Joshua Achiam, a leading voice on safety issues at the company, will become its chief futurist https://www.platformer.news/openai-mission-alignment-team-joshua-achiam/

The walls are closing in on infinite-scroll feeds and other addictive design mechanics. I wrote about how lawyers and regulators may have finally found a way around Section 230 https://www.platformer.news/social-media-addiction-trial-eu-tiktok-investigation/

Last week, our fellow Ella Markianos pitched me on the idea of trying to replace herself with a bot. Ella is irreplaceable, but her piece on building "Claudella" is sharp, funny and moving https://www.platformer.news/journalism-job-automation-claude/

I wrote about using Spotify's new prompted playlists as a way to explore my own tastes again, instead of simply being dragged around by an algorithm https://www.platformer.news/spotify-prompted-playlists-ai-meta-vibes/

My main feeling about Moltbook is that a lot of things are going to happen in the next few years that make us say "something just like this happened on Moltbook" https://www.platformer.news/moltbook-ai-agents-security-content-moderation/

I wrote about falling in and out love with Clawdbot/Moltbot https://www.platformer.news/moltbot-clawdbot-review-ai-agent/

Authors of a big new study on teens and social media say that Australia-style bans won't help. But that misses the mounting evidence of direct harms that platforms cause countless kids: https://www.platformer.news/social-media-screen-time-manchester-study-haidt/

Wrote about this grim moment when the White House sees the deaths of innocent Americans as meme fodder and the faint silver lining that their lies aren't working this time https://www.platformer.news/minneapolis-pretti-good-ice-disinformation/

A survey found that two-thirds of employees say AI saved them zero to two hours a week, while it saved their bosses eight hours. What gives? https://www.platformer.news/ai-productivity-paradox-metr-pwc-workday/

Google traffic to publishers dropped by ONE THIRD in 2025 https://pressgazette.co.uk/media-audience-and-business-data/google-traffic-down-2025-trends-report-2026/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Wrote about how the Grok scandal upended our notion that platforms would do even the bare minimum to prevent attacks against their own user base https://www.platformer.news/grock-blocked-uk-indonesia-france-musk/

It's all fun and games until the AI takes your job: I wrote about the wonder of building a website in Claude Code and the unsettling knowledge that it's coming for my job, too https://www.platformer.news/claude-code-review-web-design/

In which our correspondent braves an AI consciousness conference to meet the people working on model welfare https://www.platformer.news/ai-consciousness-conference-eleos/

The author of a viral Reddit thread alleging fraud at a food delivery company tried to back up his claim by sending me AI-generated documents. Today I'm publishing those documents in the hopes that it helps other reporter see what we're up against in the age […] [Original post on mastodon.social]

What I got most wrong in my 2025 predictions, plus 11 new predictions for 2026 https://www.platformer.news/2026-tech-predictions-ai-bubble-openai-meta-google/

I wrote about the great Reuters investigation into rampant Chinese scams on Meta's platforms and the class-action case that has the company worried https://www.platformer.news/meta-scams-china-section-230/

When OpenAI was founded, it was most afraid of causing catastrophe. Today it seems more afraid that users will churn. I wrote about the company at 10: https://www.platformer.news/openai-10-normal-company-chatgpt-52/

Australia's ban on under-16s on social media is well on its way to becoming the global norm. I wrote about how platforms lost the argument https://www.platformer.news/australia-social-media-ban-analysis/

When X banned the European Commission's ad account in retaliation for a fine, it demonstrated the exact sort of capricious behavior the DSA is designed to stop https://www.platformer.news/x-eu-fine-account-ban-bier/

Five years after Meta's Oversight Board its first five cases, it's clear that its ambitions to become Facebook's Supreme Court have failed. I talked to insiders about where it goes next: https://www.platformer.news/meta-oversight-board-5-years/

A novel new study finds you can reduce polarization on X simply with a simple change to the algorithm. I spoke with the researchers: https://www.platformer.news/stanford-polarization-study-x-algorithm/

Presenting for your holiday weekend enjoyment: the 50 most iconic technologies of 2025 https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/28/podcasts/hardfork-iconic-technologies-2025.html

Record labels had the chance to stand up for copyright against AI scrapers — but now they're folding https://www.platformer.news/suno-warner-settlement-copyright-udio-klay/

I wrote about our interview with Roblox's CEO and how platforms got too big to feel shame https://www.platformer.news/roblox-ceo-interview-backlash-analysis/