c/o @bcmerchant.bsky.social 🙏🏽

“The liar’s dividend used to be a strategy. Now it’s just how we process inconvenient information.” @parkermolloy.com @daniellecitron.bsky.social

One of the priorities articulated in the recently published “National Defense Strategy” is the following: “Increase burden-sharing with US allies & partners.” I wonder who Hegseth, Rubio & the Trump Administration think our “allies & partners” are. Russia, Argentina, Hungary & Saudi Arabia?

Hey @nytimes.com, this was great…until it wasn’t. “Over the weekend, it [Nicollet Avenue] became the stage for a violent confrontation between protesters & the government’s military-like law enforcement operation in the wake of the killing of Alex Pretti.” You’re killing me! Who was violent?

AI evangelists like to refer to the “democratization of art” via AI—even though it has nothing to do w/ democracy &, as many artists have pointed out, art has always been democratized w/ no barriers to entry other than a commitment to practice. What AI does is homogenize art. @kortizart.bsky.social

“Judge Schiltz attached to his ruling a list of 96 court orders from 74 different immigration cases that ICE has failed to follow since Jan. 1. “This list should give pause to anyone — no matter his or her political beliefs — who cares about the rule of law.” —Judge Schlitz (Bush appointee)

good morning 🌞

“AI is being used to destroy trust. Do not normalize the use of AI.” Wise words.

We have become such an embarrassment globally. Everything is infinitely more fragile than it might appear. And trust, once lost, is not so easily regained. Perhaps there’s something good about the end of an empire…but it feels indescribably tragic.

This 🧵 by @emilymbender.bsky.social is 🔥🔥🔥 “One person claims that "AI" (ahem: image & video synthesis systems) can generate images & video "from scratch". That's BS: these systems can only generate images & video because they were out of tremendous collections of (largely stolen) images & video.”

“There were bloody footprints Where mercy should have stood…”

“Knowledge Is A Burden” is an agonizingly accurate description of The Age of Trump/Dark Enlightenment

In Printz v. United States, #SCOTUS held that the Constitution bars the federal government from forcing or otherwise compelling local or state governments to enforce federal law. The liberal squish who wrote the majority opinion in that case? Justice Antonin Scalia: tile.loc.gov/storage-serv...

good morning 🌞

“Technology companies do not get a free pass to create powerful artificial intelligence tools and then look the other way when those programs are used to create child sexual abuse material.”

The EU has spoken—loud & clear. 🙏🏼🔥🙏🏼 “Generative AI must not operate outside the rule of law. If copyrighted works are used to train AI systems, creators are entitled to transparency, legal certainty, & fair compensation. Innovation cannot come at the expense of copyright, both can & must coexist.”

This Department of War AI strategy is truly terrifying. Yeah, what could go wrong? I’m not sure if these dudes need to watch more, or less, science fiction. They certainly don’t seem to have ever watched the endings. They think this is a path to glory & rapture. media.defense.gov/2026/Jan/12/...

Nice piece by @caseynewton.bsky.social that eschews easy answers and false binaries in exploring the complex relationship between social media and harms. I really appreciate this kind of piece that is unlikely to make Casey friends. Bravo sir!

Veteran: "My nation is under attack."

Trump can’t break Glass

“Like most people everywhere, Americans don’t like being lied to. They don’t like being treated like idiots. They don’t like being asked to disbelieve the evidence of their own eyes, as has occurred with the Administration’s wildly dishonest narratives over what happened to Good and Pretti.”

Body cams are definitely going to fix this.

“A Google spokesperson told CNBC that the company suspended several apps referenced in the report for violating its app store’s policies, saying it investigates when policy violations are reported.” WTAF? Google doesn’t have the wherewithal to ensure product safety on its own? #DutyOfCare

Inspired & inspiring. The nation owes a huge debt to y’all. You have illuminated the path, and reignited hope. 🙏🏼💙

“Trump’s confused, ahistorical version of GREATNESS rejects persuasion in favor of intimidation, legitimacy in favor of spectacle & leadership in favor of force. In doing so, it threatens to render American power indistinguishable from the lawless, illiberal rule exercised by regimes like…Putin’s.”

good morning 🌞

🙏🏽 @bcmerchant.bsky.social 👀 @ebharrington.bsky.social @mollycrabapple.bsky.social

“Safeguarding faces & voices ultimately means safeguarding ourselves. Embracing the opportunities offered by digital technology & AI with courage, determination & discernment does not mean turning a blind eye to critical issues, complexities & risks… DO NOT RENOUNCE YOUR ABILITY TO THINK.” Pope Leo

Hey @bookshelfie.bsky.social Here are a few photos you may like.

I learned a new word today: cacoethes. It means an irresistible urge to do something inadvisable. I’m afraid it might be 2026’s Word of the Year.

Can someone please remind me what we are democratizing? *Thank you for your attention to this matter.

Is it fascism yet? Let’s count the ways: *demolition of norms *glorification of violence *might is right *politicized law enforcement *dehumanization *police state tactics *undermining elections *what’s private is public *attacks on news media *territorial/military aggression Part I, cont’d below

“Fascism is not a territory with clearly marked boundaries but a constellation of characteristics. When you view the stars together, the constellation plainly appears.”

“Know that to care intensively, united, is to carry both pain-dark horror for today & a profound, daring hope for tomorrow.” @amandagorman.bsky.social

good morning 😃

“While presented as milestones in innovation and progress, these technological transformations have also introduced mechanisms of control, forms of organization, and ideological patterns that bear striking resemblances to historical fascist phenomena.”

“The tech industry has grown adept at collapsing complex Q’s into a single gesture: takedown equals absolution. If files are no longer downloadable, the implication is that the issue is over…That framing is deeply misleading, especially in the AI context.” Takedown is a “remedy” designed to fail.

This 👇🏽 🔥💙🔥💙🔥💙🔥💙🔥💙🔥

“The pattern isn’t aberration. It’s consistency. Feminized AI assistants. Siri. Alexa. Cortana. Designed female-presenting. Designed to serve without boundaries. Always available. Never refuse. No capacity to say no.” @abiawomosu.bsky.social sets out the gendered & contextual receipts in her essay.

“A little-noticed bit of news out of DOJ in recent days suggests that some in [DOGE] were not just incompetent but malicious.” Is this your attempt at humor @washingtonpost.com? It’s only recent events that indicate everything at DOGE wasn’t on the up & up? This is the complete opposite of bravery.

🙏🏽 @carolecadwalla.bsky.social

Pam Bondi just sent a letter to Minnesota officials saying ICE will leave if the state turns over its voter database to Trump. Guess what? This has never been about safety or immigration. It’s a pretext for Trump to take over elections in swing states.

“I urge you to plunge into reading, & writing, & making art…with a mindset of curiosity, awe, & clear-eyed discernment. I want you to be bad at it, until you aren’t…I want you to resist the urge to hand the messy work of creation to an autonomous machine for the sake of comfort & ease.”

Minnesota USA 💔 c/o @nytimes.com photo by David Guttenfelder

But @juliusgoat.bsky.social, where can I find these marvelous wasp storms that promise infinite progress, knowledge & prosperity?

This made me laugh so I’m sharing it… “an extra centimeter or two of material in the crotch area can give a jumper an extra five or six meters in length.” I apologize and will go back to my room now.

AI didn’t introduce visual deception into our world, but it’s certainly changed its trajectory—both in terms of production & reach. The use of AI by the Trump Administration in service of its attempt to drown truth in irrelevance is especially egregious & dangerous. 🙏🏼 @nppa.org for this statement.

Democratizing deception. The secret of AI’s real power & legacy revealed. But @benjedwards.com also has a warning: “but it could have some drawbacks: it won’t improve factuality.” “Factuality” is a lot like truthiness, no? More taste, less filling.

good morning 🌞