So, has the staffer who posted that racist meme been fired, or is he still the President of the United States?

In less than a week the Kennedy Center has effectively closed and our local DC paper has been gutted, both by billionaires. I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.

As @jesgilbert.bsky.social & I argued in "The Secret Life of Data," a Chinese-style Social Credit System exists in the U.S. as well, it's just partially privatized.

Every day it becomes a little clearer what caused the Butlerian Jihad.

Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”

On 1/25/15, Peter Thiel wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, “I do hope you’re holding up well, & that the cycle won’t go much further…” (At the time, Epstein was dealing with renewed media scrutiny of his child sex crimes & plea deal, as shown below). 1/

Just after I published the column below, the NYT published this: "Amazon Plans to Spend $200 Billion on A.I. and Other Projects This Year." The $50 billion earmarked for OpenAI seems so quaint. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/05/t...

"AI acts as a kind of universal solvent, breaking down the bonds that hold together previously healthy structures: schools, hospitals, newspapers. And families, too." New from me: where AI doesn't belong. buttondown.com/creativegood...

Two things you need to understand about our growing surveillance state: 1 - You're treated as a suspect. Tracked everywhere you go, 24 hours a day. 2 - If you're falsely accused by the state (and its AI), it's YOUR RESPONSIBILITY to clear yourself. This is your life, starting now.

I hope more people will cancel their Amazon Prime accounts.

The only surprise is they admit it

The French are taking none of Musk’s bullshit.

Anyone who hasn't discovered this show - do! One of the most incisive and informative voices in this space.

New from me: on Techtonic I talked about how AI is spreading where it doesn't belong... like Google in schools. Full episode + links for more reading: techtonic.fm/episodes/202...

Yet another impeachable offense. He should be getting impeached on a different offense each and every week until he's out. Gift link: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)

Mehmet Oz on rural healthcare: you don’t need doctors, hospitals, or investment—here’s an AI avatar. When policymakers replace care with chatbots, it’s not innovation, it’s abandonment dressed up as tech optimism.

Dr Oz on rural healthcare: "There's no question about it, whether you want it or not -- the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars"

Say no to Waymo: "less than a third of New York City residents surveyed are interested in riding a robotaxi." www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2026/...

Okay this rules

Kessler Syndrome described by Futurism: futurism.com/space/earths... Just as I warned about in 2024: buttondown.com/creativegood...

for anyone who doesn't know: in the context of ai, "doomers" are people who think ai is dangerous because it might be *too powerful and smart* and are worried about imaginary dangers this is distinct from people who think it's washed up overhyped crap and are worried about *current actual harms*

A beautifully written defense of the non-quantifiable life, by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

"There is no sanctuary, no hiding place that is safe from Silicon Valley’s predations. Any community activity – a potluck dinner club, even a knitting circle – can be targeted by a bro to be monetized. All is vulnerable to the growth-at-any-cost mindset." New from me: buttondown.com/creativegood...

"Tech companies have forged the way toward a voluntary surrender of our privacy, demanding “consent” for surveillance when we don’t have a choice. That surveillance has now been swept up by the state" Thanks for this, @dadadrummer.bsky.social dadadrummer.substack.com/p/sans-papiers

The difference between surveillance pricing, dynamic pricing, AI-powered price discrimination, and algorithmic price fixing - explained by Pat Garofalo: boondoggle.substack.com/p/dystopian-...

BREAKING: A Waymo robotaxi hit a child crossing the street near an elementary school on January 23. The company claims the child sustained minor injuries. NHTSA is already investigating. Much more to come. techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/w...

The National Archives have launched an AI-powered exhibit, reassuring Axios that "they're not using AI to create new historical records." That's not happening *yet.* We always have to add *yet.* I fixed it: www.axios.com/newsletters/...

Hahaha

Living in the trump era makes me feel very connected to my ancestors, who lived as serfs under a succession of insane moron god kings

Wow, you think you know someone. First he approved algorithmic enablement of content harming teenage girls, then knowingly allowed fraud for around 10% of his ad revenue - and now this? If only tech critics had warned about Zuck every day for the past 8-or-so years...

The book "Attensity!" is a manifesto for attentional well-being. I spoke with co-editor Peter Schmidt on the new Techtonic. Full episode: techtonic.fm/episodes/202... More Techtonic episodes: techtonic.fm

i have just gotten off a productive call with sauron where i laid out our requests - nazgul bodycams - morgul knife must remain sheathed unless suspect is determined to be carrying the one ring - shelob will be the new point of contact

Their entire industry deserves to die

sauron, widely known for his perfect record of keeping intruders out

The purpose of a system is what it does.

now hold on just one minute. when I signed on to work for a creepy right-wing surveillance company named after seeing stones used by the dark lord Sauron to manipulate and control others in an attempt to enslave the free people of middle earth I had no idea we might do some evil.

In these icy temperatures, I can only imagine how hard it is to endure the winter without heat or electricity. Thinking of Ukrainians in Kyiv - (gift link) www.wsj.com/world/here-i...

this is completely insane and more people need to say that doing this is completely insane

seriously, when are headline writers going to start using the word "surveillance" instead of "smart," "sentient," or (barf) "psychic"

Watch this clear judicial explainer (and get off Tiktok!)

"I built real estate document search portal sites for Wells Fargo. I am the square community." This guy is great.

He loved cursing; may it come upon him; he hated blessing; may none come to him. May cursing clothe him like a robe; may it enter his belly like water, his bones like oil. May it be near as the clothes he wears, as the belt always around him.

this seems like a good passage to memorize right now

I don’t think immediate execution is a reasonable punishment for annoying the heavily-armed masked agents of the state.

"Imagine if all that money had gone to teachers instead."

Ooop

In our present season of darkness and ice, of corruption and violence and shocking stupidity, I can sometimes hear it clearly: the call of leaving it all behind. (on my Techtonic interview w/ @paulbradley1982.bsky.social ) buttondown.com/creativegood...

We set out to determine how many images of women and girls Grok created during its nudifying spree. What we found was “industrial-scale abuse,” experts said. www.nytimes.com/2026/01/22/t...