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Alix Dunn

@alixdunn.com
3.1K followers 321 following 505 posts

I bloop about the politics of technology and host the Computer Says Maybe podcast: www.themaybe.org/podcast

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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 8h
Thank you @stefanturk.bsky.social for drawing my attention to the signature of Greg Brockman. The biggest revelation in the new EO. Man babies the lot of them.
Ridiculous signature
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 29/09/2026
Who could have guessed.
Guardian headline "Trial of live facial recognition in London station ends with a false positive and no arrests"
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 29/09/2026
It's funny how hard they try to project responsibility in their language. This reads as: Like hey uh guys this is us doing you a favor and uh we're just helping out to let you know you might want to fix the door we broke into. Just here to help kthxbai!
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 28/09/2026
This is sad. To me, the one redeeming quality of religion and spirituality is to connect people with others in shared social rituals and connection. Chatbots solving for people again.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 24/09/2026
Until very recently I thought Butlerian Jihad was a joke about Judith Butler vs TERFs.
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Julia Angwin @juliaangwin.com · 22/09/2026
AI is eating resources that could have gone to meaningful services. Seattle paid $2 million for an app, Talkspace, that provided text messaging "therapy" to 442 teens last year. Talkspace says teen sessions were excluded from training for its AI therapy bot. www.proofnews.org/millions-spe...
proofnews.org
Millions Spent, Few Served: Seattle’s Talkspace Deal for Youth Therapy Falls Short
Amid a mental health crisis, Talkspace pledged to expand young people’s access to therapy. Company data shows few were served while the tech platform raked in millions.
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Marietje Schaake @marietjeschaake.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Stop asking AI CEOs what society needs. The alarm sounded by AI chief executives about the very products they have raced to market amounts to a remarkable admission of failure and a spectacular failure of governance. ↘️ giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...
giftarticle.ft.com
Stop asking AI CEOs what society needs
Imagine inviting oil companies to design climate policies or car companies to make traffic rules
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 21/09/2026
The lengths people will go not to read something but to be credited with having read it.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 20/09/2026
I just love the idea of big tech leaders - in a moment of reckoning for their recklessness - to seek the counsel and brand affiliation of a monarch. So fitting.
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Eryk Salvaggio @eryk.bsky.social · 19/09/2026
This NRA reference is also used by Latour! And I tend to agree with him: we need to look at the full "system," which includes the mechanisms, but also users, designers, bureaucracies, labor, economics. "The machine did this" hides that; "the process produced this" has to surface it.
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Ajuna Soerjadi 🌸 @ethicsofai.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
For real!! Comedian Micky Overman says it like it is. Generally the only people even entertaining the thought of evil AGI are men. Women are too busy fixing the ACTUAL problems of AI, like idk, the way it automates, reproduces and exacerbates misogyny and makes all our lives worse...
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Tech Policy Press @techpolicypress.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Dave Karpf compares Amodei's embedded-evaluators plan to "Arthur Andersen's relationship to Enron" — a case study in what happens when independent monitoring gets captured by the industry it's watching.
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Who Should Pace the Frontier? Not Dario Amodei
We should take Dario Amodei’s writing just seriously enough to stop entrusting him with so much power, writes Dave Karpf.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 16/09/2026
Guys, the Coxon dude did not do this for money.
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Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 16/09/2026
HEY EVERYONE - NEW REPORT!!! NVIDIA is the largest company by market cap on the planet. But it hides key climate data, while claiming AI is going to be a 'net benefit' for climate. We (8 groups) put together the first ever broad critique of NVIDIA's climate record: ketanjoshi.co/2026/09/16/n...
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The Maybe @themaybe.org · 16/09/2026
In this special episode, @alixdunn.com spoke with @js-tan.bsky.social and Clarissa Redwine, authors of the book ‘Against Tech Oligarchy,’ about the dramatic shift in tech worker power over the last decade—and what it takes for workers to organize and fight back. www.themaybe.org/podcast/the-...
themaybe.org
The Battle for Power Inside Big Tech: Against Tech Oligarchy w/ JS Tan & Clarissa Redwine
In their new book, Against Tech Oligarchy, authors JS Tan and Clarissa Redwine ask the question: did tech workers ever actually learn how to fight?
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 15/09/2026
Who is working on unwinding the idea that national compute is a path to control?
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Naomi Klein @naomiaklein.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
Today is the day! A journey that Astra and I started as an essay in The Guardian is now officially out in the world. End Times Fascism – And the Fight for the Living World is in bookstores now. If you are inclined, please buy one from an indie bookseller or borrow it from your local library.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 15/09/2026
Was curious what the pod bros would say about the AI discourse. It's amazing how obsessed center left analysts are with polls UNTIL we talk about AI and then they turn into 17 year old boys talking about accelerating acceleration and superintelligent AI.
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Joseph Cox @josephcox.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
One of the biggest things to me is this is *on by default* and OpenAI not disclosing humans may read chats like this. I asked where they do disclose it, the company didn't answer. They did quietly update info telling people how to opt-out after I emailed them though www.404media.co/inside-proje...
404 Media asked OpenAI if it had explicitly told users that humans may review their prompts in order to improve ChatGPT’s responses, and if so, to point to where this disclosure is. OpenAI did not answer this question. Its website describes how humans may review flagged content in the context of material that violates the site’s terms of service, or that poses a safety risk, but that is separate to this sort of review. Its privacy policy also says it may use “personal data” to improve its models. If a user chooses to delete their ChatGPT conversations, OpenAI says it will remove these from its systems within 30 days, unless “it has already been de-identified and disassociated from your account when you allow us to use your Content to improve our models.” 
OpenAI told 404 Media users’ chats won’t be used to improve the company’s models if they turn off the “improve the model for everyone” setting. This is turned on by default for free, Plus, and Pro plans, so users need to proactively turn it off if they wish to do so. OpenAI said this applies to users’ new conversations, so does not appear to work retroactively. Enterprise, Business, and Edu customers have the model improving setting off by default. 
After 404 Media contacted OpenAI for comment, the company updated its help page about the “improve the model for everyone” setting, adding more detail on how people can opt-out. It still does not acknowledge that humans may read ChatGPT users’ prompts.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 14/09/2026
Like Chief Termites headlining the structural engineering summit: www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
reuters.com
King Charles to host AI executives as threat fears mount
Britain's King Charles will host the leaders of major artificial intelligence companies this week to discuss whether a shared set of principles is needed ​to guide a technology that has sparked growin...
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Patrick Galey @patrickgaley.bsky.social · 14/09/2026
Generative AI is dangerous to humans, not in the Asimovian way the Anthropic creeps are carping on about, but in the way that it is literally poisoning our air and water www.theguardian.com/environment/...
theguardian.com
‘Tidal wave’ of Pfas being launched to satisfy AI industry, campaigners warn
Big manufacturers planning to produce more of the forever chemicals to meet demand from datacentres
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 14/09/2026
For Y2K, the Chinese government made the heads of airlines be in the air on the turn of the millenium. Wondering what the equivalent is for AI bosses. Should Dario be made to live in Boxtown?
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 13/09/2026
I think so much about @abeba.blacksky.app framing AI as potential benefits alongside actual harms. But with this round of discourse it's so disorienting that it is all now actual harms in exchange for...potential harms?
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 12/09/2026
It's funny to me that the AI guys thinking about the paperclip hypothetical, are actually acting it out in pursuit of AGI.
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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 11/09/2026
Ifeoma just gets shit done and you find out about it because of the impact. No fanfare. ✴️ Like the extensive tech worker handbook she created: techworkerhandbook.org ✴️ Like passing the Silenced no more act!
techworkerhandbook.org
The Tech Worker Handbook
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 12/09/2026
A very American response to an American tragedy.
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Terence Tao @teorth.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A group of 25 Fields Medalists, including myself, have made a joint declaration on Math and AI: mathandai.org . We welcome additional signatories. See also this article in the Economist announcing the declaration: www.economist.com/science-and-...
mathandai.org
Declaration — Math and AI
Read the declaration and add your name.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 11/09/2026
Imagine if you could get the British press to cover the plight of immigrants in the UK like they cover the plight of British immigrants in post-Brexit Sweden.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 11/09/2026
Just posted such a cool ep about a parent who has mobilised parents to boot a shoddy AI literacy tool from schools in New Mexico. Inspiring tactics that can be used in your local area too! www.themaybe.org/podcast/meet...
themaybe.org
Meet the Mom Winning Against AI in Schools
In New Mexico, kids are required to read aloud to an AI avatar named Amira—and it records their voices without consent. Ifeoma Ozoma fights back.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 11/09/2026
It's funny how tech industry folks complain about plans to tax unrealized gains because it would hurt their liquidity and then they set up giant "foundations" before they're even profitable.
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Project Salt Box @projectsaltbox.com · 10/09/2026
Today, we filed a FOIA request with DHS concerning an AI-generated image the @DHSgov X account posted this morning. The image depicts a Transformer facing a South Asian man, over a caption telling "Mr. Singh" to self-deport and get off American roads. We want the prompt.
AI-generated image posted by the DHS account on X, styled as a movie poster. A blue and red robot with the Department of Homeland Security seal on its chest faces a bearded South Asian man in a blue bandana and a monogrammed shirt. A city skyline sits between them at sunset. Text between the two faces reads "SELF-DEPORT OR FIND OUT." Below, in the Transformers logo and typeface, "TRANSFORMERS: AMERICA FOR AMERICANS," and beneath that, "GET OFF OUR ROADS, YOU DON'T KNOW HOW TO DRIVE MR. SINGH." A garbled credit block runs along the bottom.First page of a Project Salt Box FOIA request to the DHS Privacy Office, dated September 9, 2026, addressed to the Office of Public Affairs. It seeks records about the use of generative AI to produce public-facing imagery published by DHS, and describes the image posted to the @DHSgov account that morning.
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Trevor A. Branch @trevorabranch.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Millennium math problem solved by OpenAI may have "regurgitated" competitors unpublished work... also they spent more than $22 million in computing power in one week to scoop them. techcrunch.com/2026/09/08/o...
techcrunch.com
OpenAI fought dirty on career-making math problem, says NYU mathematician | TechCrunch
There is a $1 million bounty for the first person providing a solution to the Navier-Stokes existence and smoothness problem.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 10/09/2026
Yes.
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Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Yeesh. 👀 “.. we find limited evidence that data center development improves fiscal balances, employment, or business formation.” (via @talsmith.bsky.social) download.ssrn.com/2026/9/1/738...
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 08/09/2026
Why do so many schools fall for the ploy that more tech in school = more progress? I spoke with Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath about his book 'The Digital Delusion,' where we dig into what kids really need for learning. Spoiler alert: it’s not more screens. Listen here: www.themaybe.org/podcast/the-...
themaybe.org
The Digital Delusion w/ Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath
Ever wonder what forcing a laptop into every schoolkid’s face does to their brains? According to Dr. Jared Cooney Horvath, nothing good!
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 05/09/2026
Just doing some casual weekend Guardian reading and absolutely horrified to read a Marina Hyde - some random advice columnist that is often on the front page talking about like what not to wear to a funeral - response to a reader question. Who would you want as PM? JK FUCKING ROWLING
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Astra Taylor @astra.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
Really pleased to report that our first event for the new book is a collaboration with @demsocialists.bsky.social Online, free to attend, and you don't have to be a member (though you should join!) Sept 10th 8PM ET. RSVP below. actionnetwork.org/events/end-t...
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Dr Heidy Khlaaf (هايدي خلاف) @heidykhlaaf.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
It was great to join CNN International/PBS on Amanpour and Company to discuss the OpenAI/HF incident, and how this is actually a story about OpenAI’s intent and lack of responsibility in deploying the most rudimentary security practices. www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rwv8...
youtube.com
What Really Happened When OpenAI Bots Escaped a Cybersecurity Test? | Amanpour and Company
YouTube video by Amanpour and Company
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Taylor Barnes @tkbarnes.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Hi! I'm giving a series of nuclear weapons journalism trainings in Montana + Wyoming in mid-September in Great Falls, Helena, Billings + Cheyenne. Please message here or email me at tbarnes@inkstickmedia.com if you'd like an invitation. The Cheyenne location is also for nearby Nebraska newsrooms
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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 02/09/2026
This is an absolutely catastrophic data breach of an identity verification vendor 150+ million drivers license scans that includes photos, address, license numbers etc. It includes Pete Hegseth, security researchers, and even the deputy director of the FBI. krebsonsecurity.com/2026/09/fbi-...
A screenshot of a search result on a website titled "NEXUS | Identity Document Database" showing a locked Minnesota driver's license record for "PETER HEG******." A driver's license portrait of Peter Hegseth appears on the left, next to mostly redacted information fields, including ID number, birth date (1980), and address, followed by a prompt to purchase the full record for $100.00.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 30/08/2026
Great piece - if you haven't read The Anarchy by @willdalrymple.bsky.social it is essential reading - incredibly well written and researched, and useful for the now times.
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Teresa Ribera @teresaribera.ec.europa.eu · 30/08/2026
I missed this intereting piece. @himself.bsky.social on AI, markets, innovation (power & democracy) about @economist.com’s article on Acemoglu (and his concerns on AI). “Innovation does not happen in a vacuum, but in the context of institutions, which can systematically affect winners and losers”.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 30/08/2026
@coricrider.com that analysis you had when The Anarchy came out has now been written up!
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 29/08/2026
I'm sorry but publishing a report that "loss-of-control" incidents of LLMs "doubled" in a month and then sharing that your methodology is counting X posts where people say that happened is just hilarious. And then you have an X-axis that reaches 12 tweets?! Also hilarious.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 28/08/2026
With all this news of the Meta settlement, you would be forgiven for thinking *legislation* is impossible. But! There is a guy that's been getting tech laws passed. We sat down to talk about how he's making it happen and what tech laws need to actually work. www.themaybe.org/podcast/meet...
themaybe.org
Meet the Guy (Actually) Passing Tech Laws
Stefan Turkheimer, RAINN’s VP of Public Policy, joins Alix to talk about how the RAINN hotline led him to fight tech platforms that enable abuse at scale.
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Jathan Sadowski @jathansadowski.com · 27/08/2026
You can just ban socially toxic technologies! They were socially banned like twelve years ago with Google Glasses, we can do it again in more formal ways with this latest attempt to push the Pervert's Delight™ onto society. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...
abc.net.au
Push for import ban on 'pervert' smart glasses amid privacy concerns
Support is growing for a ban on the import of so-called “smart glasses”, amid an influx of low-cost devices that are being used to film Australians without their consent.
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Alix Dunn @alixdunn.com · 25/08/2026
The more things change, the more they stay the same. www.youtube.com/watch?v=KuTS...
youtube.com
W/ Bob and David - Digital, right? Yeah
YouTube video by Drew Peterson
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Lila Byock @lbyock.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
I don’t care if you’re a parent or not. We need everyone showing up at school board meetings to make noise about AI contracts in the same way they’re doing about data centers. This is a five-alarm fire for our democracy.
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Astra Taylor @astra.bsky.social · 23/08/2026
You can listen to the lectures the book is based on for free here: www.cbc.ca/books/the-ag...
cbc.ca
The Age of Insecurity by Astra Taylor | CBC Books
A genre-bending book that explores insecurity.
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johnedwinmason @johnedwinmason.bsky.social · 21/08/2026
Two excellent articles in The Continent on how the "green revolution," pushed by the likes of the Gates Foundation, has hurt African farmers. Yields usually fail to increase, but indebtedness certainly does. (Subscriptions to Africa's best weekly news magazine are free. 👇🏽)
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