iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Sma Shmo

mattie lubchansky @mattielubchansky.com · 13h

these are my only feelings about generative "AI." i do not care how much it "works," ever. i'll be over here scraping charcoal and ochre on the cave wall until they kill me

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

Then your friends and peers start to fall into nostalgia shit; buying products, consuming media, and signal boosting all of the above. Even if you maintain some dignity and manage to mostly avoid it yourself, you still get steeped.

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Patrick Monahan @pattymo.com · 30/09/2026

The “super intelligence” thing is useful in the sense that if someone calls AI that you know you are dealing with a TURBO bozo

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Incredible work by Mother Jones. An eye-popping statement from Cornell that amounts to intense public gaslighting–that interrogating their response to this horrifying assault "will perpetuate the underreporting of sexual assault." And a timely nod to the administration repealing Title IX.

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Tim Gaedke @timgaedke.com · 26/09/2026

talent is a lie

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

I thought the movie was pretty phenomenal, but I also thought it just wasn't very "Resident Evil."

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Numbers 1, 2, & 4 I have no trouble with. In fact, for big projects, I often have 10+ 1's & 2's. Number 3 is the bane of my existence; when I'm done I want the work OUT THE DOOR like yesterday.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

I went a couple weeks ago and they turned that diner space into an extension of the bar, with some games. It's actually kinda cool in there. Then I saw the AI posters.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

A beloved local pub–a watering hole of mine for ~25 years–now puts GenAI posters up advertising their food specials. As a visual artist and former Marketer, it's like being stabbed in the face; I can't bring myself to go back.

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Liz Davidson @beyondsolitaire.bsky.social · 15/09/2026

KART IS LIVE. It has been an absolute pleasure to see this game come together, and I am even more excited to share it with all of you. bit.ly/KartOnKS

An announcement that Kart is live on Kickstarter!

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taylr @taylordahlin.com · 11/06/2026

jason chavez: “trans people will always be here. there is no executive order, no federal rollback, no act of hate will ever change that. this federal administration will have to face full weight of minneapolis and the people that love minneapolis before they break us and come after our neighbors.”

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Sad to hear about the broken screen. I love the hardware, but it's definitely not made for rugged treatment. They announced a Season 3 for next month, which I'm excited about. I love the "curated grab bag" release model, and a couple in particular of the announced games look extremely cool.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Have you tried Playdate? I'm really into it as a piece of hardware with unique but simple features; and a wholly-proprietary, indie-healthy game library.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I'll give you that it's not a smoking gun. They haven't been caught red-handed. Whatever idiom you want to use. That doesn't mean the article is not evidence. It's just not strong enough for *you* to change your own consumer habits, and that's fine. For you.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Took a phone call mid-writing. Let me rephrase the reply I deleted: Internet searches are not enough to convict on their own, but they are certainly used as evidence in court. I never said that Virtuos is *verifiably* using GenAI; I said this piece of evidence is enough for *me* to boycott.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I did, I presented the evidence and I stand by my assertion that it IS in fact evidence about what may be occurring behind closed doors. I reject the premise that it is simply not relevant enough to draw any conclusions.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

So you don't think that what we say about what we do is evidence about how we do what we do?

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Okay, fine. Here's a revised thesis for you: I think this evidence raises significant questions as to what's happening behind closed doors at Virtuos. I consider this ample reason to believe that their game content may be tainted. Until I see this issue addressed by Virtuos, I will boycott.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

If a famous chef said, "I think dog meat is the way of the future," I would stop eating at their restaurants too, even if identifiable clumps of dog hair weren't showing up in their dishes.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Okay, so: I'm just a guy. And CEO statements of clear intent are enough evidence for ME to boycott the studio because I know how those dominos fall. You can obviously make your own decisions, but I reject the premise that this simply isn't evidence that their development pipeline includes genAI.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I gave you a piece of evidence and you're telling me it's not good enough. Your arguments have been: - People get accused without evidence - Other tech companies have made empty promises Neither of those arguments actually disprove what can be easily and directly inferred from this article.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This is circumstantial like searching "how to dispose of a human body." It raises serious questions that ought to be answered, and plenty enough for me to stop sending money their way.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This is not an explicit statement about what they themselves are doing. But if you think that they're going to publish something like this and then *not* follow trend with what they themselves found to be "73% increased investment," then I've got a bridge to sell you.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Again: www.virtuosgames.com/news/virtuos...

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

I agree with that last point. My position re:Virtuos is far from that. I think that a CEO of a huge studio that specializes in remasters and remakes singing praises about AI and declaring intent to leverage, published on their own site, is quite enough clear evidence for a boycott.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

It seems like you simply want to disbelieve it's being used despite a clear statement of intent by the person who calls the shots at that company. Comparing that to [promises made by other companies about products that don't reach the market] is a non-sequiter.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

As a gamer I think it's making things worse, degrading the artform. Don't want to reward those who adopt it as a solution for replacing human expression. As a creator, I think NO AI is good business because there's a strong demographic who want that and that will grow as time goes on.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This is a straw man argument. If I were going to cancel anyone who's even eyed it before, I'd have to cancel myself because I've had a lot of serious thinks about my place in all of this as a professional creator of games.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Did you look at the article I linked from 2019 (under my comment above)? This is the work of a company that fully intends to leverage the tech in order to 'stay competitive'. It's a statement of intent. They essentially said, 'this is the future, everybody is using it.'

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

One thing that gets me is that Valve doesn't seem to care about enforcing the AI disclosure. I recently removed the Oblivion remaster from my Wishlist because I discovered that Virtuos is a huge proponent of genAI; all but assuring it is being used in their development pipeline but not disclosed.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

This thread essentially 100% encompasses my feelings about the situation: even if I wanted to use AI in my workflow, it would make my workflow and results more derivative, damage my subjective process, and/or take away what I enjoy about what I do. None of that is what I want out of a tool.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

GTA V did not hold my attention very well. I played through it in thirds, each about a year apart. It presents as a stellar game, but, in the end, I simply didn't like it as much as GTA IV, or even GTA III for that matter.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

UNDO IS BROKEN? It's literally greyed out in the Edit pulldown and I cannot undo any actions. This is absolutely insane.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Continuing deluge of generative AI "features" that nobody asked for while the core usability of flagship apps degrades in real time.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

August InDesign update completely broken (MacOS): - "Preferences" entry in InDesign pulldown is sometimes there, sometimes not - "High Quality Display" Linked images randomly washed out and wrong colors - Mouse cursor randomly disappears, gets stuck as wrong icon Borderline unusable @adobe.com

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

I will support creators who refuse GenAI. I will buy their games. I don't need endless amounts of sheer content because I am an adult with limited time on earth. I'm also prepared to spend my remaining life hours playing the older stuff that I haven't touched yet. Fuck generative AI

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Although it thinks I'm from Michigan. Haven't spent much time in Michigan.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 04/09/2026

Well I was going to go to bed and then I needed to know. Turns out I talk like where I've lived. Who knew?

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Reposted by Sma Shmo

Morten Morland @mortenmorland.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

Tuesday’s @thetimes.com cartoon times.newsprints.co.uk/morten-morla...

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This is exactly what I expect to see from a culture that puts billionaires first and idolizes "business" as the apex organization. What a colossal bummer this is.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I still have my largely unplayed copy! I playtested early on, and a large backlog of games prevented me from getting into it after publication. I look at it once in awhile and think, "hmmm. That might be fun to bust out one of these weekends..."

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Honestly I live for those Nextdoor update emails with the first handful of words from some random peoples' posts. A curated selection would make a bomb poetry book!

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

Is it just me or is that green hair punk in the middle a tracing of Derek Zoolander?

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

I was at a convention in Vegas this year and the most convenient food was a taco place with AI murals on the walls. I love tacos. Under normal circumstances 100% would have eaten there at least five times over the week. Instead my friends and I referred to it as "AI Taco" and ate there zero times.

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Michael Hobbes @michaelhobbes.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

The widespread availability of self-driving cars will be a nightmare for cities. Thousands of empty cars clogging up roads delivering burritos when we should be restricting auto use and expanding public transport.

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Sma Shmo @barcssarc.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

I saw takes floating around bsky that Ossof's comment was "sexist" and I am honestly baffled at how quickly people twist themselves into pretzels trying to find problems in perfectly reasonable statements. What are we doing?

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A.R. Moxon @juliusgoat.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

Also, SAY you want to open borders. Open borders generate more opportunity, more wealth, more freedom. Everyone being politically afraid of open borders is the direct result of running scared of Republican framing for decades. Nobody has made the obvious case in so many years they've lost it.

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