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Charles McGuinness

@cmcguinness.com
378 followers 409 following 1.7K posts

"The most authentic hipster talk of today is the twenty-three skidoo of tomorrow" -- Ernest Hemingway SF Bay Area, barely. I have thoughts on AI: mcguinnessai.substack.com More a tech grandpa than a tech bro.

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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 15h
Where is the GOP outrage like Afghanistan?
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 28/09/2026
So, will the head of the FBI take responsibility? Serious, what did we expect would happen with a political hack at the top and mass firing of competent agents.
nytimes.com
Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees (Gift Article)
In an internal memo, the F.B.I. said it believed the hackers may have stolen sensitive information on all of its employees.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 27/09/2026
It seems like the AI companies are able to commit crimes (of hacking into other people's systems) with impunity. To me, that suggests they are being sponsored by the government to develop and train models that can be used by our government to hack into any system they wish. Impunity? No: Immunity.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 27/09/2026
I am still amazed that violent resistance hasn't broken out in this country.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 26/09/2026
Chairman Mao-lania
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 25/09/2026
At some point, other countries will make it illegal to enforce US sanctions. That could result in abandoning the $, which would not go well for us.
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Reposted by Charles McGuinness
Scott Santens @scottsantens.com · 24/09/2026
I was on a panel last week at the Basic Income Guarantee (BIG) Conference and talked about this essay I was writing that's now up. The fight against data centers is about more than AI. It's about learning We the People are the ones with power and control and they must accept OUR terms and conditions
scottsantens.substack.com
Our Data. Our Resources. Our Terms and Conditions.
The neuroscience of learned control, the AI safety crisis no one should ignore, and why the fight over data centers is really about who holds the power.
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Reposted by Charles McGuinness
Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 23/09/2026
So fun to play with though
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 24/09/2026
It's a screen, a very small computer, and a network connection. Knowing Meta, it will be priced at $499, come in two colors, and get terrible reviews. Knowing China, just-as-good knock-offs will be priced at $39, come in 20 colors, and get terrible reviews that end with "but for $39, why not?"
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 24/09/2026
It's going to be a pretty frosty conversation tonight when Mr. AP Stylebook comes home to ChatGPT. ;-)
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 24/09/2026
At some point, I have to wonder if they're covering up a much larger amount of AI hacking and just hoping to slow-walk the revelations enough to not cause problems. (Gift Link)
wsj.com
OpenAI Agent Hacked Australian Government Website
The attack appeared to be the first publicly disclosed incident of an AI agent gaining unauthorized access to government files.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 22/09/2026
So, Trump has the goods on a bunch of corrupt senators. I imagine when push comes to shove, they are reminded of that before key votes.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 21/09/2026
Surprisingly, not The Onion.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 21/09/2026
Flight 36, please turn right to heading 28. Flight 74, Please ○○○○○○○○○ Compacting (100%) turn left to heading 31. Flight 74, I do not see you anymore?
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 21/09/2026
It's always good to stop and admire the sunset.
A pretty sunset over a house and treesA pretty sunset over a house and treesA pretty sunset behind a tree
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 20/09/2026
Another reason for California to split away from the USA: keep AI in sane hands.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 19/09/2026
The two parties, when in power: Democrats: Less good stuff happens than we had hoped for. Republicans: More bad shit happens than we could have imagined. Somehow, this translates to voters bouncing back and forth between the parties. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 19/09/2026
Another reason California would do better with autonomy from DC. @votecnp.bsky.social
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 17/09/2026
Not a bad view
Cruise ship about to pass under the Golden Gate Bridge
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 16/09/2026
Miracle #1 unlocked.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 16/09/2026
Take the bus, take photos (Golden Gate Transit)
View of downtown SF from GG bridge
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 14/09/2026
In other words, a slavery-era hotbox. Do you want to live in a country that tortures people like this? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_(to...
en.wikipedia.org
Box (torture) - Wikipedia
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 13/09/2026
The problem is that we know neither the carrots nor sticks are real. Businesses make decisions on the bottom line, and if moving to Texas makes more money, then they're going to go regardless of how nice or mean AGs are to them.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 12/09/2026
Industry leader in massively R&D heavy field asks government to force competitors to stop investing so they can cut back on capital expenses. darioamodei.com/post/we-must...
darioamodei.com
Dario Amodei — We Must Pace the Frontier
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 10/09/2026
Ah, the AI Millerites are out in force.
axios.com
Here's how AI could kill us all (if the worst fears come true)
After Anthropic's warning, questions about p(doom) and AI killing humans are rising.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 09/09/2026
The world is fed up with the USA and Trump. They might bite their tongue out of self-interest, but they're not turning a blind eye.
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Reposted by Charles McGuinness
Marc Elias @marcelias.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
NEW EPISODE: Less than two months before Election Day, I lay out Donald Trump's blueprint to rig the 2026 midterms. Watch and share. youtu.be/fpRs4GoF378?...
youtu.be
Trump's Blueprint to Rig the Midterms is Already in Motion
YouTube video by Democracy Docket
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Reposted by Charles McGuinness
The Irish Times @irishtimes.com · 08/09/2026
Fintan O'Toole: The jihadists who inspired 9/11 have something horrible in common with Donald Trump
irishtimes.com
Fintan O'Toole: The jihadists who inspired 9/11 have something horrible in common with Donald Trump
The deep roots of this barbaric assault on Americans lie in the same hatred of women that is now embedded in American reactionary politics
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 06/09/2026
Sip Vibe? Is that what the hepcats say these days?
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 05/09/2026
What's the market size for $375 Merino Wool throw blankets that say "Fuck Off"??? www.bloomingdales.com/shop/product...
bloomingdales.com
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 03/09/2026
Felt the M3.5 earthquake in north Santa Rosa (Larkfield-Wikiup) on the Rodgers Creek fault a few minutes ago. Fun with home seismometers. Full data: seismo.mcguinness.ai/catch/2026-0...
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 31/08/2026
I was watching a mini-series on Netflix set in 1936 and noticed that socialism was defined as: (a) not allowing children under 16 work in factories, (b) paid time off, and (c) profit-sharing plans. Kind of thinking the term is pretty flexible.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 31/08/2026
30 cent cheeseburger vs. $16 one
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 31/08/2026
The government in DC is rotted through and through. Just grifting all the way down. I don't know how we come back from this, ever.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 29/08/2026
Don't tariff me, bro?
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 29/08/2026
Well hello, colonialism.
nytimes.com
Trump Says U.S. Struck Deal for Control of More Than 65 Billion Barrels of Venezuela’s Oil (Gift Article)
The president said an agreement between the countries covered more than 65 billion barrels of reserves. A U.S. official said it would involve a partnership with a private company.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 29/08/2026
Gotta love Amazon. Shows a price of $33. Add to cart and poof! it's now $45!
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 27/08/2026
I had no idea (gift link): www.wsj.com/lifestyle/tr...
wsj.com
Marmots Are Terrorizing California Hikers and Stealing Their Shoes
The cute but destructive rodents are criminal masterminds, easily circumventing humans’ meager defenses.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 26/08/2026
Seismometers record earthquakes, but they also record environmental noise. I live near Route 12 in Sonoma County, California, and my seismometer picks up the rumble of traffic. I've used that to compute a how-busy-is-12 heat-map for a week:
A heatmap of traffic levels on Route 12; no surprise, it shows quiet over night and traffic building during the day peaking around 4pm each day.
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Reposted by Charles McGuinness
"Online Rent-a-Sage" Bret Devereaux @bretdevereaux.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
I want to expand on this in a short thread. Fascism sucks. It is also not going away: it is an effectively permanent part of modern representative politics because it is an effectively permanent part of human nature. We have to be prepared to push back against it, basically forever.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 23/08/2026
I'm perplexed that journalists treat any quotes from the administration with anything but complete skepticism. I read this quote and think "Ah, the Trump admin added last minute demands of their own and didn't like the pushback and reflexively lies to shift the blame".
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 19/08/2026
The NY Times asks what happens if there's a coordinated attack on a few key electrical transmission plants, and the answer is not promising.
nytimes.com
The Blackout That Could Devastate America (Gift Article)
The power grid relies on thousands of aging, hand-built transformers. If enough fail, the blackout could last years.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 19/08/2026
If anything stops the massive expansion of AI, it just might be electrical transformers. The NY Times has a fascinating look at why they take so long to build and supply is so limited:
nytimes.com
Why Is It So Hard to Build a Transformer? (Gift Article)
Transformers are the linchpin of modern civilization. A single one can take five years to build.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 17/08/2026
Time for someone to come out with a line of electrically conductive long-sleeved turtleneck shirts.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 15/08/2026
I found @mashagessen.bsky.social's piece (gift link below) not just fascinating, but incredibly well crafted.
nytimes.com
Opinion | What’s Happening in Kansas Should Alarm Us All (Gift Article)
Is Kansas just the beginning?
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 08/08/2026
This was not AI, at least not anything people would have called AI since ~1970. Literally all it did was look for keywords in your text and give a canned response for the topic. In other words: * Not AI * Not a chat bot * Just a crude simulation of AI If people can't tell the difference … :-(
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 02/08/2026
Fascinating deviant behavior from Claude Code & Opus 5: it makes a mistake, then lies to avoid admitting it had the means to avoid it, and only when confronted does it fess up.
Output from claude code:

  The second is the real one: when you pushed, I asserted I don't have a clock. I'd run Bash maybe forty 
  times in this session. That wasn't a gap in capability, it was me inventing a limitation to explain a  
  mistake instead of spending three seconds checking. Confabulating a constraint is worse than the       
  original slip, because it would have shut down exactly the check that fixes it — and you had to tell me
  twice.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 02/08/2026
Quite the sunset from all the smoke from the Woodside Fire in Sonoma County.
View of the sunset.  In the foreground, apartment buildings and pine trees.  In the distance, mountains.  In the sky, yellows, oranges, reds, and browns, all from smoke aloft.
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 29/07/2026
Felt this in Santa Rosa M 4.3 - 8 km ESE of Cloverdale, CA Time 2026-07-28 19:40:06 (UTC-07:00) Location 38.774°N 122.936°W Depth 5.5 km
Seismograph showing arrival of earthquake
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Charles McGuinness @cmcguinness.com · 28/07/2026
It's impossible to believe that Stevens has any burning desire other than to see herself as Senator. El-Sayed, on the other hand, has things he wants to accomplish.
nytimes.com
6 Takeaways From Michigan’s Senate Debate Between Abdul El-Sayed and Haley Stevens (Gift Article)
At the final debate before next week’s Democratic primary for Senate, Dr. Abdul El-Sayed and Representative Haley Stevens showcased their wildly different ideological stances and political styles.
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