iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 2h

is the wayback machine broken?

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David R. Brockman, Ph.D. @drdrbrockman.bsky.social · 9h

Update: The America.gov chatbot now refuses to answer "political" questions or offer "judgments about past elections" 🤔

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Jeff VanderMeer @jeffvandermeer.bsky.social · 7h

They quoted me in this New Yorker piece about AI today. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

“Let’s say there’s a world or time line I exist in where A.I. has been subject to regulation. It is ethical. It has no footprint environmentally,” the novelist Jeff VanderMeer, a prominent critic of A.I., told me over the phone. “With those guardrails in place, would I read an A.I. book? All I can say is no. And the reason is, in part, because I want to read something coming from a particular mind.” Using A.I., he said, “feels like a betrayal of the whole point of why you’re a writer.”

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 6h

“What we have to keep in mind is that all this doomerism isn’t based on any scientific work,” says Boyan Milanov, Senior Research Scientist at AI Now Institute. “It really is science fiction. None of the claims are scientifically verifiable or falsifiable.” thebulletin.org/2026/09/how-...

thebulletin.org

How the bad science of AI doomerism is good for big business

There is no clear path showing that today’s AI systems will lead to superintelligence, much less a basis for calculating the probability of doom.

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Annie Waldman @anniewaldman.bsky.social · 9h

NEW: As Trump’s White House and influencers keep touting the unproven benefits of raw milk, hundreds across the country are falling ill from outbreaks. Some people get severe indigestion. And some nearly die. Here's the story of one toddler who drank it. 🧵👇 www.propublica.org/article/cali...

propublica.org

A Girl Nearly Died After Drinking Raw Milk. The State Did Little to Punish the Unlicensed Farmer Who Sold It.

California is teeming with black-market dairies, propped up by consumer demand fueled by misinformation. With evidence against one raw goat milk farm, regulators could have sought punitive action. But...

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Sara Goudarzi @saragoud.bsky.social · 7h

AI doomer discourse has been in overdrive the last several weeks: a resignation that set off a media frenzy, endless warnings, and even a Senate bill to ban superintelligence. But where’s the science and why all this hype? I dug into how doomerism serves big business.

thebulletin.org

How the bad science of AI doomerism is good for big business

There is no clear path showing that today’s AI systems will lead to superintelligence, much less a basis for calculating the probability of doom.

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

love finding out that something regularly included in routine blood tests is no longer considered preventatitive it's diagnostic so i have to pay for it now

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Phil Lewis @phillewis.bsky.social · 22/08/2026

“A 1-year-old baby appeared in immigration court without legal representation in Arizona and received an instruction: File an asylum application before the next hearing or face deportation.”

notus.org

Judge to Baby: File an Asylum Application

The 1-year-old is one of the migrant children who advocates say appeared in immigration court without legal representation.

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Nathan K. Hensley @nathankhensley.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

amazing to have a williams prof out here arguing for postliteracy w/ a useful idiot routine that *thinks* it's trying to "claim critical thought back" via dead poet's society pedagogy, but whose actual function in the public sphere is to carry water for the tech industry & the trustees they control

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

totally willing to entertain the idea that discussion and oral presentation is a good way to think and to assess thought but bizarre to jettison this argument as a way to defend ai assisted writing imo!

nytimes.com

Opinion | I’m a College Professor. Writing Isn’t as Important as We Think.

If I do not treat writing as essential for achieving thought, it is not clear why I should force my students to.

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

i love the "old man shakes fist at sky" energy i bring to posting from my couch, but it's just that kind of day (decade)

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

“It’s not just about attacking warehouses so that we won’t have food. They also want to intimidate us — to make it so that we can’t work, study, do scientific research or really do anything at all.”

nytimes.com

Russian Drone Strikes Ukraine’s Science Academy, Causing Fire in City Center

A Russian jet-powered drone hit Ukraine’s National Academy of Sciences, the source of almost all of the country’s major scientific discoveries.

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

oh man this seems bad. i wonder if the times reached out to the person who leads the fbi for comment? no? no mention of the director of the fbi kash patel at all? interesting

nytimes.com

Embarrassing Breach at F.B.I. Fuels Fears of Harm to Its Employees

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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Peter Gleick @petergleick.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

Israeli attacks destroyed most of Gaza’s #wastewater infrastructure, causing a massive discharge of untreated sewage. That sewage is now contributing to a worsening algae crisis affecting Israeli desalination facilities and cutting their #water supplies. www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.com

Israel facing water shortages caused by destruction of Gaza’s treatment plants

Five desalination plants shut down for days, while Gaza remains in grip of severe water and sanitation crisis

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

lotta stories about people surprised that the lying plagiarism machine (as @byjenamiller.bsky.social always calls it) plagiarized them...

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 28/09/2026

have decided today is the day that i will get entirely and rationally overheated about the toronto bike lane situation. what a horror

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

nobod should promise real time tracking for f jack shit unless they can deliver i was waiting at a bus stop for 10 minutes and the entire time the real time tracking said a bus was near the stop before mine 30-60 seconds ago but that was a lie most of the time

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

phone really not doing the sky justice today

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François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Why is the world's top nuclear nation sitting out the hype on Small Modular Reactors (SMRs)? In a new piece for @thebulletin.org, AnnaJulia Yates, Allison Macfarlane & Alexander Wimmers break down France's cautious approach to SMRs. 🧵👇

A modern industrial facility with large circular structures, green energy components, and surrounding trees, set near mountains and wind turbines. (Image: EDF)

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Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

About as grim as it gets.

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𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚛𝚕𝚎𝚜 𝙲. 𝙼𝚊𝚗𝚗 @charlescmann.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Historians rightly say people's actions should be judged by the standards of their time. But what often gets lost is that those standards weren't what we think. Many 18thc Europeans hated colonialism--as an e.g., here's Immanuel Kant in 1795 castigating it as "truly appalling." It was contentious...

"Excerpt from Kant: "If one compares this with the inhospitable conduct of the civilized—and primarily commercial—states of our own continent, the injustice they display when visiting foreign lands and peoples (which they equate with conquering them) is truly appalling. To them, upon their discovery, America, the lands of the Negroes, the Spice Islands, the Cape, and so forth, were territories belonging to no one; for they counted the inhabitants as nothing. In the East Indies (Hindustan), under the pretext of merely establishing trading posts, they introduced foreign military forces—bringing with them the oppression of the natives, the incitement of the region's various states into widespread wars, famine, insurrection, treachery, and the whole litany of evils that afflict the human race.

China and Japan (Nippon)—having had experience with such guests—wisely restricted access: the former permitted entry but not full admission, while the latter granted even that limited access to only a single European nation, the Dutch, whom they nonetheless kept isolated from the native population, much like prisoners."

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

at @motherjones.com @climatedesk.org event, @mayor.nyc.gov @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social says since being sworn into office ~10 months ago, nyc has faced a flash flood emergency one out of every three days, on average. and that's the climate crisis folks

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François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

When Presidents Trump and Xi agreed to pursue "strategic stability," Beijing called it a historic milestone. The problem? Neither power actually agrees on what the phrase means. New analysis by Tong Zhao @tongzhao.bsky.social in @thebulletin.org. 🧵👇

Leaders from the United States and China sit around a conference table with documents, flowers, and flags, engaging in a formal discussion.

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David Ho @davidho.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

Wtaf is this question my university just asked me about my project?

Does the project involve any work that could be interpreted as promoting DEIA, climate change research, or non-compliant to any Presidential Executive Orders?

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

this could have used a follow up question/source/citation! apnews.com/article/clim...

On the other hand, Eva Riesenhuber, the head of sustainability at the German automation company Siemens, and Evelyn Wang, vice president for energy and climate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, said AI is too important to humanity and will help tackle climate change.

Data centers adding to climate and water problems “is not forever,” according to Wang, who told The Associated Press that *data centers are five years away from being water neutral and about a decade away from no longer adding to planet-warming emissions.*

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Andy Boyle @andymboyle.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

it’s kind of amazing how truly dog shit search has become on every tech platform. typed in documentaries on netflix and the top two results are the fictional films THE GOOD SHEPHERD and THE DEER HUNTER. dawg,

A photo of a TV showing the search menu for Netflix. The word searched is documentaries and three of the eight listed are regular fictional movies.

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Joshua Erlich @joshuaerlich.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

using a payday loan to buy an unregistered security as god intended

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 23/09/2026

just watched hackers the movie for the first time and it's funny that the good guy hackers rollerblade around but even funnier that the bad guy hacker goes around (at work!!!!!) on a skateboard

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Alastair Harper @alastairharper.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Thomas Edison in 1910. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves on this net zero business, lads

Someday some fellow will invent a way of concentrating and storing sunshine to use instead of this old, absurd Prometheus scheme of fire.
I'll do the trick myself if someone doesn't get at it....
This scheme of combustion in order to get power makes me sick to think of—it is so wasteful.... We should utilize natural forces and thus get all of our power. Sunshine is a form of energy, and the winds and the tides are manifestations of energy. Do we use them? Oh no; we burn up wood and coal, as renters burn up the front fence for fuel.
We live like squatters, not as if we owned the property. There must surely come a time when heat and power will be stored in unlimited quantities in every community, all gathered by natural forces. Electricity ought to be as cheap as oxygen, for it cannot be destroyed.
Now, I am not sure but that my new storage battery is the thing. 167

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François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

Last week, the US confirmed what competitors already assumed—it has on-orbit space weapons. Russia and China immediately accused Washington of sparking an arms race, but competition in space has been underway for years. So why disclose it now? 🧵

A man in a suit stands at a podium on stage, facing an audience, with two teleprompters in front of him and stage lights shining above. (Photo by US Air Force/Malia Heemsoth)

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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists @thebulletin.org · 21/09/2026

Extensive grazing could help protect landscapes from one of the most destructive impacts of climate change, write Tristan Bove, Emerson Mendoza Ayala, and Neal Haddaway @nealhaddaway.bsky.social. But shepherds need more support. ⬇️

buff.ly

Flocks of nomadic sheep might be Europe’s oldest fix for extreme wildfires

Extensive grazing could help protect landscapes from one of the most destructive impacts of climate change, but shepherds need more support.

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Searchlight New Mexico @searchlightnm.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

The U.S. Forest Service is moving forward with efforts to repeal the 25-year-old protections — without the opportunity for public comment. Environmental groups are holding their own hearings in New Mexico. searchlightnm.org/environmenta...

searchlightnm.org

Environmental groups continue to fight ‘Roadless Rule’ repeal | Searchlight New Mexico

"I want my children to experience real forests, not just places where roads ... have replaced a lot of landscapes that never existed before them."

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Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

The lawyer for the Venezuelan man shot by ICE yesterday says he was discharged from the hospital and transferred to ICE detention while the bullet was still inside of him, and that in Pearsall he's not received any pain meds and was forced to sleep on the floor.

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

still chuckling at this a day later (Winston is an AI assistant) (this book came out in 2017)

Langdon felt an inexplicable sadness to be saying good-bye to Winston.
Clearly, future generations would be far better equipped to manage their
emotional involvement with machines.

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

best thing about a columnist i don't respect leaving the nyt to start a podcast is how easy it is to avoid podcasts. god bless podcasts

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

motherf(&#*(@*& these are like some of the least polarizing issues this is going to turn me into the joker. WHAT A WAY TO GO OUT.

Most Americans say wealth inequality in the U.S. is a very big problem (52%) or a somewhat big problem (28%), including most Democrats and a smaller majority of Republicans. Majorities of Americans say the federal government should try to reduce wealth inequality, and that billionaires should be taxed more.

What you need to know about Americans' views on wealth inequality, as of the January 2 - 5, 2026 Economist / YouGov Poll:

Half of Americans (52%) say the gap between rich and poor is a very big problem, while 28% say it's a somewhat big problem, 14% that it's a minor problem, and 6% that it's not a problem
Democrats and liberals are more likely to say wealth inequality is a very big problem than are Republicans and conservatives, but majorities of Republicans, self-described MAGA Republicans, and those who say they are "very conservative" all say the gap between rich and poor is at least a somewhat big problem

poll showing 25 percent of young democrats and 28 percent of young republicans blame bad economic conditions on corporate greed

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

i'm old enough to remember the ai pause letter from 2023 but some tech columnists apparently aren't and this is all Brand New Activity

Even more mood-lifting was the response to the public call last weekend by Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s chief executive, *for a global slowdown in A.I. development — a step that many A.I. researchers had privately told me they thought was necessary to prevent a catastrophe, but that few had been willing to push for in public.*

Sam Altman, Elon Musk, Demis Hassabis and other prominent A.I. leaders quickly echoed Dr. Amodei’s concerns and some of his recommendations, such as his call for putting “embedded evaluators” inside leading A.I. companies to monitor their systems for dangerous behavior.

Pause Giant AI Experiments: An Open Letter is the title of a letter published by the Future of Life Institute in March 2023. The letter calls "all AI labs to immediately pause for at least 6 months the training of AI systems more powerful than GPT-4", citing risks such as AI-generated propaganda, extreme automation of jobs, human obsolescence, and a society-wide loss of control.[1] It received more than 30,000 signatures, including academic AI researchers and industry CEOs such as Yoshua Bengio, Stuart Russell, Elon Musk, Steve Wozniak and Yuval Noah Harari.[1][2][3]

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

i know im getting older because i used to think that anthony hopkins as hannibal lecter was absolutely ancient, practically at death's door, and now i see he is a totally normal age for a person to be

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

dying laughing because i got to the climax of this dan brown book and right in the middle of the Big Explanation robert langdon is like "oh ya i heard about this in a ted talk"

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Jessica McKenzie @jessimckenzi.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

feel like i've embraced the .5 selfie in the most millennial way possible lol

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François Diaz-Maurin @francoisdm.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Is the nuclear dispute with Iran entering a dangerous new phase? In @thebulletin.org, Seyed Hossein Mousavian breaks down how legal, economic, and diplomatic pressures are priming the region for war—and what a realistic off-ramp requires. 🧵

People sit in a large, circular conference room, attending a meeting at the United Nations Security Council. (UN Photo/Loey Felipe)

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