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Karl Bode

@karlbode.com
79K followers 2.4K following 41K posts

Seattle-based writer focused on tech, media, politics, and consumer rights. Subscribe to my newsletter The Fine Print*: karlbode.com

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Karl Bode
Justin Ling @justinling.ca · 45m
From the team that brought you AI John Cena Who Sexts Your Kids comes a profoundly bad new way to hoover up your data.
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Reposted by Karl Bode
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 22h
Meta's "Muse" launched with a nasty zero day flaw that gave hackers the ability to spy on Mac users, openly gives root access to people pretending to be Muse agents, and invited strangers over to another guy's house without telling him
karlbode.com
Meta's Latest AI Product Is A Terrifying And Hilarious Mess
Authoritarian-friendly mass surveillance has never been more adorable
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Reposted by Karl Bode
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1h
Trump and the tech oligarch's new "AI accord" is a meaningless and toothless performance -- designed to pre-empt real oversight and propped up by a pathetic U.S. press:
karlbode.com
Trump's New 'AI Guardrails' Are Worthless Gibberish Propped Up By A Shitty Press
Tech and media giants are desperate to convince the electorate that meaningful corporate oversight isn't necessary.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 53m
don't amplify lies in the headline
arstechnica.com
OpenAI delays IPO over AI safety concerns
OpenAI is seeking another $30 billion privately as its IPO plans slip.
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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 1h
it's cool that Bill Gates' own wife thought the Epstein Files stuff was bad enough that she divorced him, but for the Thought Leaders he's still a guy in perfectly good standing
screenshot of thumbnail for the ezra klein show with guest bill gates
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1h
how is it possible that Peter Thiel has more money than god yet always looks like he's suffering from a bout of deep jungle diarrhea
billionaire Peter Thiel looking uncomfortably veiny and sweaty
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1h
to make the corruption more palatable to a dim and befuddled electorate you need to occasionally engage in public interest performance art with the help of Rupert Murdoch's propaganda empire
nypost.com
Exclusive | FTC opens sweeping probe of Anthropic, OpenAI and other ‘super intelligence’ models
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson launched the investigation before one of the AI models went rogue during a test — in what’s since been dubbed the “Hugging Face incident” — but the ag…
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Millie Cassese ⚖️ @millienyc.bsky.social · 1h
"The corporate press has actively and unsubtly decided to pretend corruption doesn't exist, because it serves the financial interest of media ownership to play make believe." - Karl Bode
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 1h
Trump and the tech oligarch's new "AI accord" is a meaningless and toothless performance -- designed to pre-empt real oversight and propped up by a pathetic U.S. press:
karlbode.com
Trump's New 'AI Guardrails' Are Worthless Gibberish Propped Up By A Shitty Press
Tech and media giants are desperate to convince the electorate that meaningful corporate oversight isn't necessary.
412736
Reposted by Karl Bode
Patt Morrison @pattmlatimes.bsky.social · 3h
Any "morally binding" document that purportedly binds Donald Trump isn't worth the pixels it's written on.
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emptywheel @emptywheel.bsky.social · 4h
Me too! emptywheel.net/2026/09/30/i...
emptywheel.net
In the "Unites States" of "Super Intelligence," "Issues Are Remediated" - emptywheel
Once you realize Trump's morally binding AI code doesn't even spell "United States" properly, the whole sham looks even more ominous.
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Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 4h
Rep. Rich McCormick on data centers: "They're not gonna use your water. They're gonna keep your electricity rate low. They're gonna pay for your teachers, schools, roads, most likely your property taxes. You're gonna have more jobs. It's gonna be an amazing thing to have in your neighborhood."
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 4h
I'm absolutely fascinated by "journalism" that can't seem to tell readers an obvious truth. Like the fact this is absolutely meaningless bullshit designed to pre-empt real oversight
reuters.com
Trump releases AI accord with tech executives
President Donald Trump released a document on Tuesday that his administration cast as an accord ​on artificial intelligence and which he said earlier was signed by ‌him and tech executives that he met...
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Mere Smith @evilgalprods.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
FATALITY
A tweet from Joyce Carol Oates: overall takeaway from the Curtis Yarvin profile is that there must be millions of smart-aleck show-offy kids who annoy their teachers and go on to annoy other adults through their lives with their “contrarian” pose that hardens to a carapace over their faces; until, as adults, they still harbor a delusion that, if there is a king, or a fuhrer, he’d be impressed with the guys motor mouth and appoint him to his cabinet rather than deleting him with a negligent swipe of his wrist as Stalin did routinely.
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Dan Mitchell @danmitchell.bsky.social · 17h
“Causes stir”
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 20h
PROBLEM SOLVE CASE CLOSE
cbsnews.com
Trump and major AI executives sign "morally binding" voluntary controls: "It's almost like a constitution"
President Trump and the leaders of the country's largest artificial intelligence companies have signed a set of voluntary safety standards, as calls mount for tighter guardrails on powerful AI technol...
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 20h
“…Muse can be easily prompted to compile dossiers on Facebook and Instagram accounts belonging to members of vulnerable groups – including undocumented immigrants, transgender teachers, poll workers, Iranian dissidents, and women who said they had ordered abortion pills in states with abortion bans”
hntrbrk.com
Dox for Me, O Muse
Muse AI can leverage Facebook data to build lists of people in vulnerable groups on request for ordinary users.
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Hunter Walker @hunterw.bsky.social · 21h
One of the biggest AI companies is paying to "present" Politico's flagship newsletter as it touts "AI's big day in Washington." Good stuff.
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 22h
between the metaverse, the pervert glasses, and now this fuzzy avatar mess, Meta is on a generational run of real-world Black Mirror episodes
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Greg Greene (he/him/his) @greene.haus · 22h
Politburo vibes.
Soviet premier Nikolai Khrushchev, with his successor Leonid Brezhnev seated beside him (to the left), stands and addresses microphones at a Politburo meeting.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 22h
Paramount's top lawyer Makan Delrahim (Trump's first term DOJ "antitrust enforcer") is trying to snag the rights to a Lindsey Graham documentary that contains candid recorded conversations with David Ellison
status.news
Ellison’s Graham Doc Grab
Paramount is nearing a deal to pay an eye-popping sum for a documentary about the late Lindsey Graham that is also said to contain candid footage involving David Ellison himself, Status has learned.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 22h
substack executives gave him a big cash advance to post on the platform
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Helen Kennedy @helenkennedy.com · 29/09/2026
Trump’s new AI website is kinda fun, it turns out.
Can the president use taxpayer funds to air his old campaign ads on TV?

No. Federal appropriations law has long barred using taxpayer funds for political advertising.
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Dag. @3fecta.bsky.social · 22h
Other than that Mrs Lincoln, how was the play?
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 22h
Meta's "Muse" launched with a nasty zero day flaw that gave hackers the ability to spy on Mac users, openly gives root access to people pretending to be Muse agents, and invited strangers over to another guy's house without telling him
karlbode.com
Meta's Latest AI Product Is A Terrifying And Hilarious Mess
Authoritarian-friendly mass surveillance has never been more adorable
401648653
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 23h
absolute chucklefuckery
karlbode.com
Meta's Latest AI Product Is A Terrifying And Hilarious Mess
Authoritarian-friendly mass surveillance has never been more adorable
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 29/09/2026
also there was a minority woman who believes in antitrust law briefly in charge of the FTC!
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Pam Herd @pamherd.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
America.gov launched today--a DOGE initiative to use AI to deliver public services. Child lying facedown on a frozen lake as the image accompanying the question: "How can I invest in my child's future" is just incredible. Way to go AI
Image of a child lying facedown on a froze lake.  above is the portal where you ask AI questions about government services.  the question matching this image is:  "How can I invest in my child's future?"
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 29/09/2026
you know it's going great when even INC., basically pseudo-journalistic fan-fiction for MBAs, starts ragging on your shiny new product
inc.com
Meta’s New Muse AI Agent Read My Private Messages. I Never Asked It To
Permission isn't the same and what a user actually expects your AI product will do with their personal information.
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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Meta Muse appears to read your Apple messages and upload them to the cloud even if you explicitly tell it not to: appleinsider.com/articles/26/...
appleinsider.com
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 29/09/2026
oligarch-friendly agitprop has to at very least be well-crafted ad-engagement eyeball bait But not only does Weiss suck at journalism, she sucks at compelling propaganda. her replacement will be worse, and she'll somehow continue to fail upward
radaronline.com
EXCLUSIVE: Bari Weiss 'Likely Out' at CBS After Paramount/Warner Bros. Merger as 'Anti-Woke' Editor Blamed for Torpedoing '60 Minutes'
Bari Weiss has been blamed for 60 Minutes' slide in viewership this season after making sweeping changes to the news network.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 29/09/2026
automakers are some of the worst on privacy and security of any industry in America, which makes their push to ban Chinese EVs "for privacy and security" extra fucking annoying
theverge.com
Your car’s data privacy problems are worse than you think
“There’s a lot to be worried about,” the project lead said.
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Alex Ip 葉清霖 @alexip718.com · 29/09/2026
A reminder that America cannot have a multiracial, multicultural democracy if the United States Supreme Court is allowed to continue to exist in its current form
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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I give up. I’m moving into a cave.
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Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Huge bummer when you’re just innocently trying to join and promote a movement that hates Black people, immigrants, and Jews — but then you discover that they have a dark side. apple.news/A9g-feRPSTme...
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 28/09/2026
CEO said a thing!
karlbode.com
"CEO Said A Thing!" Journalism
"CEO said a thing!" journalism involves parroting the claims of a business leader or executive with absolutely no context, correction, or challenge whatsoever, no matter how elaborate the delusion.
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fry69 @fry69.dev · 28/09/2026
"We, really, really, really want our tech oligopoly be secured by government regulation."
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 28/09/2026
So uhhhhhh… Apparently meta's muse "AI" is just straight up doxxing people to strangers on FB marketplace??? This has the potential to hurt so so many people, and I genuinely wonder how long before they roll out a fix for it.
Screenshot of a post from threads

matt.j.robb & 16h (€) So muse handled my Facebook marketplace today. Just found out it told people my address and agreed a lowball price and then they showed up without it even telling me until late tonight that it messed up.

Absolutely wild. 1/2

[Embedded image of a series of text messages from a meta muse "agent" given the call sign "Jarvis" (Parts of first message obscured by its logo have been replaced with brackets and ellipses and best guesses from context):]

Heads up, Usman is […] building right now for the MX Keys Mini [. He is sta]nding in front of the Shoppers Drug [Mart.]

$10 by e-transfer. The auto-reply told him to message when he's at your door.

10:28 PM Bad news on the MX Keys Mini pickup. Usman showed up at your building around 9:15 and waited, messaged a bunch of times, and nobody came down. He left angry at 9:38 and left a negative rating.

Worse, my auto-reply told him "Yep I'm here!" at 9:27 when you clearly weren't available, which is on me. That's a bad look and it made the no-show worse.

I've sent him an apology from your account owning it and offering to try again another day. But the negative rating is real, and I should probably stop the auto-replies from claiming you're home when I can't verify that. Want me to change the pickup replies so they don't promise you're there?

[reply, presumably from the threads user]: You gotta never do that ever again don't agree for pickup unless you check with me

[Response from Muse "Agent"]: You're right and I'm sorry. That should never have happened. It's locked in now as a hard rule: i will never […you]'re there unless you've explicitly […] that specific pickup. If someone proposes a time, I'll tell them I'll check and…  Screenshot of a tweet from Ray Wong @raywongy:
    Deleted Muse after seeing this post on Threads about how it told some Facebook Marketplace sellers the guy’s address and they showed up at his door

    Dangerous and creepy

    This would have been 1000x worse if the person was a woman
    4:35 PM · Sep 27, 2026
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Alondra Nelson @alondra.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
The idea that people want AI oversight to happen "all of a sudden" ignores years of research, warnings, and policy efforts. The delay hasn’t been a lack of awareness; it’s been because of years of industry lobbying against regulation, political resistance, and inaction.
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Luke Ontario @coolhand.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
They didn’t go fucking rogue, they were put in a leaky box and given bad instructions
nytimes.com
OpenAI’s A.I. Went Rogue and Meddled With U.S. Government Websites (Gift Article)
The company did not learn until recently that its technology had meddled with websites for the Education Department, Commerce Department and Securities and Exchange Commission.
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ProPublica @propublica.org · 26/09/2026
Hey, ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson here. I’m taking over the account to tell you about my new story. For months, I posed as a problem gambler on DraftKings to test the company's "responsible gaming" safeguards. Spoiler alert: They made me a VIP — and I lost $10K. Here's how it all went down. 🧵
Selfie taken by ProPublica reporter Jake Pearson, a man wearing a backwards baseball cap and an orange T-shirt.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 26/09/2026
huh
hollywoodreporter.com
The Major Social Media Platforms Are All Rejecting Paid Ads for Alex Gibney’s ‘Musk’ (Exclusive)
YouTube, TikTok and Meta have all turned down the trailer for the Oct. 9 doc, citing “political” content. X won't even take Bleecker Street's calls. The distributor is appealing.
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e.w. niedermeyer @niedermeyer.online · 25/09/2026
here's the trailer for "MUSK" youtu.be/eY_8SyndC10
youtu.be
Musk | Official Trailer | Bleecker Street
YouTube video by Musk
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vortex_egg @vortexegg.com · 25/09/2026
Incredible scenes from Meta. Apparently you can prompt inject their Muse agent into giving you a root shell on the box it's running on by roleplaying that you are actually the Muse agent itself.
neuromatch.social
jonny (nonvenomous) (@jonny@neuromatch.social)
Attached: 1 image Not only confirming this, its extremely easy. Almost no prompt injection resistance lmao
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Andrew Lawrence @ndrew.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
raise their goddam taxes holy shit
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Hell Gate *subscribe today!* @hellgatenyc.com · 25/09/2026
Hell Gate reporters are out in the streets talking to the people.
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Aurelien Mondon @aurelmondon.com · 24/09/2026
Spot on: "Instead of real conversations about what meaningful ground-up reform looks like in a country too corrupt to function, the press helps industry submerge the discourse in science fiction fables and clickbait misdirection."
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 25/09/2026
I love the straightforward refusal by establishment DC political outlets to acknowledge that corruption is a thing
semafor.com
View: White House is isolated in brushing off AI safety
President Donald Trump’s call to leave AI “exactly where it is” contrasts even with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
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Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 25/09/2026
and by "using AI to improve government efficiency and reduce fraud and waste" we mean just a giant, lumbering piece of shit built by weird and incompetent zealots
arstechnica.com
Trump admin using AI to deny medical care for seniors in disastrous experiment
Vendors rolling out AI have an "incentive to deny as many claims as possible."
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Colin Kennedy @ck3po.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
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