Sign in

Ken Sinclair

@khsinclair.bsky.social
778 followers 571 following 1.4K posts

Retired techie, from MIT AI to robotics and speech and back to AI. Lifelong lib, built affordable housing but otherwise didn't understand the political stakes until too late.

PostsRepliesMedia
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 4h
Altman says he wants "intelligence" to be a utility, so treat it like one. Note, however, that even your water utility bears real responsibility for the safety of their product.
001
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Carney getting serious about post-american alliances, with very direct language. Only possible because he's reflecting the mood of the Canadian and European publics.
000
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Anne Applebaum @anneapplebaum.wsocial.eu · 14/09/2026
Your regular reminder: If the Russians stop fighting, the war ends. If the Ukrainians stop fighting, their land will be occupied, their leaders will be killed, their history and language will be erased, their children will be kidnapped to serve Russia.
5963723613371
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Ed Markey @edmarkey.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
In Massachusetts, we have a responsibility to protect the vulnerable and stand up for those who need it. We don’t throw trans kids under the bus for political points. We protect them—and all of our neighbors—because trans rights are human rights.
150108041818
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Evan Greer @evangreer.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Setting aside all the civil liberties, privacy, and free expression concerns, online ID checks / “age verification” laws are just a massive massive security risk. Every time I read one of these bills I ask “did an identity thief write this?!”
4227115
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Sam @samd.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
The “head of strategic futures” at OpenAI just went on an unhinged rant against social security sometimes I feel like these tech companies are actively trying to alienate as many normal people as possible
Dean W. Ball
@deanwball
x.com
The main thing I have to say to the young generation of Americans is that your
grandparents and great-grandparents committed a kind of accounting fraud when they ran our country a century ago with social security, and at the time it was a reasonable affordance to grant our leaders, who were dealing with an economic depression and a world war, but nonetheless they did commit the fraud, and they ended up buying all sorts of extravagant things using the fraudulent gains, including what became the thing we now understand to be the high-modern technocratic nation-state, and that is glorious and also bad and all that, but the thing is there's still the issue about the accounting fraud, whose debt is coming due and is coming due fast.
It is best to consider this with as minimal residue of sentiment as possible, to really sit with it, to stare it coldly in the face.
Unwinding the great fraud of the high modernists is your job, whether you wish it to be or not.
5684729947
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Eric Holthaus @ericholthaus.com · 25/08/2026
This is what we mean when we say AI is destroying the Earth.
17032
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Kevin J. Kircher @kevinjkircher.com · 24/08/2026
Underappreciated: US farmland *already substantially produces energy, not food*, and does so very inefficiently. Corn ethanol (~40% of all US corn) requires about 100 times more land per vehicle-mile driven than solar photovoltaics -> electric vehicles. Shifting corn to solar *would free up land*.
4935121020
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 22/08/2026
We (some of us at least) have seen the headlines about the state and federal government ignoring the climate-change caused calamitous power outage in Gary, Indiana. But you know who IS there? @wck.org wck.org/news/gary-in...
wck.org
First Alert: WCK Responds to Extended Power Outages in Gary, IN | WCK
World Central Kitchen is responding in Gary, Indiana, where thousands of residents have been without power for over a week. On August 11, a storm whipped through the state, damaging power lines and ro...
0128
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 15/08/2026
Some of the electoral failure of Democratic policies can be blamed on timing error. Policies take months or years to develop, to defend, to pass, then to implement. Even if there is benefit, constituents never perceive the cause and effect behind it.
100
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 09/08/2026
The good news is these silly colonization and exploitation ideas are now being discussed as privately funded venture (though we'll have to fight to keep it that way). Public funding of space exploration should be aimed at advancing science.
030
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 07/08/2026
I had thought Iran was savvy enough to realize that Trump's interests and the US don't fully align, and their primary goal was to damage the US. The Guardian report suggests they're more focused on Trump, which is somewhat good news.
1121
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 06/08/2026
Unfortunately Ford's business model for this vehicle probably includes relying on dealer financing and unnecessary service intervals to compensate dealers, who will still refuse to sell them.
020
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 05/08/2026
MA residents: I believe Senator Warren still intends to support KOSA, which would provide new mechanisms for censorship of LGBTQ content, and collect personal info for inevitable abuse by criminal and government actors. Please let her know your opposition.
044
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Progressive Mass @progressivemass.bsky.social · 04/08/2026
Ed Markey stands up for Transgender people and believes that trans kids should be embraced and treated with dignity. Seth Moulton scapegoats Trans kids for political "gain"; make sure he learns doing so is a political loser.
37630
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 02/08/2026
50 years ago we were camping in the big thompson canyon when an officer came through raising the alarm: get off the island and up to safety, now. Saved our lives. I was fifteen but always remember that night and those who were lost.
020
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 25/07/2026
$292m to rent 2000 apartments for a year is $12k monthly!! Aside from the immoral and illegal priority given to soldiers, this would cause problems in the DC housing market.
010
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 10/07/2026
Fixing these small-scale corporate abuses is good, but it's something that a Dem executive should Just Do, like this. It's not a "Project 2029" centerpiece, or something you need to build constituency for. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...
theguardian.com
New York City seeks to implement ban on deceptive subscription practices
Rule from Mamdani administration would target streaming services, gym memberships and other recurring charges
010
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
Jaylen Brown traded to Philadelphia. Good move for him, he and Embiid will be a serious force. Lousy move for Celtics and Boston.
030
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 20/06/2026
Tour de France starts July 4 in Barcelona, works its way up to Bordeaux then across to the Alps. Hoping temps moderate and riders can stay safe.
010
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 17/06/2026
Thought provoking piece from Dean today. "Wealth" is not just billionaires with expensive toys and hobbies. For most Americans, "wealth" is the security to meet basic needs in an uncertain future. It doesn't have to be this way, society can do a better job of meeting those needs directly.
096
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 13/06/2026
Exactly. You don't need to "build political constituency" to do things that already have popular support. Just do it. The marginal Dem in the next majority Congress should be made to feel very vulnerable, not omnipotent.
000
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 11/06/2026
It's time to start questioning the depreciation schedules of the gas power plants on the drawing boards for data center power. If the turbines can't be installed until 2030, and are economically nonviable by 2035, they'll need to be depreciated faster than the computing hardware.
000
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Jacquelyn Gill @jacquelyngill.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
One issue with machine learning is that algorithms can identify patterns, but not mechanisms. It’s statistical pattern matching, which can be powerful in many applications, but ultimately identifies correlation, not causation.
519564
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 29/05/2026
Landing site for 400 terabits of undersea fiber...
010
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera @pantibliss.bsky.social · 02/09/2025
Trans people have been around your whole life. You’ve been sharing bathrooms with them your whole life. They’ve been in your communities your whole life. They’ve even been playing sport your whole life. And you didn’t care *at all* till a few years ago when every right wing org decided you should
76118224115
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 21/05/2026
Talking Heads Grateful Dead Parliament David Bowie Ziggy Marley Depeche Mode Bruno Mars Buddy Guy Beyonce Janelle Monae
030
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 16/05/2026
Don't lose your Windows laptop, your encrypted drive is now easily readable. Ugh. arstechnica.com/security/202...
arstechnica.com
Zero-day exploit completely defeats default Windows 11 BitLocker protections
It's not entirely clear how the exploit works. Microsoft says it's investigating.
000
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
David Roberts @volts.wtf · 20/04/2026
This -- not new natural gas pipelines -- is what's going to rescue New England's energy system & bring down bills.
canarymedia.com
Big grid batteries are finally on a roll in New England
The region's largest battery yet recently came online in Massachusetts, where state climate policies aimed at cleaning up the grid are boosting the tech.
321238
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 05/04/2026
An inspiring ecumenical Easter message from our President this year.
010
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 25/03/2026
In a few weeks we'll be asked to "Support our troops" by supporting leadership, sending more money, more arms, more troops, and not dissenting even if we disagree about the war. The best way to support the troops is to stop making war.
021
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 22/03/2026
Before Haber Bosch we had wars over guano, the primary source of nitrogen for fertilizer
0223
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 20/03/2026
We were using 6kw of this power to charge our car at the time. Or so I choose to believe: we get 100% renewable from somewhere through the grid.
010
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 15/03/2026
Or go to an IRS VITA site to get free help preparing and filing www.irs.gov/individuals/...
irs.gov
Free tax return preparation for qualifying taxpayers | Internal Revenue Service
The IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) and the Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) programs prepare tax returns for free for qualifying taxpayers.
001
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 14/03/2026
Vineyard Wind completed, ready for commissioning, should come online in April. It's been a long road... www.wbur.org/news/2026/03...
wbur.org
Vineyard Wind, country's first large-scale offshore wind project, finishes construction
After years of starts and stops, construction on Vineyard Wind, the country's first large-scale offshore wind project, wrapped up this week.
000
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 29/01/2026
Lead exposure from gasoline has been linked to violent crime in the 1990s, and also to various mental disorders. I'm not sure if anyone's formally studied the effect on American politics.
140
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Greg Olear @gregolear.bsky.social · 25/01/2026
One of the best things I’ve read in a while:
412870110666
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 24/01/2026
Perfect analogy.
000
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Robert McNees @mcnees.bsky.social · 08/01/2026
I cannot stress enough that you should not do this.
apple.news
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records — The Verge
OpenAI has been dropping hints this week about AI’s role as a “healthcare ally” — and today, the company is announcing a product to go along with that idea: ChatGPT Health.
10482191
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 03/01/2026
TSMC is the sole manufacturer of essential chips within every computer, cellphone, television, automobile, satellite, and data center in the world. Our modern world depends on Taiwan.
020
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 20/12/2025
Three looming changes may utterly transform our use of the Internet: identity verification (for age), repeal of section 230, and the PA court endorsing warrantless sharing of Google data with LE.
031
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Andy @rukira91.bsky.social · 17/12/2025
This isn’t even all of the AIDS quilt. It was so long they didn’t have room to display it all. Reagan flat out fucking murdered queer people
2131441121
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 08/12/2025
Irish right whale sighted in Massachusetts Bay www.masslive.com/boston/2025/...
masslive.com
‘Extraordinary’ whale sighting in Boston makes history
A critically endangered right whale with "unique features" spotted near Boston has made history.
000
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Office of Mayor Michelle Wu 吳弭 @mayorwu.boston.gov · 22/11/2025
An honor and dream come true to perform alongside Yo-Yo Ma, presented by Celebrity Series at Boston Symphony Hall. 💜 🎼Ave Maria (Bach/Gounod)
792807525
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Indivisible ❌👑 @indivisible.org · 18/10/2025
😍 Boston, you are beautiful. #NoKings
10205078912240
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 03/10/2025
Don't use phone app technology when a web site will do, without introducing a point of control. This is why we have HTML5. This decision may have more serious repercussions to Apple than they realize.
140
Reposted by Ken Sinclair
Jen Mercieca @jenmercieca.bsky.social · 29/09/2025
The science of defiance: A psychology researcher explains why people comply – and how to resist theconversation.com/the-science-...
theconversation.com
The science of defiance: A psychology researcher explains why people comply – and how to resist
You don’t need to be a rebel to defy. Defiance isn’t about personality, it’s a practice – one that’s becoming essential in workplaces, politics and everyday life.
510559
Ken Sinclair @khsinclair.bsky.social · 04/09/2025
The jets were not to distract, they were to intimidate women into silence. Because he's afraid of what they could say.
000