iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Hot damn! ‘The most ordinary man imaginable’ is perfection.

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Thomas Lecaque @tlecaque.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

I want the name of every consultant who convinces a Democrat to run an ad ceding ground to trans hatred, and I want them blacklisted by the party and noted so I can never give a cent to anyone who hires them ever again.

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

That’s impressively painting a big ol’ money target on themselves. Literally saying ‘these are the injurious things we are doing’

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

This times a thousand. These guys are self-glazing for being shit at half of the job.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/09/2026

Once you understand the corporate culture of AI hyperscalers is everyone cooking their brains by locking themselves in the bathroom, holding flashlights under their chins, and saying "Aaaaaaaaaay Eyeeeeeee" until they wet themselves in terror, things snap into focus: pluralistic.net/2023/06/04/a...

A cutaway view of a stone tower containing an elaborate water-powered medieval geared machine. Rising out of the machine is a rainbow-tinted, pixelated God with the robes, beard and all. To one side of this scene is a cluster of tiny people in Jesus-era robes, falling about themselves in religious ecstasy all over a stone staircase, atop of which stands a robed priest with his hands upraised. The background is a set of shining golden rays, emanating from pixel-God.

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Jessica Ellis @baddestmamajama.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Part of the reason a lot of super rich people are so awful is that when normal people get an absurd amount of money, they immediately start looking around for who they can help.

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Such a good thread on the Trump admin’s aggressive deregulation of ‘load bearing private institutions’ should be the impetus for the global economy to decouple and replace. Should be.

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Dominix @dominix.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

King Charles told me the public keeps eating his prime ministers so l asked how many prime ministers he has and he said he just goes to the parliament and gets a new prime minister afterwards so I said it sounds like he's just feeding prime ministers to the public and then his son started crying.

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Sigrid Ellis @sigridellis.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I grew up thinking of the "Imperial Core" as an SF/F concept based loosely on either medieval kindgoms or European colonialism. Something like colonial Accra or medieval France. A capitol city where all power resides and the infrastructure that supports it. However.

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Sanho Tree @sanho.bsky.social · 24/06/2026

Technically, they’re Remains now.

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McSweeney's @mcsweeneys.net · 16/06/2026

"Ben owns a farm. He employs 100 workers. His total payroll is $10 million/year. One day, he buys a mule, which provides the worker who uses it with a modest 10% productivity gain. Ben fires 99 of his workers and purchases 99 mules, expecting a 1,000% productivity gain..."

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AI Economics for Dummies

“Xavier owns an apartment that he rents out at a loss of $1 billion/month. Seeing this success, he decides to make financial commitments to construct $850 bi...

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 11/06/2026

Douglas Adams: > Anything in the world when you're born is normal, ordinary and a natural part of the world. Anything invented between when you’re 15-35 is new, exciting and revolutionary and you can get a career in it. Anything invented after you're 35 is against the natural order of things. 1/

A blasted wasteland with a mushroom cloud rising over it. In the foreground are swarms of drowning people climbing over each other to escape into the limbs of a dead tree, and a crowd of agonized skeletons. All sourced from Dore engravings illustrating the Old Testament.

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Rachel Cohen @cohen489.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I just—like, sure, being a trillionaire is cool I guess but what’s it all for if you haven’t even seen the wreckage of the titanic firsthand

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The Baldfather @solochills.blacksky.app · 22/05/2026

She looks like she invented racism

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Hamilton Nolan @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Worth noting that this is actually a meta-question-- it's not "what policy do you think is good?" It's "what policy do you think other, imaginary people would think is good?" This encourages the "Everyone Think Like a Pundit Rather Than as a Citizen" disease that plagues political commentary.

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

lol thread, SpaceX is such shit. Propped up financials can never stay propped up, it’s a losing game.

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David Roberts @volts.wtf · 15/05/2026

Another for instance! Down in Queensland, Australia, fossil gas used to provide all the peak power. Then batteries start nibbling at it. Then chomping on it. And now they've basically eaten it all up. No more gas. Look at this graphic! Glorious. reneweconomy.com.au/big-batterie...

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 11/05/2026

The ghost post is still there on my timeline but it’s been removed again. Can still quote post the ghost. @markhamillofficial.bsky.social

A screen cap of Mark Hamill’s post of his response in BlueSky to a Twitter comment by some MAGA account complaining about him. Mark notes that he has posted this same response 4 other times on BlueSky and each has disappeared. He’s wondering if fifth time is the charm (it was not).

A screen cap showing the “Post not found” that pops up one trying to click thru Mark’s post

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 07/05/2026

Take away the bubble and we'd call the things AI can do "plug-ins." Some would use them, and others wouldn't, and some uses would be productive, and others would be foolish, but we wouldn't bet the economy on them, nor squander our last dribbles of potable water to cool their data centers. 23/

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Garrett M. Graff @vermontgmg.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

The White House bunker has never been intended to be a place a president would actually run a crisis from long-term. Why is Trump evidently trying to change that now & build a super-bunker? There's no scenario I can think of where this makes sense—except one: www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/the-troubl...

doomsdayscenario.co

The Trouble with Trump's Bunker and Ballroom

Is he building it to sustain an attack — or the end of democracy?

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Now this is an informative thread

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mtsw @mtsw.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Someone described it as "a combination of Amelia Badelia and the Memento Guy" and that is pretty accurate to my experience so far bsky.app/profile/edbu...

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 14/04/2026

I’ll be honest, I don’t — and never have — found the joy that some people claim to find in LLMs, and believe they're being sold using a deceptive coordinated marketing campaign built on fear. Claude is a website. I will never respect a website. www.wheresyoured.at/i-will-never-respect-a-website/

I think the most enlightening thing about AI is that it shows you how even the most mediocre text inspires some sort of emotion. Soulless LinkedIn slop makes you feel frustration with a person for their lack of authenticity, but you can still imagine how they forced it out of their heads. You still connect with them, even if it’s in a bad way.

AI copy is dead. It is inert. The reason you can spot it is that it sounds hollow. I don’t care if a website says stuff on it because I typed in, just like I don’t care if it responds in a way that sounds human, because it all feels like nothing to me. I am not here to give a website respect, I will not be impressed by a website, nor will I grant a website any extra credit if it can’t do the right thing every time. The computer is meant to work for me. If the computer doesn’t do what I want, I change the kind of computer I use. LLMs will always hallucinate, their outputs are not trustworthy as a result, they cannot be deterministic, and any chance of any mistakes of any kind are unforgivable. I don’t care how the website made you feel: it’s a machine that doesn’t always work, and that’s not a very good machine.

I feel nothing when I see an LLM’s output. Tell me thank you or whatever, I don’t care. You’re a website. Oh you can spit out code? Amazing. Still a website.

Truly useful technology isn’t described in oblique or hyperbolic terms. For example, last week, IBM’s Dave McCann described using a series of “AI agents” to Business Insider

The agent — it's actually a collection of AI agents and assistants — scans McCann's calendar for client meetings and drafts a list of 10 things he needs to know for each one. The goal, McCann told Business Insider, was to free up time he and his staff spent preparing for the meetings.
Sounds like a website to me.

The agent reviews in-house data, what IBM and the client are doing in the market, external data, and account details — such as project status and services sold and purchased, McCann said. It can also identify industry trends and client needs by, for example, reviewing a firm's annual report and identifying a corresponding service IBM could provide.
Sounds like a website using an LLM to summarize stuff to me. Why are we making all this effort to talk about what a website does?

Digital Dave also saves McCann's team time, he said, because the three or four staffers who used to spend hours pulling together insights for the prep calls are now free to do other work.

"It's not just about driving efficiencies, but it's really about transforming how work gets done," McCann said.
My friend, this isn’t a “series of agents.” It’s an LLM that looks at stuff and spits out an answer. Chatbots have done this kind of thing forever. These aren’t “agents.” “Agents” makes it sound like there’s some sort of futuristic autonomous presence rather than a chatbot that’s looking at documents using technology that’s guaranteed to hallucinate incorrect information.

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Zach Weinersmith @zachweinersmith.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

A while back we were joking here about how a little over a year ago, some economist must've looked at a monkey's paw and said "I wish regular people appreciated textbook economics more."

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The Times Of America @timesofamerica.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

Tonight On Pod Save America: Graham Platner Has A Final Solution For Income Inequality

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Patrick Chovanec @prchovanec.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

You notice how quiet China has been? That's because you never interfere with an enemy who is in the process of destroying himself.

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Starfire’s Deranged Neocon Foreign Policy Podcast @irhottakes.bsky.social · 02/03/2026

Raytheon Executive: I know you’re skeptical about buying American again. But hear me out. The MIM-104 Patriot is the only surface to air missile system with a proven track record of success against the US Air Force. Danish Defense Minister: Continue.

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Kurt @kurttraverse.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

I enjoyed this so much! The Salt-Black Tree introduced new, memorable characters and landed a solid ending.

Hand holding Lilith Saintcrow’s book The Salt-Black Tree. The person is returning a library book on a nice, bright day.

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Ed @notdred.bsky.social · 11/02/2026

I gotta say that with this administration malice permeates every motivation and stupidity permeates every execution

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Micah @rincewind.run · 09/02/2026

thank you bad bunny for allowing all the thirty eight year olds on bluesky to do the leo pointing meme at the television

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mechanical twerk @ruhee.ca · 08/02/2026

No Kings includes Draft Kings

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Bookshop.org @bookshop.org · 27/01/2026

While independent bookstores are giving out free whistles, hosting protest sign making events, and donating proceeds to mutual aid, Amazon is *checks notes* providing technology that assists ICE in their terrorizing of communities. Independent bookstores deserve your support. Amazon does not.

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Thomas [DARK MODE], DO @tom.medsky.social · 27/01/2026

Downfall Bovino Edition. You're welcome.

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Gravel Influencer @gravelinfluencer.bsky.social · 16/01/2026

One thing to keep in mind with regard to voter intimidation at polling places is that cities across the country have developed or are developing large rapid response networks around ICE. It would be easy to leverage those same networks to protect polling places or escort vulnerable voters.

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All In with Chris Hayes @allinwithchris.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

@chrislhayes.bsky.social: “A 37-year-old American citizen, the mother of a young child is dead tonight. She was shot in the face by an agent of the federal government, and that government has spent the day telling despicable lies about her.”

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Kat Abughazaleh @katmabu.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

You and your wife drop your 6-year-old off at school. You just moved here. You see ICE terrorizing your new neighbors. You film them, as is your legal right. Your wife complies with orders. She is then shot in the head. You still have to pick up your child later today. This could be you.

Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting
"They killed my wife," the distraught woman says, adding, "They shot her in the head."
An ICE agent shot and killed a 37-year-old woman who was driving an SUV in Minneapolis on Wednesday. / Screenshot/@Breaking911

"They killed my wife. I don't know what to do," the woman says through sobs in the footage, with a damaged SUV visible in the distance behind her. "We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head," the woman cries.
"We have a six-year-old at school," she says, almost unable to breathe, as a chaotic scene in which federal officers prevented at least one doctor who was on the scene from assisting the shot victim unfolds. "We're new here," the distraught woman says in despair.

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Jessica Schulberg @jessicaschulberg.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

a video taken by the eyewitness, Emily Heller, shows agents denying a self-identified physician access to the victim and telling bystanders to “just relax.” “How can I relax? You just killed my fucking neighbor,” Heller responded. “How the fuck do you show up to work every day?”

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hammancheez but spooky @hammancheez.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

Mamdani : you trust fund bitches been whitewashing nazis too much

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NY Times Pitchbot @nytpitchbot.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Should Erika Kirk be reported to her employer for insufficiently mourning Charlie Kirk?

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Andrew Facini @andrewfacini.com · 01/01/2026

BREAKING: Explosions felt across New York City as full socialism begins

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Raphael van Lierop 🇨🇦 @raphlife.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Techbros seem to love Tolkien, so here's an analogy to help you understand what genAI is. GenAI is The One Ring. You think your use is justified, b/c you don't have evil in your heart. But it came from evil, it is intended for evil purpose, & anything you do with it will be twisted to that end.

Boromir from THE LORD OF THE RINGS, holding The One Ring. He thought he could use it for good, but everything done with the ring turns to evil. He was one of the mightiest warriors of middle earth, and he could not resist its powers. Others even mightier fell to the ring. Do you think you are stronger than them? The One Ring is generative AI.

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Brendel @brendelbored.bsky.social · 22/12/2025

I think it’s pretty likely Bari Weiss quits far sooner than anyone expects because if there’s anything we learned from her tenure at the New York Times it’s that this lady hates working, absolutely despises it, and she probably had to send like four emails today

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Josh Goldstein @joshisimmigration.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

One of the biggest moments of my career: USCIS canceled my client’s naturalization oath ceremony. We filed a lawsuit, went to trial, and the judge swore him in right there in the courtroom!

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Ann Telnaes @anntelnaes.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Trump, Hegseth, and Sen. Cotton go caroling anntelnaes.substack.com/p/whiskey-pe...

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