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Mark Hurst

@markhurst.bsky.social
3K followers 407 following 1.4K posts

Reader, writer, speaker, host. Encouraging better tech, resisting Big Tech. Host, Techtonic - techtonic.fm Host, Gel conference - gelconference.com Criticism - creativegood.com/blog Newsletter - creativegood.com/newsletter

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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
As promised - I did a dramatic reading of "How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Campus Surveillance" on Techtonic. exquisite.tube/w/afxx9o44pN... Full episode: techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
exquisite.tube
Mark Hurst's reading of "How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Campus Surveillance"
An excerpt of How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Campus Surveillance (by Catherine D’Ignazio, Marah Gubar, Tanalís Padilla, Dwai Banerjee, and Karrie Karahalios, MIT Faculty Newsletter, Septe...
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
When I started warning about license-plate cameras in 2024 (www.wfmu.org/playlists/sh...) some people were, let's say, skeptical. And now here we are.
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Faine Greenwood @faineg.com · 29/09/2026
oh man, I just tried it and america.gov really does get REAL weird when you tell it to “play Minecraft”
america.gov
America.gov
Find answers from official government sources and clear next steps for the services you need with America.gov.
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Coach Finstock @coachfinstock.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
This is a list of all the people who are going to be getting bailed out with your tax money. I guarantee it. Not tough to call this shot.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
I got a little angry on Techtonic, reflecting on Jensen Huang's admission that he sees AI-based cognitive decline in kids (and himself: he doesn't know his own address) and he's OK with it all. Full episode: techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
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Dr. Damien P. Williams, dread portent down from a mountain cave @wolven.blacksky.app · 29/09/2026
Seriously, just do not use muse
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
"If the state successfully persuades the judge to award the maximum civil penalties for every violation, the company could owe over $200 billion, with interest accruing if it decides to appeal." I hope New Mexico gets every last penny from Facebook. apnews.com/article/face...
apnews.com
New Mexico jury finds Facebook liable for deceiving users about privacy protections
A New Mexico jury has found Facebook liable of deceiving users about privacy protections on the social media platform.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Surveillance is about *control*.
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Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
Yeah, but this isn’t like that. This is if you made your own robot dog, programmed it yourself, and then let it loose in the park and it bit someone…
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 27/09/2026
AI agents will deliver a painful lesson that connection to the global internet is not an unalloyed good. Organizations, institutions, utilities etc. are soon going to wake up to the possibilities of local-only networks with a limited (if any) connection to the wider web.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Anything you say in public - in a restaurant or bar, on a bus or plane or subway, in the workplace - can be secretly recorded by someone wearing (or holding) a Zuck-spy device, which will send what you said to Facebook AI for analysis and sharing.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
leavesubstack.com
leavesubstack.com
You Should Probably Leave Substack
You should probably leave Substack. Here’s why and how.
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leon @leyawn.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
ceo of burger king: our burgers have gone rogue again and infected people with e coli
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 26/09/2026
“Everyone hates cameras in smart glasses. But if the camera is contained in a charm you wear around your neck, it shifts the agency. Suddenly, you’re not recording people. It’s just a cute little animated avatar looking out on the world.”
theguardian.com
‘Charming and disarming’ … how Meta’s technology-packed Muse harnesses the power of cuteness
The tech giant has launched a cute ‘little guy’ that can answer emails, book travel or do your weekly food shop
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
been saying for years on techtonic.fm - the fight ahead is big tech vs. the rest of us.
techtonic.fm
Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU
Techtonic with Mark Hurst is a weekly radio show from WFMU about technology, how it's affecting us, and what we can do about it.
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Alex Gibney @alexgibneyfilm.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
The trailer for my new film, "Musk," has just been released.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/24/b...
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
not so promiment, but I have plenty to say. keep up the good work - buttondown.com/creativegood...
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
my thoughts exactly: "The end of the world and our chance to stop it" buttondown.com/creativegood...
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"A living, multi-layered sensing system." Isn't that a line from Aliens? If it's not, it could have been.
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iWillVote.com Pollock ➡️ turn 🔔 on @willpollock.com · 24/09/2026
Zuckerberg's shithole product violating Amazon's ToS is like Hannibal Lecter getting scolded by Charles Manson
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
I love this - may have to record a dramatic reading for techtonic.fm
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The PS1 startup sound as a lesbian @janus.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
New: I wrote about the “privacy safeguards” that tech companies are putting on pervert glasses and other consumer surveillance devices, to obscure the fact that these devices violate consent by design My latest in @theverge.com (Gift Link) ⬇️ bit.ly/4dUwffE
bit.ly
Everything is spying on you and there’s no opting out
A new wave of AI-enhanced consumer creep-tech disregards the privacy of everyone but the wearer. The people have had enough.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
"The choice is clear: Either we give up carbon capitalism to appease our earthly gods, or our world will continue to burn." Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/09/23/o...
nytimes.com
Opinion | Our Forests Are Demanding a Sacrifice (Gift Article)
Wildfire converted me from a tree-hugger to a tree-worshipper.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Agree - have been calling for that for years on techtonic.fm
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Anything you say in public - in a restaurant or bar, on a bus or plane or subway, in the workplace - can be secretly recorded by someone wearing (or holding) a Zuck-spy device, which will send what you said to Facebook AI for analysis and sharing.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@down.blue
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
@down.blue
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The Old English Patient
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Congrats, Dave!
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Good news for the delivery workers I interviewed on Techtonic recently: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
podcasts.apple.com
Fighting for delivery worker rights: Los Deliveristas Unidos from Jul 27, 2026
Podcast Episode · Techtonic with Mark Hurst | WFMU · July 27 · 1 sec
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Ralph @ralphhhenson.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
UN rn.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
Surveillance glasses giving corrections on proper behavior. Next up: the glasses tell you to stop criticizing tech companies.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
From the new Techtonic, @bourgwick.bsky.social on ticketing apps and live music. Full episode: techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
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WFMU @wfmu.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Today on WFMU: On Techtonic with Mark Hurst, Jesse Jarnow on ticketing apps and live music. Forget paper tickets for concerts. Large ticketing companies now force concertgoers to use mobile apps full of exploitative algorithms and surveillance. (6 p.m. ET). www.wfmu.org/upcoming
wfmu.org
Upcoming Special Programs on WFMU
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Just posted my episode page for Techtonic later today. I'll be discussing exploitative live-music ticketing apps with @bourgwick.bsky.social ... Ticketmaster and the like. Livestream at 6pm Eastern (3pm Pacific) on @wfmu.bsky.social. wfmu.org/playlists/sh...
wfmu.org
Jesse Jarnow on ticketing apps and live music: Techtonic with Mark Hurst
Audio & playlist from September 21, 2026
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Next week in Accord, NY (two hours north of NYC), if you're around: gelconference.com
gelconference.com
Gel 2026 Conference
Gel is back! Now 10 years after our most recent event, Gel 2016, the event returns on October 2-3 with the theme: Rebirth.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
A "mimetically-fit cognitive virus"? I think the word he's looking for is... "idea." Imagine what George Carlin would have said about bro-speak.
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Eoin Higgins @eoinhiggins.bsky.social · 20/09/2026
You’re right—that plane shouldn’t have gone there. That’s my fault, and I should have made sure there wasn’t a terminal in the landing path. Would you like me to call emergency services, or assist with lining up takeoffs?
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Dave Karpf @davekarpf.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
This is the type of AI disaster scenario that I ACTUALLY worry about. (1) AI industry oversells the capabilities of its products to score fat government contracts. (2) govt puts the AI in charge of critical shit. (3) AI fucks up, because it has a nonzero error rate. (4) shit, now we’re at war.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
What Rick says at the end of the video - about AI companies manipulating the files in the cloud - is exactly what I was warning about a year ago: buttondown.com/creativegood...
buttondown.com
AI is starting to secretly edit your files
One of the scarier headlines I’ve recently comes from the BBC: YouTube secretly used AI to edit people’s videos (August 24, 2025). This is just as I...
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Kieran Healy @kjhealy.co · 18/09/2026
This is the far more likely pathway for how AI will end us all, btw. Not via some superintelligent swarm of paperclip maximizers, but by a cascading sequence of dumb fuckups driven by human beings who have arranged things to be fast-moving and catastrophically fragile while also being really lazy.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
yes! or my email is mark@creativegood.com
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 18/09/2026
Gabe - would love to take a look, for techtonic.fm !
techtonic.fm
Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU
Techtonic with Mark Hurst is a weekly radio show from WFMU about technology, how it's affecting us, and what we can do about it.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 17/09/2026
“rumored” 🙃
futurism.com
Cult of Anthropic Insiders Rumored to Be Worshipping Claude as a God
According to a rumor that is apparently running rampant in Silicon Valley these days, some Anthropic engineers are "worshipping" Claude.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Finally, I'll point out that my upcoming GEL conference (Fri-Sat, Oct 2-3 in Accord, NY) is exploring similar themes: how do we live, and create, and build community DESPITE all of the harms coming from Big Tech AI? Hope you'll join us: gelconference.com
gelconference.com
Gel 2026 Conference
Gel is back! Now 10 years after our most recent event, Gel 2016, the event returns on October 2-3 with the theme: Rebirth.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
On AI harms: Another person to follow is @byrontau.bsky.social , now at @propublica.org , investigating the growing surveillance state, due to the close alliance between the gov't and Silicon Valley. I spoke with Byron on Techtonic this week - recommended interview: techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
techtonic.fm
Byron Tau on government surveillance | Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU
Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Byron Tau returns to Techtonic to discuss how the American government is surveilling citizens. In one recent article, Tau revealed how the U.S. Border Patrol is track...
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
I was happy to see that "Ghost in the Machine" featured people who I've interviewed on techtonic.fm. They all do excellent work. I'd recommend following them, if you don't already: @emilymbender.bsky.social @alexhanna.bsky.social @rushkoff.com @randomwalker.bsky.social @adambecker.bsky.social .
techtonic.fm
Techtonic with Mark Hurst on WFMU
Techtonic with Mark Hurst is a weekly radio show from WFMU about technology, how it's affecting us, and what we can do about it.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The thing is, there ARE real harms from AI, and they're described well in "Ghost in the Machine." Here's the PBS link, so you can avoid the Google surveillance in YouTube: www.pbs.org/video/ghost-...
pbs.org
Independent Lens | Ghost in the Machine | Season 28 | Episode 1
Ghost in the Machine reveals AI’s troubled history and present-day impacts.
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Mark Hurst @markhurst.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
The oligarchs *have* to say this stuff in order to keep the AI bubble inflated. Crypto didn't work, the metaverse didn't work, so they REALLY need AI to squeeze out a bit more growth. To maintain the bubble, they have to inflate their hype correspondingly. It's not just powerful tech,... it's GOD.
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