Sign in

Max Ufberg

@maxuf.bsky.social
561 followers 224 following 24 posts

Tech editor at Fast Company

PostsRepliesMedia
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Fast Company @fastcompany.com · 12h
Senior Editor @maxuf.bsky.social visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match. Take a look inside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of war ⬇️
fastcompany.com
Inside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of war
I visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match.
111
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Patrick Sisson @patrickcsisson.bsky.social · 26/09/2026
Incredible article, with invaluable on-the-ground reporting, about Ukrainian drones by @maxuf.bsky.social www.fastcompany.com/91611099/ins...
fastcompany.com
Inside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of war
I visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match.
043
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Morgan Clendaniel @mclendaniel.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Fast Company’s tech editor @maxuf.bsky.social traveled to Ukraine to get a close-up look at the secretive network of drone and AI startups that have reshaped the war and are now forcing the U.S. defense industry to rethink what the future of combat looks like: www.fastcompany.com/91611099/ins...
fastcompany.com
Inside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of war
I visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match.
012
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Over the summer, I visited Ukraine’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge AI weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match. Read more @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91611099/ins...
fastcompany.com
Inside Ukraine’s secretive tech world building the future of war
I visited Kyiv’s hidden offices and testing fields to meet the startups, soldiers, and government engineers making cutting-edge weapons at a pace the rest of the world is scrambling to match.
023
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Benjamin Laufer @laufer.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
In a new @fastcompany.com op-ed, I connect recent developments involving Anthropic, Kimi K3, and the EU AI Act to a question from my research: how do rules aimed at one company change the behavior of others in the AI supply chain? www.fastcompany.com/91580189/sho...
fastcompany.com
Should AI companies be able to outsource safety?
Rules aimed only at downstream applications can make AI products less safe. Policymakers should hold both model makers and the companies building on them accountable.
122
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Bryce Covert @brycecovert.bsky.social · 08/06/2026
When Uber bankrolled a California ballot measure that carved its workers out of state labor law, it promised to create a fair way to appeal deactivations. Drivers have filed a lawsuit arguing that it broke that promise. www.fastcompany.com/91553175/ube...
fastcompany.com
Uber promised drivers a way to appeal deactivations. They say it doesn’t exist
A new lawsuit argues that Uber’s appeals process under California’s Prop 22 is little more than window dressing, leaving drivers with no meaningful way to fight sudden removals from the platform.
043
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
New from me: A federal takeover of OpenAI or Anthropic remains highly unlikely, at least outside some extraordinary crisis. But a softer version of nationalization is becoming easier to imagine. www.fastcompany.com/91552253/ai-...
fastcompany.com
What AI nationalization could really look like
A government takeover of the leading labs remains unlikely, but Bernie Sanders’s public-ownership proposal and President Trump’s model-review order show how quickly the debate over AI control is shift...
011
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 05/06/2026
read the story here! www.fastcompany.com/91550844/aus...
fastcompany.com
How Austin’s sandlot baseball scene became a magnet for indie rockers, filmmakers, designers, and brands
If you build it, they will come.
010
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 01/06/2026
For nearly a decade, a small baseball field outside Austin has become a magnet for musicians, artists, designers, and baseball obsessives. I wrote about the world Jack Sanders built, and how it came to draw in everyone from Kevin Morby to Beto O’Rourke www.fastcompany.com/91550844/aus...
fastcompany.com
How Austin’s sandlot baseball scene became a magnet for indie rockers, filmmakers, designers, and brands
If you build it, they will come.
130
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 18/05/2026
Had a very fun convo with The Comeback creator about AI and (more importantly) our shared Scranton roots www.fastcompany.com/91542600/the...
fastcompany.com
'The Comeback' creator Michael Patrick King warns AI may be creativity's extinction event
The veteran writer and producer talks about AI’s uneasy arrival in Hollywood and the enduring appeal of the sitcom format.
010
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Leila Green Little @ifightforbooks.bsky.social · 03/03/2026
Thank you, @maxuf.bsky.social and @fastcompany.com for this informative piece on Bookmarked. As I say in the piece, “Bookmarked is a solution to a problem that doesn’t exist.” Y’all. Banning books is bad. Quit it.
112
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 11/09/2025
This John J. Lennon essay offers a searing look at how fragile, tightly controlled tech access shapes life behind bars. Please do give it a read. www.fastcompany.com/91399196/wri...
fastcompany.com
Writing from my cell in the age of prison Wi-Fi
The expansion of tablets and prison Wi-Fi shows both the promise of connectivity and the cost of relying on billion-dollar contractors.
000
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Justin Hendrix @justinhendrix.bsky.social · 22/08/2025
"Large data centers, many devoted to researching artificial intelligence, are expected to use more than 150 billion gallons of water across the U.S. over the next five years, according to the advocacy organization Alliance for the Great Lakes."
chicago.suntimes.com
AI could deplete drinking water sources around Illinois, Midwest
Large data centers working on artificial intelligence that need water for cooling could drain area water supplies, a Great Lakes advocacy group warns.
12151111
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 01/08/2025
Imagine if Congress had an office dedicated to laying out the risks and benefits of emerging technologies. Turns out, it once did! But then Newt Gingrich defunded it 30 years ago. My latest @fastcompany.com: www.fastcompany.com/91378299/off...
fastcompany.com
Tech policy could be smarter and less partisan if Congress hadn’t shut down this innovative program
For years, the Office of Technology Assessment helped Congress see around corners on science and tech. Its 1995 shutdown left lawmakers flying blind.
022
Reposted by Max Ufberg
The Lever @levernews.com · 31/07/2025
After a secret lobbying effort, Trump’s Justice Department ousted staff and reversed course on Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed megamerger. www.levernews.com/how-big-tech...
levernews.com
How Big Tech Powered A Justice Department Coup
After a secret lobbying effort, Trump’s Justice Department ousted staff and reversed course on Hewlett Packard Enterprise’s proposed megamerger.
2189
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 30/07/2025
NEW: ChatGPT allows Google to index chats users share using the Share functionality - presumably misinterpreting "make this chat discoverable". The result? Frank admissions about sex lives and drug dependencies. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91376687/goo... tip @techmeme.com
fastcompany.com
Google is indexing ChatGPT conversations, potentially exposing sensitive user data
Thousands of shared ChatGPT chats—including deeply personal details about mental health, relationships, and trauma—are appearing in Google search results, raising major privacy concerns.
7370235
Reposted by Max Ufberg
David BASTARDspan @davidbix.com · 25/07/2025
This @fastcompany.com article about the legacy of Hulk Hogan's lawsuit against Gawker is well worth a few minutes of your time.
fastcompany.com
Hulk Hogan changed media forever with his Gawker lawsuit
The superstar athlete, who died on Thursday, cast a long shadow over the world of professional wrestling—and a far more ominous one over the world of internet publishing.
39129
Reposted by Max Ufberg
ProPublica @propublica.org · 24/07/2025
NEW: Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas. One attorney cost taxpayers more than $24,000 for a day’s work. With @texastribune.org
propublica.org
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton Is Outsourcing More of His Office’s Work to Costly Private Lawyers
Despite having an office of hundreds of attorneys, Ken Paxton is frequently opting for private lawyers — many to whom he has personal or political ties — to argue on behalf of Texas. One attorney cost...
721312497
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 22/07/2025
thanks for the follow charlize theron
020
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 21/07/2025
I wrote about a former FBI agent who spent decades chasing art forgers, and why he’s now using tech to try to stop fakes before they’re made. www.fastcompany.com/91364175/ron...
fastcompany.com
He went undercover to catch art thieves. Now he’s using tech to stop forgeries
After decades with the FBI’s Art Crime Team, Ronnie Walker launched the Art Legacy Institute to protect artists before their work gets forged or stolen, rather than after.
011
Reposted by Max Ufberg
ProPublica @propublica.org · 06/07/2025
This year, Tesla’s lobbyists publicly advocated against only two bills. Both died. One would have required public hearings if a collision involving an autonomous vehicle — like the robotaxis Musk is rolling out — resulted in a fatality. With @kutnews.bsky.social & @texastribune.org
propublica.org
Elon Musk’s Long Game to Influence the Texas Legislature
While Elon Musk took Washington, D.C., by storm, his company representatives and lobbyists were also notching up big political wins in the heart of his vast business empire: Texas.
15428163
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 08/07/2025
Drones are hampering recovery efforts in Texas from unexpectedly harsh floods - as they hampered wildfires in California in January, and many others. What's going on? My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91363994/tex...
fastcompany.com
Texas flood recovery efforts face an unexpected obstacle: drones
As emergency teams race to save lives after deadly flash floods, amateur drone pilots are clogging the skies.
013
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 24/06/2025
Anthropic's AI copyright "win" might not actually be a win, unless they want to pay billions of dollars. My latest for @fastcompany.com www.fastcompany.com/91357755/ant...
fastcompany.com
Anthropic's AI copyright 'win' is more complicated than it looks
Tech companies are celebrating a major ruling on fair use for AI training, but a closer read shows big legal risks still lay ahead.
313031
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Sherpa @asso-sherpa.org · 15/05/2025
Bolloré's businesses seem to “prey on countries with weak governance standards... Their relative impunity is made possible by the control they have over the media," Chanez Mensous, advocacy and litigation manager at Sherpa.  @clintrainey.bsky.social reports on Bolloré's corruption allegations 👇
fastcompany.com
Rihanna and The Weeknd champion causes in Africa. The billionaire stakeholder behind their labels faces corruption allegations there
Activists say Vincent Bolloré built his fortune through abusive business practices in West Africa. They’re urging UMG artists to take a closer look.
021
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 14/05/2025
DOGE is racing to digitize federal retirements—with a system built under Biden, not Trump. Insiders tell @fastcompany.com it's a prototype not ready for prime time. www.fastcompany.com/91332785/dog...
fastcompany.com
Elon Musk’s DOGE is launching a new AI retirement system. It was built mostly under Biden
The controversial government tech task force is claiming credit for a digital breakthrough, but insiders say the Biden administration started building the project years earlier.
011
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 13/05/2025
New one from me on @fastcompany.com: This California bill could redefine digital consent by requiring opt-in approval before companies collect or share your location data www.fastcompany.com/91333177/cal...
fastcompany.com
California’s location data privacy bill aims to reshape digital consent
Assembly Bill 1355 would require opt-in consent for collecting and sharing geolocation data, a targeted approach that reflects growing national concern over surveillance and use of sensitive data.
112
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 09/05/2025
guilty as charged
152
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Jesse Eisinger @jeisinger.bsky.social · 07/05/2025
DOGE guy at the CFPB owned verboten stocks. He was explicitly warned by ethics lawyers that he wasn’t permitted to take any action that could benefit those companies — and him. He then helped fire workers anyway. Including the ethics lawyers who warned him. www.propublica.org/article/cfpb...
propublica.org
DOGE Aide Who Helped Gut CFPB Was Warned About Potential Conflicts of Interest
Before he helped fire most Consumer Financial Protection Bureau staffers, DOGE’s Gavin Kliger was warned about his investments and advised to not take any actions that could benefit him personally, ac...
721616767
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New from me: Critics warn that DOGE’s rushed use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services. www.fastcompany.com/91324480/dog...
fastcompany.com
How DOGE used AI to reshape the government in just 100 days
Critics warn that the rushed, untested use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services.
012
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
New from me: Critics warn that DOGE’s rushed use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services. www.fastcompany.com/91324480/dog...
fastcompany.com
How DOGE used AI to reshape the government in just 100 days
Critics warn that the rushed, untested use of AI could lead to wrongful firings, mishandling of sensitive data, and lasting damage to core public services.
012
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 25/03/2025
You can use the most secure encrypted messaging app in the world, but it's the dumb human in the loop that'll reveal your plans to bomb Yemen to the world. My latest for @fastcompany.com on that ridiculous Signal breach and its ramifications www.fastcompany.com/91305043/tru...
fastcompany.com
The Trump administration’s Signal scandal shows humans will always be the weakest link in cybersecurity
A catastrophic breach involving top U.S. officials shows that even the most secure apps are useless when human error enters the chat.
0135
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
I talked to Age of Disclosure director Dan Farah about how he managed to get Marco Rubio, Kirsten Gillibrand, Jim Clapper and dozens of other officials to go on record about alien life. www.fastcompany.com/91301211/dan...
fastcompany.com
‘This might be the one thing that could bring parties together’: UFO film director on the surprising bipartisan support in Congress
Director Dan Farah’s new documentary brings the alien conversation into the mainstream, with help from some of the most powerful names in Washington.
231
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Samuel @samuel.fm · 18/03/2025
fastcompany.com
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber on her company's ascendant year and what she's planning next
With 33 million users and counting, Bluesky is showing that decentralization may be social media's best path forward.
11806117
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 18/03/2025
What does a decentralized social network look like when it starts to scale? For @fastcompany.com’s Most Innovative Companies program, I looked at how @bsky.app — and its CEO @jay.bsky.team — are evolving with the shifting social media landscape. www.fastcompany.com/91271080/blu...
fastcompany.com
Bluesky CEO Jay Graber on her company's ascendant year and what she's planning next
With 33 million users and counting, Bluesky is showing that decentralization may be social media's best path forward.
19738145
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Chris Stokel-Walker @stokel.bsky.social · 18/02/2025
For @fastcompany.com, I spoke to federal workers fired as part of Elon Musk's efficiency drive - who have congregated on Reddit as succour www.fastcompany.com/91280346/fed...
fastcompany.com
Federal workers fired by Elon Musk's DOGE are sharing their anxieties on Reddit
Government employees are taking to the online forum to share layoff horror stories and discuss their next steps.
073
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
*scoop* @fastcompany.com: Instagram’s AI Studio can create characters that range from bizarre to borderline illegal. www.fastcompany.com/91276645/ins...
fastcompany.com
Instagram's AI bots are often sexually suggestive—and sometimes underage
Instagram’s AI Studio can create characters that range from bizarre to borderline illegal.
021
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Jared Keller @laserwars.net · 12/02/2025
For @fastcompany.com, I wrote about Trump's firing of the Archivist of the United States and its larger potential consequences for American governance www.fastcompany.com/91277620/tru...
fastcompany.com
Trump’s firing of the U.S. government archivist is far worse than it might seem
The National Archives and Records Administration does more than just preserve documents: It’s the scaffolding of the American political system.
075
Reposted by Max Ufberg
David Zipper @davidzipper.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
Google Maps has become dangerously distracting. The app now issues alerts – with loud chimes – prompting users to confirm incidents like stalled cars. The alerts direct drivers to look away from the road, and there’s no way to turn them off. That’s reckless UX. Me in @fastcompany.com 🧵
fastcompany.com
This Google Maps 'safety' feature could actually make roads more dangerous
Google Maps now prompts drivers to confirm traffic incidents, but experts warn the urgent requests could lead to dangerous distractions on the road.
37613107
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Bryce Covert @brycecovert.bsky.social · 23/01/2025
States are using AI to determine whether someone should get public benefits, how much they should get, whether they should stay on, and if they committed fraud. What could go wrong. www.fastcompany.com/91265363/sta...
fastcompany.com
States are turning their public benefits systems over to AI. The results have often led to ‘immense suffering’
A recent report released by TechTonic Justice found that most public benefits systems are riddled with AI.
68857
Reposted by Max Ufberg
issielapowsky.bsky.social @issielapowsky.bsky.social · 17/01/2025
The justices seem to want this to be a narrow ruling based on the specifics of TikTok's ownership, but how much water does this hold going forward? “A law targeting any other speaker would by necessity entail a distinct inquiry and separate considerations." www.fastcompany.com/91262252/sup...
fastcompany.com
Supreme Court upholds TikTok ban. No one knows what comes next
In an unsigned decision, the court sided with the government’s arguments that the divest-or-ban law does not violate the First Amendment.
041
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Joseph Bien-Kahn @josephbienkahn.com · 10/01/2025
As the L.A. Fires burned, I watched the sky fill with smoke and couldn't find a bit of helpful info on social media. We were sold the idea of the Citizen Journalist; instead, we’re living in an era of the Citizen Pundit. It sucks. ❤️ Watch Duty + local news www.fastcompany.com/91258156/la-...
fastcompany.com
The L.A. wildfires show how social media has become just another spin room
We’ve been sold the idea of the citizen journalist; instead, we’re living in an era of the citizen pundit.
115727
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Joe Berkowitz @joeberkowitz.bsky.social · 09/01/2025
Great, deeply reported piece by @clintrainey.bsky.social on the dark side of working for Trader Joe's. www.fastcompany.com/91240535/wha...
fastcompany.com
Sexual harassment, union busting, and a spotty safety record: The dark side of working at Trader Joe’s
Through hundreds of interviews, Fast Company discovered a troubling reality lurking behind the upbeat Hawaiian-shirt-clad employees.
053
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Scott Nover @scottnover.bsky.social · 07/01/2025
The move to end Meta’s fact-checking program is a nod to the political party in power—yes. But it's also a reflection of the incredibly sad state of affairs on the Facebook platform—filled with ads, AI slop, and irrelevant content. My latest column for @fastcompany.com:
fastcompany.com
Fact-checking on Facebook was already a lost cause
I mean, have you seen it lately?
23416
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Josh Kaplan @josh-kaplan.bsky.social · 04/01/2025
THREAD: In 2023, I received an envelope with no return address. Inside was a flash drive containing tens of 1000s of secret files. It came from a vigilante with a tumultuous past, who'd conducted a years-long undercover operation. He didn’t tell the FBI or his family. He only told me.
863194007183
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Karl Bode @karlbode.com · 02/01/2025
"The only clue that users seemingly had of Siri's alleged spying was eerily accurate targeted ads that appeared after they had just been talking about specific items like Air Jordans or brands like Olive Garden"
arstechnica.com
Siri “unintentionally” recorded private convos; Apple agrees to pay $95M
Apple users may get $20 each for up to five Siri-enabled devices.
25339601428
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Will Oremus @willoremus.com · 28/12/2024
i'm biased bc i work with @pranshuverma.bsky.social & @cqzakrz.bsky.social and they are great, but i found this a really useful straight-news treatment of the musk v. MAGA tiff, with tons of relevant context on trump's precarious alliances with big tech www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
washingtonpost.com
A MAGA ‘Civil War’ on X between Musk and the far right over H-1B visas
The online rift over the H-1B skilled worker visa program signifies a potential wedge between Trump’s core base and his new Silicon Valley supporters
410227
Reposted by Max Ufberg
Ceej @ceejoyner.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
telling the Benihana chef he's made a powerful enemy today but it's drowned out by laughter as he flicks a 7th shrimp into my shirt pocket
224542610
Max Ufberg @maxuf.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Tried my hand at writing a fake story (i.e. fiction). This one features a large snowstorm, bottomless drinks, and an unexpected acquaintance. Many thanks to @hazlitt.bsky.social for publishing it. hazlitt.net/longreads/ni...
hazlitt.net
A Night with Smiley | Hazlitt
Unrelenting snow, bottomless drinks, unexpected acquaintances, and strange sights.
1121