iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

michael lascarides @mlascarides.bsky.social · 22h

This shirt is amazing and I bought one instantly.

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Keith Ng @keithng.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Me, setting the blender to MAX with the lid off: "technology is truly advancing beyond our control"

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AP Stylebook @apstylebook.com · 23/09/2026

Artificial intelligence systems do not think, feel, want or understand. Avoid language that gives them human characteristics.

apnews.com

https://apnews.com/article/openai-safety-ai-framework-089e75b95bc935af092da7b79d92706d

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Josh Hadro @hadro.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

With new VLM OCR models ushering in an OCR renaissance of sorts, it's time to once again laugh at the fact that many of the challenges for OCR with historical cultural heritage materials are actually challenges of layout recognition & segmentation, which are often harder to solve than the OCR itself

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Erika Hall @erikahall.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

I have bad news for the speculators. We've run out of future, so we need to start living in the present.

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Louie Stowell @louiestowell.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Libraries BUY books. Unlike tech companies wot steal them. Also: PLR! The Public Lending Right scheme meaans authors in the uk and ireland and a few other places get money for each library loan!

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Sascha Stronach🏳️‍⚧️, The Sunforge out now @understatesmen.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

my favourite minor NZ historical figure is Jimmy the Needle. He's just a random boatman who keeps showing up in South Island historical accounts like a cryptid. He's very tall and slim and everybody seems to know and like him. I have read multiple accounts of him assisting births.

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the babahuck @tylerhuckabee.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

rip annie dillard

One of the things I know about writing is this: spend it all, shoot it, play it, lose it, all, right away, every time. Do not hoard what seems good for a later place in the book or for another book; give it, give it all, give it now. The impulse to save something good for a better place later is the signal to spend it now. Something more will arise for later, something better. These things fill from behind, from beneath, like well water. Similarly, the impulse to keep to yourself what you have learned is not only shameful, it is destructive. Anything you do not give freely and abundantly becomes lost to you. You open your safe and find ashes.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 16/09/2026

Reading proofs from book & remembering what I wrote in 2015: "I am very concerned about the future of AI. Not because of the risk of rogue machines taking over. But because of the homogeneous, one-dimensional group of men who are currently involved in advancing the technology.”

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Rick Caruso’s Private Fire Crew @amandasmith.bsky.social · 01/09/2026

Been on a tech billionaire reading binge lately and these last paragraphs in An Ugly Truth from 2021 are, in retrospect, hilarious. Zuckerberg’s best bets on the future are as prescient as asking a 5 year old what they’ll be when they grow up.

By the time you read this book, Facebook could look very different. Zuckerberg may step away from the job of CEO to spend more time on his philanthropic endeavors. The way people connect on Facebook may not be on a phone but on some other device, like augmented reality headsets. The company's most popular utility may not be status updates and shares, but something like blockchain payments for retail goods or the production and distribution of blockbuster entertainment.

With $55 billion in cash reserves, the company has endless options to buy or innovate its way into new lines of business, as Google has with autonomous vehicles and Apple with health devices. Even during his annus horribilis of 2020, Zuckerberg was looking toward the future. In a quest to break into the lucrative field of corporate communications software, in late November, Facebook bought Kustomer for $1 billion.
The popularity of the Zoom tool during the pandemic had rankled, and Zuckerberg challenged employees to come up with a videoconferencing rival. He directed more engineering resources to expand functions on virtual reality and augmented reality headsets, which he described as the new frontier for how people would communicate in the future. The company was also toying with publishing tools for users, fifteen years after the Washington Post's Donald Graham offered to buy a stake in the tech start-up. And despite pressure from regulators, Zuckerberg was committed to developing its Libra blockchain currency project, which it rebranded as "Diem."

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Andrew Dickson @andrewdickson13.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

That's roughly 90,000 infections. Around 275,000 lost work days. About $110 million in GDP this winter, range $50-225m. Three times the cost of running the attendance system itself. Attribute even 1 death in 10-20 to this channel and the toll climbs toward $1 billion. 8/

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KnitMeAThneed @thneed.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

#nz The Hocken Collections want NZ election ephemera please! They need 2–3 people from each of the electorates listed here. Can you help? DM and I'll give you the details. They will provide a prepaid envelope, for election-related flyers, brochures, stickers, posters etc Please spread the word!

Screenshot: Kia ora koutou,
Since 1966 Hocken staff have been collecting ephemera for every general election and making it available to researchers. Besides contacting every political candidate (with varying success), we are also collecting election ephemera from every electorate. Ideally, we would like to have two or three people from each electorate.
At the moment we still need to find people in the following electorates:

· Māori electorates
· Botany
· East Coast Bays
· Epsom
· Hamilton West
· Henderson
· Kaipara ki Mahurangi
· Māngere
· Mt Albert
· Mt Roskill
· Napier
· North Shore
· Ōtāhuhu
· Rangitīkei
· Takanini
· Tāmaki
· Tauranga
· Upper Harbour
· Waikato
· Waimakariri
· Whangārei

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Andrew Jull NZRN (he/him) @andrewjull.bsky.social · 26/08/2026

Anybody supporting the B4-16 ban, this is what you, as adults, will face (it is not just under-16s that will have to verify their age). It will breach S14 of the NZ Bill of Rights Act 1990, endanger isolated young ppl who find their communities online, and give big tech more access to your data.

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Joel @itsjoels.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

This is the letter kids got at the end of Dolly’s Imagination Library. I defy you to read this and not cry.

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Eddie Clark @dreddieclark.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Almost like us parliamentary process dorks had a point about one of the perils of abusing urgency.

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Jasmin Taylor @meshedlight.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

Ōtepoti: community solidarity Otago Polyfest is needing volunteers to support with this years event! It's happening 7-11 September 2026 There are a variety of tasks you could help out with Sign up sheet: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

docs.google.com

2026 | OTAGO POLYFEST KAIMAHI REGISTRATION FORM

Complete this form to register as a volunteer for Otago Polyfest 2026. Please email ops@otagopolyfest.nz if you have any questions.

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Andrew Dickson @andrewdickson13.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

All this is built on a fundamental causal fallacy: school attendance does not inherently cause achievement. Forcing sick kids into class doesn’t fix education outcomes bro... it just accelerates viral spread to teachers, classmates, and vulnerable family members. /6

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evacide @evacide.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

I cannot overstate how much the revolution needs kind, reliable, people who show up when you need them and does not need drug-addled cut-rate Hunter S. Thompson impersonators.

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Tony Santos @tony.webeasties.com · 15/08/2026

@monteiro.bsky.social’s newsletters are always great, this one is especially important right now. take it from me, someone who jumped off the aspiring ”design leader” train during the blockchain mania and who was laid off and replaced by Claude Code this past April buttondown.com/monteiro/arc...

buttondown.com

How to usher in an era of abundant vengeance

A lot of people on the Internet who I once respected seem to have full-blown AI brain worms. Am I going to get conned like them at some point? Have you ever been conned by something as pervasive as th...

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American Library Association @amlibraryassoc.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

In celebration of ALA’s 150th anniversary, the iconic David Bowie READ poster, first released in 1987, is back in print. An avid reader and library fan, Bowie was one of the first celebrities to pose for the READ campaign. Limited run. Get yours while supplies last: bit.ly/4qgL3dK 📚💙

A young David Bowie wearing a black and white varsity jacket and jeans, is holding "The Idiot" by Dostoevsky while mid-leap. The word "READ" is prominently displayed at the top. Text reads "David Bowie for America's Libraries.

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By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 12/08/2026

As Leek puts it: "Once prediction shapes the choices in front of us, we lose the ability to tell the difference between what people wanted and what the system made easy to want." 14/

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Brooke @curly.kiwi · 13/08/2026

Sure enough, as expected we have one FSU person (Douglas Brown) and one non-FSU person (Bianca Grizhar) elected to the InternetNZ board The institutional takeover crept further along tonight. Dispiriting, yes, but let it be galvanising. We'll all be here next year, won't we ❤️

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Tze Ming Mok 莫志明 @tzemingdynasty.bsky.social · 13/08/2026

A thankfully brief explainer for any worthy folks Zooming in to the InternetNZ AGM again tonight to be human shields against weird entryist nonsense. Vote No on David Ward's Everything.

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Dylan Reeve @dylanreeve.com · 13/08/2026

The email is from: InternetNZ <elections@mi-voice.com> The subject line is: InternetNZ Annual General Meeting 2026

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Ed Burmila @edburmila.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

You don’t have to like this guy‘s politics to recognize that everyone who has insisted for decades that The Issues are almost all too complicated and too nuanced to explain to voters let alone address was lying to you.

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Nanoraptor @nanoraptor.danamania.com · 10/08/2026

Wake me when an ai “breaks containment”, gets into HR, finds 7500 employees illegally misclassified as contractors and files their paperwork with the local departments of labour and/or employment for years of backpay.

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Cynethryth @cynethryth.com · 09/08/2026

Vote by 12pm today for #InternetNZ board elections!! Don't forget! And don't forget to sign up for the AGM! Last year, about 1/3 of the voters were FSU, so if you don't want bad motions to pass, come in numbers! Order a pizza! Chill on Bluesky. Make an evening of it!

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Dylan Reeve @dylanreeve.com · 09/08/2026

TODAY is your last chance to vote in the InternetNZ board election! Like, now. If you are a member and haven't voted, then now (like right this moment ideally) is the time to do so! The instructions will be in your email.

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optimisticsoap.bsky.social @optimisticsoap.bsky.social · 09/08/2026

Libraries make us a harder target for authoritarianism. Equal access to info, ideas, and space that doesn’t require a purchase to belong. Also: using the library means money stays in your community instead of streaming out to Amazon. 📚 What’s checked out on your card right now?

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jessamyn @librarian.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

I work at a public library. People who want to use AI seem to have no trouble doing so. People who don't want to use AI have a harder time. I crowdsourced and then finalized this document "How to disable or avoid intrusive AI" and then gave it a short URL: notoai.org Please pass along if it's useful

An aircraft passenger oxygen mask: a drop down passenger mask with air bag and yellow plastic mouth and nose cover, oxygen tube has been cut; Demonstration model used by flight attendant crew for passenger instruction. Has text on the side indicating that it's non-functional.

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Jessica de Heij @jdeheij.bsky.social · 06/08/2026

Otago Polyfest has been running for decades!! 😔 “Otago Polyfest had a long history with Creative New Zealand and had been the recipient of previous funding. Ms Laufiso said she did not believe they had ever been declined until now.”

odt.co.nz

‘Gravely concerned’: Otago Polyfest future in doubt after funding axed

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michael lascarides @mlascarides.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Can confirm that the most significant impact of AI on the cultural heritage institution I work for—BY FAR—has been the staff time and technical cost required to defend against the constant, uncoordinated, and wildly inefficient harvesting of our open data.

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Musical Chairs @musicalchairs.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Regular viewers will know that I had serious doubts about the 'recovery' well before Trump decided to cause global chaos (and trading opportunities for his buddies). Suffice to say, today's unemployment data is GRIM! Let's have a look... Unemployment rate vs the guesses of clueless ghouls. [🧵 1/n]

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Jolisa Gracewood @nzdodo.bsky.social · 02/08/2026

Talk about a vote of no confidence. Feels like a brutally specific indictment - not just of where things are at right now for young people, but also how they see the future. Can’t say as I blame them; but how do we win back hope?

A graph of voter enrolments from the linked RNZ article. Starkly evident is that the % of enrolled voters aged 18-24 is sinking over time, and has notably dropped since 2023.

One bit of good news from the chart: those aged 25-29 are catching up with all other age groups.

Text from the article:

The enrolment rate for the country's youngest voters has plummeted to 53 percent, sliding for a sixth consecutive election year.

The Electoral Commission said it was pushing hard to get numbers up, while politicians have urged young people to get involved.

In 2011, 70 percent of 18-24 year olds were enrolled to vote by the end of June.

The number has dropped consistently since then, with 60 percent enrolled in 2023 - while the trend is reversed for those in their mid to late twenties.

Across all age groups, 89 percent of people are enrolled, which is up on the past two election years. https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/politics/868515/things-are-screwed-anyway-why-try-youth-voter-enrolment-rate-plummets

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samuel mehr @mehr.nz · 30/07/2026

one road, not even long enough to run a marathon on, for the low low price of 42 times the entire 2027 budget for scientific research in new zealand #nzpol

nzherald.co.nz

Biggest-ever PPP: $3.6b Northland expressway deal signed

The 26km expressway will include twin tunnels through the Dome Valley.

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Steve Farrugia @fasterandworse.com · 30/07/2026

I think there will be real value in vibe code cleanup services but I expect most jobs would be a discovery that the vibe coding is a symptom, not a cause.

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Matt @mattlibrarian.eurosky.social · 30/07/2026

Attacks on libraries, library staff, collections and patrons are ramping up around the world. Anti library campaigners appear to be sharing their playbooks and only need to be lucky once while library campaigners need to be lucky every single time.📚📜

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CEO Johnny Cans @oldmatecans.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

The Free Speech Union having their CE and board member stand as candidates for Internet NZ and emailing their members to rank them 1 and 2 and not rank any other candidates feels like it should be more of a news story. It's antithetical to a genuine election and the democratic process.

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Ned Resnikoff @resnikoff.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Was in New York again last week and it struck me that a minor but possibly underrated reason for NYC’s unusually strong literary culture (compared to other US cities) is that many people’s main mode of transportation is a passive one where they intermittently lose cell service.

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Dr Sanjana Hattotuwa @sanjanah.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

Very useful video to settle debates (in New Zealand, and elsewhere) on whether increasing speed limits on highways from 100kmph to 120kmph make any sense. You only ever save, at best, around one minute. Taken from Instagram, www.instagram.com/reel/DaP4kyF... #nzpol

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Mike Dickison @adzebill.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Conference organisers could immediately impose an embarrassingly silly “AI hat” forfeit. The hat has to be worn for the rest of the talk, and also if you want to be served lunch or get your free drink at the dinner and of course in the group photo.

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Pavel @spavel.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

On top of AI brain rot, companies are proactively obliterating every trace of organizational knowledge they managed to accrue, by annual waves of mass layoffs targeting the most tenured (expensive) people.

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Dylan Reeve @dylanreeve.com · 23/07/2026

As well as what Musical Chairs says here... Yes! Of course Government can spend money better than me! They have scale, access and resources that are totally unavailable to me which allow the value of that money to go further!

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