iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

But, undoubtedly, Wikipedia has radically changed how information gains credibility and how it is dispersed. Hence the headline on my review: Wikipedia Taught Us How to Trust AI.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Here's Cooke's description of one idealistic programmer involved in the genesis of wikis: "Why, he wanted to know, did human knowledge so often remain sparse and separated like the star light, when it should pool like the streetlight instead?”

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

I reviewed a sweeping, new history of Wikipedia, "The Last Best Place on the Internet," by Richard Cooke, which gave me a chance to reflect on this project I've been covering for more than two decades! I'm in awe of Wikipedia; it has brought so much understanding to the world. tinyurl.com/2m6htbse

tinyurl.com

Wikipedia Taught Us How to Trust AI

The Last Best Place on the Internet traces how a volunteer-built encyclopedia became a model for online knowledge — and set the stage for today’s chatbots.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

For review of Richard Cooke’s sweeping new history of Wikipedia, I had the chance to recall a favorite episode: the time nicholsonbaker.bsky.social was all-in as a Wikipedia editor, producing exquisite prose that slowly, inevitably was tranformed into drab encyclopedia writing. tinyurl.com/2m6htbse

tinyurl.com

Wikipedia Taught Us How to Trust AI

The Last Best Place on the Internet traces how a volunteer-built encyclopedia became a model for online knowledge — and set the stage for today’s chatbots.

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William Gibson @greatdismal.bsky.social · 09/10/2026

Having long been aware of those tech bros who read my work as utopian porn, where they’ve taken that doesn’t exactly surprise me.

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Elizabeth Anne, PhD @lacksauthority.bsky.social · 05/10/2026

never the wrong time for this classic

Screenshot of a tweet by @RobbtKraft reading “scientist: "does everyone here know what Watson and Crick discovered?"
me from back of room: "Rosalind Franklin's notes"”

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Matt Belloni @mattbelloni.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

People! The Gwyneth/Sam Altman party invite I revealed in my Puck newsletter is not an “alleged” invite or “apparent” invite. It’s an actual invite. That’s why I put it in my Puck newsletter. No need to couch. Here it is again bc the altered images circulating are indeed fake.

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Jeff Wise @jeffwise.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

What many non-wealthy Americans don't understand is that when you're rich, having $ is your job. You don't have to get up early, do what people tell you, etc. -- just having big numbers in your portfolio means that money comes rolling in. That's it. That's all you have to do. Forever.

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Gil Durán @gilduran.com · 19/06/2026

A 22-year-old just got a $30 million investment valuing his new futures exchange at $300 million. He graduated Stanford, wrote for Thiel's Stanford Review, interned at Andreessen Horowitz. His mom? Pro-crypto Sen. Gillibrand, D-NY. Bipartisan capture in full bloom. fortune.com/2026/06/18/t...

fortune.com

Son of pro-crypto New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand raises $30 million to launch a derivatives exchange | Fortune

Lux Capital led the investment, which values the Stanford graduate’s exchange at $300 million.

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greenehillfoodcoop.bsky.social @greenehillfoodcoop.bsky.social · 04/06/2026

We're inspired by Hugh Ryan's book, When Brooklyn Was Queer, documenting the legacy of queer&trans people in our waterfront area as early as the 18th cen. These pre-Stonewall chapters of history have national significance&include historic figures&one of the first prisons of lesbian&trans Americans.

Pride Progress flag with puzzle piece cutout shapes and green text reading "Did you know that the Brooklyn Waterfront and Navy Yard was one of America's first queer neighborhoods?"

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 04/05/2026

One of my favorite articles for The Times was about this controversy … evidence of Wikipedians disdain for any restrictions on the free flow of information … I wrote a similar piece about Wikipedia happily publishing “spoilers” for movies still in the theaters www.nytimes.com/2009/07/29/t...

nytimes.com

A Rorschach Cheat Sheet on Wikipedia? (Published 2009)

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 23/03/2026

Years after talking with @ajkeen.bsky.social about how the Internet was destroying the world we had a catch-up conversation. The conclusion: darker times demand stronger remedies: tax away billionaires, nationalize digital platforms, AI. Turn away from dystopia! keenon.substack.com/p/lets-ban-b...

keenon.substack.com

Let’s Ban Billionaires

Episode 2845: Noam Cohen on the Know-It-Alls 2.0

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 17/03/2026

It's notable that Andreessen is doubling down on 'people have no inner self' ... in the past when he's said heinous stuff, like colonialism was good for India, he's grudgingly apologized. Get used to Big Tech Unchained! bsky.app/profile/gold...

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

Polluting, energy- and water-guzzling data centers offer unique pressure points against unrestrained tech companies. Trump and Silicon Valley know this. We shouldn’t miss the opportunity. #TheKnowItAlls @thenewpress.bsky.social

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

Here's Perfume Genius's portrait today, which seems to be very close to where we started from, YMMV.

Current photo on Perfume Genius's Wikipedia page.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 26/02/2026

The singer Perfume Genius begged on social media to have his lame Wikipedia photo changed to something that makes him look cool, as @stereogum.com reported. And it worked for a spell … Before/after. But, alas, that improvement was soon disimproved (See below)

Lame photo of Perfume Genius on Wikipedia, which got the artist to beg for help.

A cooler photo that didn't last all that long.

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Stereogum @stereogum.com · 23/02/2026

“MacArthur Park” songwriter Jimmy Webb congratulates Olympic gold medalist Alysia Liu, who skated to Donna Summer’s hit version of the song in her free skate. Laufey and PinkPantheress, whose songs Liu also skated to last week, have congratulated the Olympian as well. stereogum.com/2489964/alys...

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Frank Noirot @franknoirot.co · 23/02/2026

Great Blizzard of 1888 vs Blizzard of 2026. Clinton & Fulton, Brooklyn.

Slide image by Adrian Vanderveer Martense from Center For Brooklyn History, showing a horse-drawn carriage on the corner of Clinton and Fulton, with huge snow drifts on either side.

My photo from today from what I believe is the same vantage, looking southbound down Clinton from the NE corner of Clinton x Fulton. Large, though notably smaller, snowdrifts adorn the corners of the frozen street.

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Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 21/02/2026

These guys sound like they are AI

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Wikipedia remains highly contested ground in the international information war … BaiduWiki follows the release of ru.wiki, the well-financed spinoff that emerged as the Russian government targeted Russia Wikipedia. 2/2 www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

ru.wiki

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

Chinese tech giant Baidu introduces BaiduWiki, which uses AI to create an encyclopedia in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Japanese. "Wiki,” it seems, now means “big online encyclopedia,” not a collaborative one. No edit button to be found at English BaiduWiki. 1/2 www.scmp.com/tech/big-tec...

scmp.com

Baidu unveils AI-driven Wikipedia challenger in bid for global users

BaiduWiki, a version of the firm’s Baidu Baike online encyclopaedia, is available in English, Spanish, French, Russian and Japanese.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

You too can spy on your neighbors! Meta is considering adding facial recognition to its “smart glasses” and I wouldn’t expect privacy concerns to stop Zuckerberg. Emperor Augustus wouldn’t have thought twice, either. #theknowitalls @thenewpress.bsky.social

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Here's the email: www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

justice.gov

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Hearing @naomiaklein.bsky.social and @arielleangel.bsky.social talk Jewishness and Epstein reminds you how consistent global capitalism has been over the centuries. In the files, Epstein gushes over Gustav von Epstein, 19th-c. financier w. largest house in Vienna. jewishcurrents.org/epstein-and-...

jewishcurrents.org

Epstein and the Capitalist Conspiracy

Naomi Klein discusses what to do with a narrative that mirrors the worst anti-Jewish theories and the importance of holding our depraved elites…

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Tim Williams Art @timwilliamsart.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

Here's a photo of the late Robert Duvall wearing cue cards on his body so that co-star Marlon Brando could see his lines during the filming of The Godfather.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Talk of Epstein paying directly for things he wants, e.g., when Marvin Minsky died in 2016, in an email Epstein offers to pay for an MIT memorial event. There was one. Epstein flew to Cambridge. He was in the Media Lab building, but not allowed to attend. He instead sat in Joi Ito’s office. 2/2

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Epstein tried to influence Columbia admissions on behalf of young women in his orbit, NYT reports, and “mistakenly” cut a check to a former dental school dean, rather than to Columbia. (He had it fixed.) This jibes with what I've see re: MIT. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/n... 1/2

Excerpt from New York Times article, "Epstein’s Cash and Influence Helped Women Attend Columbia and N.Y.U."
"Mr. Epstein wanted to donate $100,000 to a new public health initiative that he had heard Dr. Lamster was starting. Dr. Lamster felt that he could take the money, he said, because he hadn’t asked for it, and it was for an important cause.

That same day, to his surprise, Mr. Epstein’s driver came by with a $100,000 check, written out to him personally, he recalled. He had to send it back and ask for it to be made out to Columbia as a donation, which the school ultimately accepted, Dr. Lamster said. He thanked Mr. Epstein in an email.

“Maybe I’m naïve in assuming, but from my perspective, there was no quid pro quo,” he said. “$100,000 was not a payment for her being admitted.” "

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Email from Jeffrey Epstein to Peter Thiel, 8/3/2015, the day after the Silicon Valley dinner: “I dont have patience for women that feel they have to talk= sorry we didn't have time to chat . com= to the ranch anytime this month, you will have fun.” www.justice.gov/epstein/file...

justice.gov

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 09/02/2026

Left, Jeffrey Epstein dinner, August 2, 2015, Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk (Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman out of frame); Right, Trump inauguration, January 20, 2025.

Jeffrey Epstein photo of dinner with Silicon Valley leaders, August 2, 2015. Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk shown, (Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman out of frame).

Cover of "The Know-It-Alls" showing tech leaders at Trump's second inauguration.

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Streetsblog NYC @nyc.streetsblog.org · 06/02/2026

Lyft is responsible for clearing snow from Citi Bike's infrastructure, according to its contract with the city. A city official said they were stunned that Lyft was doing such a bad job.

buff.ly

Lyft Appeasing 'Winter Warriors' With Swag As Majority Of Citi Bikes Remain Unusable - Streetsblog New York City

Service call? More like service gall.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 06/02/2026

In the early days, when scientists were certain AI would surpass humans, robots were seen as male … an extension of the brilliant men who made them. (Think HAL) In the so-called “AI winter,” they were typically female. (Think Her) With AI hubris back, robots should start skewing male again.

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Silicon Valley has a big Jeffrey Epstein problem … The reason Epstein didn’t raise any red flags with Musk, Hoffman, Thiel, Brin and others is because misogyny is integral to the history of computers and the Internet. @thenewpress.bsky.social

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

Looking through the Epstein files and seeing his deep ties — financial and otherwise — with AI pioneer Marvin Minsky of MIT. Which reminds me of a quote attributed to Minsky: “An ethicist is someone who sees something wrong with whatever you have in mind.” www.jmail.world/person/marvi...

jmail.world

Marvin Minsky — Epstein Emails

All email conversations with Marvin Minsky from Jeffrey Epstein's account (jeevacation@gmail.com). Sourced from the House Oversight Committee data release.

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The Associated Press @apnews.com · 03/02/2026

Spain plans to ban social media access for children under 16, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Tuesday, in a move designed to shield young people from the harms of online content.

bit.ly

Spain considers social media ban for under-16s, joining others in Europe

Spain's prime minister says that his government plans to ban social media access for children under 16.

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W.E.D.em Boyz @leftistwonk.bsky.social · 01/02/2026

This race was such a massive swing blowout that Democrat Taylor Rehmet literally won a city called White Settlement

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Neil Stenhouse @nstenhouse.bsky.social · 31/01/2026

Looking at the list of 19 new CBS News commentators, the median number of times they appear in the searchable Epstein database is 2 and the mean is 100

Peter Attia 1752
Niall Ferguson 59
HR McMaster 35
Janna Levin 27
Roland Fryer 9
Derek Thompson 6
Mark Hyman 5
Roger Carstens 3
Arthur Brooks 2
Reihan Salam 2
Elliot Ackerman 0
Masih Alinejad 0
Caroline Chambers 0
Clare de Boer 0
Andrew Huberman 0
Casey Lewis 0
Patrick McGee 0
Lauren Sherman 0

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Bezos in Paris! The extreme wealth and power of Silicon Valley leaders has flattened the usual tale of wealth-induced decadence. Bezos has gone from empire builder to fashionista in a single lifetime! Watch on IG www.instagram.com/reel/DUGVeVw... Read in The Know-It-Alls @thenewpress.bsky.social

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

To Facemash or not to Facemash? Jurors in California social media addiction trial must be allowed to connect the dots. @thenewpress.bsky.social

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Sam Adams @samadams.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

if CBS and the Washington Post both gut their newsrooms this week, that’s the nail in the coffin for the “just find a nice billionaire and settle down” theory of media preservation

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Prem Thakker ツ @premthakker.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

An insane, perfect encapsulation of it all: The same day Trump’s agents kill a Veterans Affairs ICU nurse in broad daylight, the CEOs of Apple and Amazon join Trump to watch a private screening of a film about his wife directed by an alleged sexual abuser who was seen shirtless in the Epstein Files

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Noam Cohen @noamcohen.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

The biggest tech story for 2026 doesn’t appear to be one: the proposed billionaires’ tax in California, which goes after wealth not income. If we are to dig out of the deep hole of inequality led by Big Tech, we need to support bold ideas like a wealth tax. @thenewpress.bsky.social @seiuca.org

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Greg Donovan @gregsdonovan.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Personally owned or chartered jets are potent signifiers of over-the-top wealth, redolent of exclusivity and power, yet they evoke all of the darker aspects of that privilege and are a rather dangerous luxury [ @jeffwise.bsky.social @vanityfair.com ] www.vanityfair.com/style/story/...

vanityfair.com

A Private Jet Full of Vegas Revelers Never Made It Home. Would They Have Been Safer Flying Commercial?

Fancy fliers are creating a huge boom in private-jet travel, no longer the exclusive province of Fortune 500 companies, Donald Trump, or Taylor Swift. Yet for all the allure of flying private, it’s a ...

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Anil Dash @anildash.com · 21/01/2026

Interestingly, the best thing from last weekend's SNL is this clip that was cut for time and posted on a Tuesday night: www.youtube.com/watch?v=uA8O...

youtube.com

Weekend Update: Tommy Brennan on Trump's ICE Deployments in Minnesota - SNL

YouTube video by Saturday Night Live

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

The inevitability of AI is now under threat from no one wanting to use it.

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Andy Craig @andycraig.bsky.social · 19/01/2026

The Nobel Peace Prize becoming so prestigious that wars are fought over a head of state coveting it is some real monkey paw stuff for Alfred Nobel.

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