iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Asked Cloudflare CEO Matthew Prince if he would still make the decision stop being in business with Daily Stormer and Kiwi Farms today. (Among many many other deep questions about the web.) www.theverge.com/podcast/1000...

It’s 2026. The valence of speech on the internet has changed. If you had to make the Kiwi Farms, Daily Stormer, decisions again today, would you make them the same way?

Each of those things is a moment in time, and I think there are puts and takes under all those things. At some level, at the time, when we made the decision around the Daily Stormer, no one knew what Cloudflare was, and we were seeing a bunch of regulation that was happening online that really could have been a real threat to the underlying way the internet worked, regulating key protocols like DNS and TLS. And we were nervous about that. And so, the question was, how did you make that point?

And so, one of the real rationales of kicking Daily Stormer off, and then writing about it, talking about it, going on the news about it, writing another Wall Street Journal editorial about it, was because it helped us then frame the right policy decision that was out there.

We talked about Rawls last time. I’ll talk about Kant this time. We very much offended Kant in that. We were using this site as a means to an end that was not into itself.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

if anyone asks I’m a lawyer and this is protected

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Jennifer Karppinen @atlsky.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

This episode alone makes my recent Verge sub renewal so worth it. @reckless.bsky.social gets to the heart of the issues, which is probably why Mark Zuckerberg declined to come on Decoder. www.theverge.com/podcast/9993...

theverge.com

What Mark Zuckerberg needs to answer about Meta Glasses, Muse, and teen safety

It’s a big week for Meta, and for Mark Zuckerberg. Here’s what we think the CEO of Meta needs to answer about the company’s product strategy.

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Peter Labuza @labuzamovies.com · 23/09/2026

@reckless.bsky.social has described this as the "door dash problem." I still feel the monopoly of Google/Amazon/Apple will be big enough to bully any other business into relenting into their systems. www.theverge.com/podcast/8239...

theverge.com

The DoorDash problem and the great AI browser fight

Amazon sued Perplexity this month over its Comet browser, which uses AI agents to do online shopping on your behalf. This is the first major front in the war over who gets to browse the web.

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John @roqueig.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

another really good Decoder episode this week ... this time with @reckless.bsky.social and @markgurman.bsky.social. Really, really good pod * I was surprised to hear Mark's take on the Johny Srouji situation. Still one silicon product left to conquer I would think ... datacenter AI XPUs

theverge.com

Can John Ternus find Apple’s next big thing?

Bloomberg’s chief Apple correspondent Mark Gurman on Siri, Tim Cook’s legacy, and what to expect from new CEO John Ternus.

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Hayden Field @haydenfield.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

NEW: Muse is Zuck’s latest bid to reinvent Meta. But can a company synonymous with safety & privacy debacles become the AI-powered voice in everyone’s ear? A deep dive from me, @miasato.bsky.social, @vicmsong.bsky.social & @laurenfeiner.bsky.social. www.theverge.com/cs/features/...

theverge.com

Can you forget how you feel about Meta?

‘Pervert glasses.’ Thousands of lawsuits. Mark Zuckerberg wants to sweep it all away with a new bid on AI.

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Quotes from MSNOW @msnowquotes.bsky.social · 21/09/2026

"The problem here is the amount of circular financing in [the AI] industry. If you think Hugging Face should have sued OpenAI for the attack [...] that would require Nvidia to not be an investor in both." — Nilay Patel, 𝘔𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺 𝘗𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘗𝘰𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘴, 21 Sept 2026

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Neil Turkewitz @neilturkewitz.bsky.social · 22/09/2026

A fantastic piece that I encourage everyone to read. @reckless.bsky.social conducts an amazing interview, & Jonathan Kanter delivers a brilliant framework for our emerging technological world, rooted in understanding that technology that doesn’t reflect our values doesn’t advance our interests.

We need to enumerate, and Congress should step in and say, “Here are the things we value as a society. We value mental health. We value competition. We value authenticity of information. We value intellectual property and copyright of content owners. These are the kinds of things we value and we need to make sure that those values are embedded in the lines on the road and the stop signs and the traffic lights so that everyone has clarity at the outset what’s okay and what’s not.”

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Mesay @mesay.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

Per usual, another excellent pod from @reckless.bsky.social. Particularly enjoyed the bit about alignment. A sane conversation between two reasonable people in time everything around AI is anything but.

podcasts.apple.com

Microsoft AI CEO says AI threats are real, and Anthropic is making it worse

Podcast Episode · Decoder with Nilay Patel · September 17 · 53m

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John @roqueig.bsky.social · 17/09/2026

Prescient Decoder episode with @reckless.bsky.social and @mustafasuleymanai.bsky.social ... nice follow up to their episode back in June (only 3 months ago and so much has changed). The discussion about Anthropic's approach to Claude, which was also a topic in the June episode, is very important

theverge.com

Microsoft AI CEO says AI threats are real, and Anthropic is making it worse

Mustafa Suleyman on the AI safety debate, why AI isn’t consciousness, and how the industry pushes toward alignment.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

are consumer ai products like ai overviews not good enough yet to win hearts and minds or so impossibly bad that they can't help but win hearts and minds

a google search for "founder mode on this sandwich" returning the following:

"Founder mode" on a sandwich means ruthlessly optimizing every single layer for maximum flavor and structural efficiency, completely ignoring traditional sandwich conventions. Instead of delegating the build to standard grocery store slices or letting ingredients slide around, you get directly into the details.Here is the master product roadmap for a "founder mode" sandwich:🔬 The Structural ArchitectureThe Bread: Never use soft, un-toasted bread that gets soggy. Use a high-quality sourdough or ciabatta. Slice it yourself so you control the thickness.The Toast: Pan-fry the bread in olive oil or butter instead of using a toaster. This creates a crispy, fat-sealed barrier that stops sauces from ruining the crust.🥩 The Core Product (The Fillings)The Meat Placement: Fold your deli meats into ribbons or waves instead of laying them flat. This traps air, creating a lighter texture and making the sandwich taste better.The Melt: Melt the cheese directly onto the meat using a broiler or a pan lid with a splash of water for steam. Never expect room-temperature cheese to melt from the heat of the bread alone.🌿 Friction Reduction & OptimizationMoisture Control: Salt and drain your tomatoes on a paper towel before adding them. This eliminates excess water that threatens structural integrity.The Green Barrier: Place your lettuce or greens against the dry side of the cheese or meat—never directly against the sauce or tomatoes.The Binding Agent: Apply your spreads (aioli, mustard, pestos) edge-to-edge on both pieces of bread to ensure perfect flavor distribution in every single bite.If you want to build one right now, let me know:What protein or main ingredient you want to use?Do you prefer a hot or cold sandwich?What spreads or flavors do you normally like?I can design a custom blueprint optimized for your kitchen.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

old man's still got it (a nikon d7500 with a 40mm micro)

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

We're liveblogging today's iPhone event -- expecting a folding phone and maybe some surprises? As always our live coverage will be minutes ahead of the stream www.theverge.com/tech/989658/...

theverge.com

iPhone 18 live blog: On the ground at Apple’s biggest event

It’s John Ternus’ first iPhone event as CEO.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

just used gemini search in my nightmare gmail inbox to find an ancient email by describing a basic idea I sort of remembered, AI is good now

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James Ball @jamesrball.com · 02/09/2026

I wrote a long feature about the global war against the supposed censorship industrial complex for @theverge.com last year:

theverge.com

The disinformation wars are here

How Joe Biden’s administration caved to the right in the battle for truth.

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The Verge @theverge.com · 02/09/2026

Massive AI infrastructure is being built out across the US. But if you want to know what the data center occupation looks like, visit Loudoun County, Virginia, where that future arrived 20 years ago. www.theverge.com/cs/features/...

theverge.com

Your future is in Virginia

If you want to know what the data center occupation looks like, there’s one place where it already arrived — 20 years ago.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 31/08/2026

This has been a long time coming and all started with me saying we needed to explore federation!

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

ai slop websites have taken to summarizing the vergecast and this is not right but also not wrong

Nilay Patel's Brain Runs on Gadget Launch Dates — And Amazon Just Made Them 60% More Expensive
2026-08-24 17:08 (GMT-4)
Add to Google Preferred Sources
On the latest The Vergecast, Nilay Patel revealed a memory system that will resonate with anyone who has worked in tech for more than a decade: he organizes his entire professional life by product launch dates and the quality of the office snacks at the time. The episode's game, which tasked the hosts with placing gadgets from 1994 to 2020 on a timeline, demonstrated that the release calendar is the tech industry's shared reference frame — a mental infrastructure journalists use to navigate two decades of accelerating change. The episode also opened with a stark headline about the present: Amazon raised prices on its first-party hardware by up to 60%, from the Echo Dot to the Kindle. The conjunction is telling. As the memory game reconstructs a period when gadgets were novelty, the news segment documents their current state as commodities caught in a global memory-chip shortage. This piece uses the podcast's timeline to examine the industry's past and present, including the DJI Phantom misstep that foreshadowed drone regulation and a robot Olympics that suggests the next frontier of consumer hardware.

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Jeremy Snyder @jsnyder.bsky.social · 24/08/2026

Interesting interview with @gofundme.com CEO Tim Cadogan and @reckless.bsky.social. Cadogan says an advantage of private donations over the public safety net is that donations come "with love". This ignores consistent findings that this 'love' is distributed very, very inequitably.

"No system is perfect, and we can supplement that. It gives people a way to come together that is different from an institution supporting you. An institution can do a lot. The NHS can do a lot. Medicare in Australia can do a lot, but it’s not coming with love, right?"

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Spent the day working on the book which I hate and want to quit and am considering staying in the woods to live a lucrative life as a local handyman who actually answers the phone

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Elizabeth Lopatto @lopatto.bsky.social · 20/08/2026

Our fearless leader Nilay Patel has been running around with his hair on fire in Slack, asking how it is that if you put a dollar into compute, you get $1.01 back.

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Daniel / SwissInHKG 🇨🇭🌏 @wyss.social · 17/08/2026

Interesting interview by @reckless.bsky.social with @toni.bsky.team. To understand what’s going on on Bluesky, I highly recommend listening. pca.st/episode/2143...

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 14/08/2026

Five years of insisting PR people be on the record and we haven’t missed a thing www.theverge.com/press-room/2...

theverge.com

Updating The Verge’s background policy

On “on background.”

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Nathan Edwards @grackle.space · 12/08/2026

$30 for a year of The Verge is a hell of a deal.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 12/08/2026

Gosh who could have seen this coming

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Malcolm @malcolm1001.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

One thing I didn't realise until yesterday was that I can listen to your podcasts ad-free via Spotify (after setting up the connection). I didn't know I could do that and assumed I'd have to use a different app.

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

just to say this for the sake of saying it - once you pay us money for the work, we're happy to let you consume it however you want because we don't have to collect advertising impressions to support it

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

lol at our latest ad campaign www.theverge.com/subscribe

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Sundar politely declining to engage with Demis saying “we are in foothills of the singularity” was a sign, in retrospect

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nilay patel @reckless.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I love that AI companies are all like "we just have a marketing problem" when regular people are having AI experiences like this all over the place every single day

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Rude1 Haunted Badness. ⁂ @rude1.blacksky.team · 03/08/2026

> Rudy deserves a lot of credit for taking those early risks when it was much harder to build and being the first to prove that it can be done, but it’s getting easier and easier. We are seeing more and more BlueSky and BlackSky-style networks pop up pretty often Shoutout the Original Risk Takers™️

You've mentioned BlackSky a handful of times in this conversation. I've been lucky enough to be at a dinner with Rudy (Fraser| who runs BlackSky. He's prolific in talking about what it's like to actually build on the ATmosphere and what a lot of the challenges have been. Because it hasn't yet really, truly been decentralized. Now it's my turn to say, I won't go into the weeds of the protocol, but there are parts of the BlueSky stack and parts of the ATmosphere that have been pretty heavily centralized up until fairly recently. Is it easy to stand up a competitor, in the way that you're describing people can stand up competitors to WordPress and operate in their own universe using the same tools and same access to end customers? Or is there still work to be done there? Because it hasn't been easy up until now, at least using the example of BlackSky. Rudy deserves a lot of credit for taking those early risks when it was much harder to build and being the first to prove that it can be done, but it's getting easier and easier. We are seeing more and more BlueSky- and BlackSky-style networks pop up pretty often. We're actually seeing a whole bunch of energy in Europe. We've got EuroSky. W Social just launched. There's another one I think that's about to launch. It's getting easier, and we're investing a lot to make it as easy as possible. In addition to being an open protocol, all of BlueSky's open source. You can take the BlueSky app and just fork it and go do your own BlueSky. That's great, but we're really also interested in people building other things that are microblogging on the network and making that super easy.

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rumon carter @rumon.ca · 03/08/2026

Found myself at a dinner party the other night trying to explain to friends the #ATProto, why I believe it matters and am motivated to be involved in it (and related efforts) … cheers @reckless.bsky.social for the typically 🎯 interview helping to inform future versions of that chat.

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The Verge @theverge.com · 03/08/2026

Bluesky's new CEO Toni Schneider on the platform's reputation for being a liberal bubble: "Yes, we definitely want that to change. It is already changing. It certainly wasn’t designed to attract one specific group of people."

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Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Not only did they absolutely beg for this, they made it so that “merit” was synonymous with being white so now you’re stuck with precisely the kind of moron who believes that. www.politico.com/news/magazin...

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Berin Szóka @berinszoka.bsky.social · 31/07/2026

Our deep dive (73pp) into the FCC forcing ABC to apply to renew its broadcast licenses, the most egregious abuse of power in the 92-year history of the FCC. This is Carr at his most shameless, ruthless, and dangerous. techfreedom.org/fcc-cant-use...

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Midatlantica @midatlantica.com · 30/07/2026

As @reckless.bsky.social noted, it says something about our society that tech is willing to throw these features in their platforms to prevent AI content (some of which is fine) but need court orders before they’ll do anything about racism, sexism, homophobia, misogyny or the like

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Sean O’Kane @okane.fyi · 28/07/2026

“When people are empowered, they naturally check and balance each other and the power of larger institutions” is a heck of a thing to say when your company has had a gag order on a former global policy director after she wrote a book

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brendon bigley @bb.wavelengths.online · 26/07/2026

this new episode of the vergecast about how google’s push into ai summaries has broken a tenuous social contract with publishers is REALLY good it’s such an obvious example of google’s hubris that they assumed siphoning traffic and ruining their own ad business wouldn’t have any consequences