iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by Simon Groth

Wtf makes people so susceptible to magical thinking with this shit? If a slinky unexpectedly stops going down stairs should we be worried it will soon experience emotions?

From an article I’m not going to link:

If computer systems could behave in ways that are unexpected — or even shocking - without being directly steered by humans, it seems only a short step until computers might have desires, ambitions, and even malice.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 7h

Wtf makes people so susceptible to magical thinking with this shit? If a slinky unexpectedly stops going down stairs should we be worried it will soon experience emotions?

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Jeff Sharlet @jeffsharlet.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

I give up. I’m moving into a cave.

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Tom Abba @tomabba.studio · 29/09/2026

I intened to spend a decent portion of my morning figuring out the narrative consequences and pre-episode causality of ███ ████████ ███████ ██ ██████ ████ ███ ███ █████ the Devil's Sound.

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Andrea Reyes E (she/her) @altibel.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

When will universities & scientists take a stance against genAI? Where is the promised democratisation of knowledge, the innovation in research? We have been warning about the destruction of knowledge & the deskilling of humans. #resistAI irisvanrooijcogsci.com/2025/08/12/a...

irisvanrooijcogsci.com

AI slop and the destruction of knowledge

Cite as: van Rooij, I. (2025) AI slop and the destruction of knowledge. This week I was looking for info on what cognitive scientists mean when they speak of ‘domain-general’ cognition. I was curio…

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 26/09/2026

Letterpress flyers we made for Hunted Down and Other Tales by Marcus Clarke. The text is taken directly from Clarke’s 1870 story ‘When the Circus came to Bullocktown’.

A framed letterpress flyer that reads:

BUNCOMBE'S IMPERIAL
YANKO-AMERICAN CIRCUS:
THE MOST COMPLETE STUD IN THE AUSTRALIAS!
THE BONELESS BROTHERS OF BLAZING BELT!
FEATS IN THE HAUTE ECOLE!
MADEMOISELLE ZEPHERINA, THE FAIRY EQUESTRIENNE!
MR. STANISLAUS BUNCOMBE, THE MACHIAVELIAN CLOWN!

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Gwen C. Katz @gwenckatz.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

Fuck ChatGPT flyers. The future is broadsheets.

A crowded broadsheet with way too many fonts. It says:
Forget ChatGPT Flyers
Say it with
Broadsheets
Unlimited fonts
Stretch them
Or cram a really long sentence into one line for no good reason
No whitespace
Mix capital and lowercase
Pointing hands
(They're called manicules!)
Don't be left behind
Broadsheets are the future

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Tiny Owl Workshop @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

That time some lovely authors wrote stories, artist Nancy Brown screen printed them onto linen, I sewed the linen onto other hand-printed material and made them into lots of fringed pillows to be strewn around Brisbane Writers Festival venues. They were all 'acquired' as the Festival progressed.

Stack of 4 colourful fringed pillows with printed stories on the front.

An even bigger stack of fringed story pillows, with two tiny owl sculpts by Scott Radke standing guard over them as light streams in through the windows.

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 25/09/2026

“help feed the porpoise” Don’t just stand there. His name is Russell. We’ve all given him a fish and frankly we have better things to do. So now it’s your turn. Go on. Feed the porpoise. Feed Russell!

More ad copy:

"see living, growing coral"
"bask on golden Pacific beaches
"find secluded, romantic coves"
"thrills on skis"
"see "Dreamtime" national parks"
"he sure to see Brishane"
"help feed the porpoise"
SEE QUEENSLAND FIRST
IN Brisbane, see the QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT TOURIST BUREAU at ANZAC SQUARE, 31 2211.
In Sydney, book at 149 King Street, 28 1785.
Melbourne, 90 Elizabeth Street, 63 7121.
Adelaide,
12 Grenfell Street, 51 2397.
Newcastle, 112 Hunter Street, 24768
and to further your Queensland Holiday, contact Bureau offices at Coolangatta,
Surfers Paradise, Toowoomba
Rockhampton, Mackay, Townsville or Cairns.

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Sara Ah @solosara.bsky.social · 25/09/2026

I don't know why you're more weirded out by the strange mountains and not the "feed the porpoise part", like: 1. There's only one porpoise. 2. Everybody knows him. 3. It's some kind of rite of passage.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 25/09/2026

“see strange mountains”

A Queensland tourism ad from 1966: Queensland?
a wonderful place for a holiday!
Bask in the year-round sunshine from Coolangatta to Cooktown. Queensland will never cease to surprise and delight you with its multitude of different attractions.
Why not do what I did.. see the
QUEENSLAND GOVERNMENT
TOURIST BUREAU
Let the people at the Bureau, who know their State, arrange everything for you... travel, accommodation, tour itiner-aries. The Bureau provides a complete, efficient, FREE travel service.
"see strange mountains"
"enjoy tropic fruits"
"cuddle Koalas"
"life's a breeze on the Reef"

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 24/09/2026

Everyone suggests the bin chicken for Brisbane’s Olympics mascot which would be fine, but we shouldn’t discount the potential of the brush turkey.

A brush turkey. It looks like a turkey but more scraggly. Not one of Australia’s more attractive birds.

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Tiny Owl Workshop @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

We Crossed the Bright Blue Water by Trent Jamieson is the first short story released as part of our limited edition Adumbrals series.

tinyowlworkshop.com

The Adumbrals

A short story project

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 23/09/2026

I just swatted a fly with my bare hand which I’ve only successfully done a few times in my life and my god does it make you feel powerful.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 23/09/2026

Reposting this for no particular reason.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 21/09/2026

Monday night. Draft of the manuscript is open. Willing myself to engage with it.

Seamus the greyhound flaked out on the bed with his tongue sticking out.

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Bertrom. @bertrom.bsky.social · 20/09/2026

Don Bronstein, whose work at midcentury was a harbinger of a new casualness in photography. He makes you see icons in a way that you have not seen them before. apple.news/AynvvWAqjRSO...

apple.news

Photographer who shot 500 album covers died at 41, then his legendary work vanished for decades — Digital Camera World

He shot 500 album covers and won a Grammy, but after he died, his work quietly disappeared

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Tiny Owl Workshop @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Galley Beggar Press (UK) almost went belly up when their major distributor went into receivership. Distribution is a big issue for all presses. The smaller the press, the bigger the risk. While warning indies of risks is good, warnings provide no solution to an industry-wide problem. #booksky

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 09/09/2026

When you know what you want to say but don’t know how to say it, use the words you have. And if you don’t think they’re good enough, keep trying and read stuff that you like. Ask other people for advice. You’ll get better at it. It’s like magic.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 08/09/2026

Shout out to the kid sitting beside me on the bus with a desk calculator playing little mathematical games with himself.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 06/09/2026

Time to play what the fuck is this thing in my garden?

A clump of fibrous material with holes in it. Is it a nest? An alien pod?

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 05/09/2026

Reading day. Two narratives both running backwards. A lot of work still to go but it feels like such a long way from the initial page of scribbles.

Two stacks of paper, the manuscript in progress. Both begin at chapter eleven.

A matrix of chapters printed out on paper and covered in my scribbles.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 03/09/2026

Today the temperature got to 30°C and a scarab beetle just landed on me this evening. Winter is gone and as usual we glitched into summer.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 01/09/2026

MS Word getting up in my face saying proofreading in Swedish is not supported and prompting a download. I've never opened a document in Swedish. The people responsible for this software claim their technology is on the cusp of transforming societies and economies.

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Tiny Owl Workshop @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

I'm Fillings Clark.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 28/08/2026

If only I had the audacity to aspire for Head of Teeth. Realistically I know I can only make it to Group Manager of Gums. I’ve made my peace with that.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 26/08/2026

This mural reminds me of a lyric by Anabella Cartolano: “Estas lejos de tu lugar pero mas cerca de lo que crees de tu hogar.” You’re far from your place but you’re closer than you think to your home.

A mural in Fortitude Valley featuring a man struggling through an empty plain with a Queenslander house (complete with stilts) strapped to his back.

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Tiny Owl Workshop @tinyowlworkshop.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

Some AI challenges in publishing - - harder for creatives to prove they own copyright - harder for publishers to protect copyright - markets being flooded with GenAI books & knock-offs - all industries compete for water, incl paper mills - job losses - consent not designed in to AI. #booksky

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 24/08/2026

Act of God (1980) by Peter Greenaway with music by Michael Nyman.

youtu.be

Act of God (1980, sub ENG)

YouTube video by dovic

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 24/08/2026

Act of God (1980) by Peter Greenaway with music by Michael Nyman.

youtu.be

Act of God (1980, sub ENG)

YouTube video by dovic

032

Reposted by Simon Groth

Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 30/07/2026

The email that says ‘A new order has arrived’ never fails to make my day.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 22/08/2026

Another dispatch from the frontlines of this work in progress. For the moment the narratives remain apart but not without reference to each other. To make things fun, I’ve been drafting these chapters in reverse order. You know, typical stuff.

simongroth.com

Shifting gears

Another dispatch from the frontlines of this work in progress. Of the four chapter outlines produced earlier, two have been expanded out into something more or less draft-like with two more still to g...

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 22/08/2026

I can't think of a better example of tech companies' detachment from reality than the assumption that everyone wants to look at something in their environment and ask some fucking chatbot 'What am I looking at?'.

inc.com

Apple's Next AirPods May Have Cameras. Your Office Isn't Ready for the Privacy Implications

A new video suggests AirPods with cameras in them are coming soon. Could they open the door for IP theft?

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 22/08/2026

Hey I just got an intriguing offer from a PR company who loves my work. Oh wait no…the message is addressed to…checks notes…Simeón Roth. Ah well.

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Richard Littler @richardlittler.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

A satirical robot reenacting the history of mankind.

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oh no @ili.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

en esta economía??????

nyt cooking melissa clark seis leches cake january 21, 2020

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 19/08/2026

I know everybody is just having fun with these images from the Beatles movies but honestly (wigs aside) it doesn’t bother me that much the actors don’t look like the actual people they’re playing. I mean, they are actors right?

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 19/08/2026

Experimented with a martini recipe. Needs more experimentation.

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Simon Groth @simongroth.com · 18/08/2026

——————intensifies em-dash placement in this manuscript out of pure spite—————

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Reposted by Simon Groth

Mark Walsh @markwalsh.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Stumbled across a ridiculously long thread on Reddit discussing if it’s true that Andy Warhol would go into hair salons to get his wig cut, then the next month he would come back to the salon in a longer wig and act like his wig had grown.

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womensartbluesky.bsky.social @womensartbluesky.bsky.social · 18/08/2026

Bouquet Of Eyes, 1930 by Dada artist Hannah Höch #WomensArt

Photo collage with many eyes cut out from magazines, poscards and newspapers in a circular display as if a bouquet

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