Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 16/09/2026youtu.be/Kdi0agYs7pk?...youtu.beLayoffsYouTube video by cleverfunteam 010
Reposted by Steve SmithCharity Majors @charity.wtf · 14/09/2026I wrote a new piece yesterday, called "Confessions of an Unrepentant Slop Snob", about my escalating rage at AI-generated text. It includes a framework for thinking about when AI involvement is fine -- just another tool -- and when it lands as a violation. charity.wtf/p/confession...charity.wtfConfessions of an Unrepentant Slop SnobA framework for thinking about when AI involvement is additive or a violation 78915
Reposted by Steve SmithHypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 27/08/2026In a short span of time we went from people speculating that companies were listening to their conversations to companies offering listening to your conversations as a feature.theverge.comPlaud is launching AI earbudsAn AI wearable, but for your ears. 516361
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 26/08/2026If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor - Desmond Tutu 020
Reposted by Steve SmithPavel @spavel.bsky.social · 06/08/2026So the answer to "how did the super spooky all powerful AI go rogue" is that they just let it rip and then went home for the day In a normal world, this would be a story about OpenAI's culture of negligence and half-assery, not how we should all bow down to the AI overlords 271506460
Reposted by Steve SmithAthena Kugblenu @athenakugblenu.bsky.social · 06/08/2026The Guardian once asked me 'what one change would you make to achieve Black equality in Britain?' and it feels appropriate to share my answer again 544701870
Reposted by Steve SmithThe Economist @economist.com · 13/09/2025“A fundamental shift is needed in how we approach the development and deployment of AI agents,” argues Meredith Whittaker. “Basic lessons in privacy and digital security are being discarded,” she warnsecon.stAI agents are coming for your privacy, warns Meredith WhittakerThe Signal Foundation’s president worries they will also blunt competition and undermine cyber-security 4319108
Reposted by Steve SmithModern Software Engineering @modernswe.bsky.social · 31/07/2026The power of strong, but fair, leadership... 042
Reposted by Steve SmithModern Software Engineering @modernswe.bsky.social · 29/07/2026TONIGHT @ 7PM (UK) 😬 @stevesmithtech.bsky.social 034
Reposted by Steve SmithMar Hicks @histoftech.bsky.social · 26/07/2026For many years, people didn’t randomly film others in public—not because we didn’t have the technology, but because the social contract said you didn’t do that. That’s why Meta is going full court press on their PR and celebrity endorsements. They remember how people ran google glass outta town. 433405915
Reposted by Steve SmithNew Flesh 🇵🇸 🏳️⚧️ 🏳️🌈 @esedia.bsky.social · 25/07/2026Your food processor has a chute that fits your dick. Should you? 5137311072
Reposted by Steve SmithAndreas Kirsch @blackhc.bsky.social · 14/07/2026I work at Google DeepMind. This won't make me popular. But it's all public reporting: 2014: DeepMind reportedly sold to Google on conditions: no military use, independent oversight 2026: a Pentagon contract for "any lawful government purpose" Not one safeguard survived intact 171273435
Reposted by Steve SmithSteve Herman @newsguy.bsky.social · 11/07/2026Meta has launched a new AI image generator that allows anyone to create AI images with your Instagram photos. And if you have a public Instagram account, Meta automatically opted you in. Here’s how to opt out: wapo.st/4ymzOnNwapo.stHow to stop Meta from using your Instagram photos to create AI imagesHere's how to opt out. 45143
Reposted by Steve SmithDrew Curtis @drewcurtis.bsky.social · 03/03/2026Buried lede: Meta sends all your nudes to Kenya where humans annotate it and feed it to AIappleinsider.comWhat privacy? Meta's smart glasses are filming unwitting naked peopleMeta's Ray-Ban smart glasses are a privacy nightmare, with footage of naked people, sensitive information, and violent acts captured and seen by Meta's AI and an army of employees. 401434790
Reposted by Steve SmithTrunk-Based Thierry (they/them) @tdpauw.bsky.social · 04/07/2026Non-Blocking Code Reviews at #AgileOnTheBeach2026 The slides are available online. Thank you all for the lovely feedback. It’s been delightful ☺️ thinkinglabs.io/talks/2024/0...thinkinglabs.ioNon-Blocking Continuous Code Reviews - a Case Study 063
Reposted by Steve SmithGerald Benischke @beny23.github.io · 02/07/2026Brigitte from @thoughtworks.com keynotes about the state of AI at #AgileOnTheBeach2026 1/n 142
Reposted by Steve SmithCarole Cadwalladr @carolecadwalla.bsky.social · 28/06/2026NEW: Boris Johnson failed to declare to parliament a gift of private jet flights from the same cryptobillionaire, Christopher Harborne who gave £5m to Nigel Farage, leaked documents reveal. New #HarborneReceipts investigation from @thenerve.news. 🔗 below 1/ 731576900
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 23/06/2026@abeba.blacksky.app I'd have liked to give a better reason though than mine * we don't need to make justice harder for under-represented minority groups * if you've ever done jury service, you'll know the answer isn't AI 110
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 23/06/2026Just another day where I try to summon @abeba.blacksky.app Today was: if you're on trial in court, would you prefer a human or an algorithm as the judge 120
Reposted by Steve SmithMicah @rincewind.run · 22/06/2026nobody in British politics seems to want to say it but the single biggest driver of their inability to keep a prime minister for any length of time is that Brexit was stupid and ruinous and made everyone’s lives worse 5380831559
Reposted by Steve SmithEileen Clancy 🧿 @clancyny.bsky.social · 20/06/2026Signal’s Meredith Whittaker: The Push for Online Safety Risks Mass Surveillance Interview by Mishal Hussain The president of the encrypted messaging app says autonomous AI agents, device scanning and digital advertising are converging into a new architecture of surveillance.bloomberg.comSignal's Meredith Whittaker: The Push for Online Safety Risks Mass SurveillanceThe president of the encrypted messaging app says autonomous AI agents, device scanning and digital advertising are converging into a new architecture of surveillance. 813951
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 20/06/2026Maybe it's that a high performing team doesn't a jumbo backlog, of any kind... 🤔 000
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 20/06/2026My experience of the past few years is it's lost meaning. It's become a name for a backlog of doom. Back in the day, as an intentional choice, it made sense. Now I see high performing teams just getting on with stuff 100
Reposted by Steve SmithHypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 19/06/2026“We can’t live a full dignified life — with the ability to question authority, have different relationships with people, test ideas [and] blow off steam — if we don’t have private communication.”bloomberg.comSignal's Meredith Whittaker: The Push for Online Safety Risks Mass SurveillanceThe president of the encrypted messaging app says autonomous AI agents, device scanning and digital advertising are converging into a new architecture of surveillance. 1459195
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Ever. There's just stuff to make better and when needed there's time and space to do it 120
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 16/06/2026Unafraid to say we can't do X just yet, because we're busy finishing Y and Z 130
Reposted by Steve SmithJenna Constantine PhD @kaplanikids.bsky.social · 14/06/2026#ObamaAppreciationDay 17580272
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 05/06/2026Congratulations Jason, on all the people you've helped over the years 010
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 29/05/2026You can't escape Goodhart's Law Amazon scraps AI leaderboard to stop workers chasing usage scores - www.ft.com/content/b1a6... via @FTft.comAmazon scraps AI leaderboard to stop workers chasing usage scoresSenior executive Dave Treadwell tells staff ‘don’t use AI just for the sake of using AI’ as costs rise 072
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Andy Burnham is right to say inequality is the root of populism observer.co.uk/news/politic...observer.co.ukAndy Burnham slams Tony Blair for ignoring inequality in ...Former prime minister’s intervention shows he ‘does not understand what’s going on’ in people’s lives, Burnham tells The Observer 010
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 27/05/2026Thank you @teamcherry.bsky.social for Silksong. I completed 99% in 81 hours, it was a joy from start to finish 🕷🪲❤️ 000
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 26/05/2026Tony Blair really does need to shut the fuck up 160
Reposted by Steve SmithEd Zitron @edzitron.com · 26/05/2026Uber’s COO has said that it’s getting “harder to justify” its AI costs because there was no way to show a link between AI spend and any meaningful increase in useful features. This is the first time I’ve seen a company say this directly. www.businessinsider.com/uber-coo-and... 11678922021
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 22/05/2026There's something strange about seeing Meta employees complain about their employer imposing surveillance capitalism on them 041
Reposted by Steve SmithModern Software Engineering @modernswe.bsky.social · 20/05/2026A Radical Approach To Long Term Software Ownership | @stevesmithtech.bsky.social 📅 TONIGHT @ 7PM (UK) Subscribe & turn on notifications so you NEVER miss an upload! 🔔 youtube.com/@ModernSoftw... 022
Reposted by Steve SmithKent Beck @kentbeck.com · 01/05/2026AI tools don't muddle along with us. They fall below muddling, plausible deniability disguised as code. Low features, low flexibility, complexity stacking until even the genie gives up.tidyfirst.substack.comGenie TarpitGenies give you code that’s a degraded facsimile of the mediocre code it trained on. 13915
Reposted by Steve SmithModern Software Engineering @modernswe.bsky.social · 22/04/2026Top AI Trends From 100 Interviews | AI Briefings: nWave | @davefarley77.bsky.social 📽️ AVAILABLE NOW, from our NEW SERIES! Watch HERE ➡️ youtu.be/8WJ1XVBh8NAyoutu.beTop AI Trends From 100 Interviews | AI Briefings: nWaveYouTube video by Modern Software Engineering 043
Reposted by Steve SmithOlúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social · 15/04/2026"The rise of extreme wealth is one of the clearest signs of this imbalance. In 1987, billionaires held wealth equal to 3% of global GDP. Today this tiny elite, just 0.0001% of the world population, owns the equivalent of *16%* of world GDP in wealth." 2932651226
Steve Smith @stevesmithtech.bsky.social · 15/04/2026I worked on an XP team once where we genuinely had 100% test coverage. It was awesome, we could make changes so fast, and yes we still had the occasional live defect 052
Reposted by Steve SmithAdam Schwarz @adamjschwarz.bsky.social · 12/04/2026Orbán's electoral crushing is a far greater achievement than most people outside Hungary realise. He systemically consolidated power for 16 years, fixed the electoral map, abused govt power for political purposes & censored media. The hurdles that Hungarians overcame for this moment were immense. 251189724365