iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 30/09/2026

I've learned I live a pretty mild life and AI reporting has informed me of so, so, so many things now taking up precious mental capacity instead of useful information about motorcycles, woodworking and hiking.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 30/09/2026

I have already worked this into a deck for a session I'm doing this afternoon.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/09/2026

So glad I live on a mountain in the middle of the forest far away from people.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 23/09/2026

You didn't have me at "I had to trust Muse with my most personal data . . ."

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 22/09/2026

Empathy, feedback and human connection is a huge part of my leadership curriculum at @poynterinstitute.bsky.social , so this is alarming. Also, reading @404media.co, @futurism.com and @wired.com in the morning wakes me up more than 10 cups of coffee. www.404media.co/sherry-turkl...

Screenshot od text that says:
“When people turn to a chatbot, they don’t have to dread the fatigue of genuine give-and-take. And they don’t fear judgment or abandonment. But when we talk to chatbots, we lose the skills required to interact with humans, so chatbots start to feel like a better option. With an alternative, disappointment with people feels unnecessary,” Turkle writes.
What happens when people stop caring that there’s not a human on the other line? We got into that on the podcast.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 18/09/2026

I've been such an AI-Doomer and have thought many times, "Am I being too cynical and too much of a technophobe?" No, no I am not. Shit is awful.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 18/09/2026

Ok. Now there's this new story out of Alaska. Going to start calling a small group of white AI-tech-bros "A Vulture." anchoragepress.com/this-ai-agen...

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 17/09/2026

Incredible story by @mharrisondupre.bsky.social & @jonchristian.net I know it seems like a never-ending slog, but this is just one example of amazing tech journalism being written in the ai-moment. Also, I'm so fucking angry this is happening, along with the giant side of colonialism thrown in.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 16/09/2026

@alexmahadevan.com : There's lots of AI news, let's talk about it (on video). Me: AI and capitalism are bad (reluctant to do video) @kellymcb.bsky.social: AI will kill us all. Watch the full conversation from @poynterinstitute.bsky.social www.youtube.com/watch?v=xZqf...

youtube.com

AI might kill us all. But here’s what the headlines are missing.

YouTube video by The Poynter Institute

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 16/09/2026

Now that Manning had apologized to Holly Rowe, what do we do about all the reporters that laughed along with him?

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 15/09/2026

Deeply powerful, terrifying and anger-inducing reporting from @ejdickson.bsky.social and @wired.com I'm not surprised horrible young men are doing this and getting away with it so easily. But, it's so disheartening the systems of power and tech platforms protect these monsters.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 04/09/2026

Happy Labor Day weekend from the backyard bear.

A photo of a bear in the woods at a house in the forest

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 02/09/2026

It also caused my wife to get lost this morning and sent her up the wrong mountainside here in WNC.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 31/08/2026

So glad @katienotopoulos.bsky.social wrote abnout this. Ive been saving images for the last year to talk about in my sessions. The newest one I've seen is of an SUV for sale and the lead image is AI-generated image showing it totaled. This feels like the Marketplace version of the manosphere.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

And one last thing, every AI talk needs the voice of @bencollins.bsky.social present, so I made sure to get a quote in.

Social post by Ben Collins reads: There's an aggressively paid for influence op going on right now to defend Al slop as art and protected speech across platforms. Al execs
realize they have a problem and don't wanna get Marie Antoinette'd. The free ChatGPT trip is the tip of the iceberg. First person to nail it
down gets a Pulitzer.
7:51 PM • Aug 23, 2026
Everybody

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

The point is, we need to build safeguards around AI visuals in journalism, but the streets are going to use it the way they want. And due to the lack of safeguards by the creators of the technology, it's going to be very difficult for people to discern truth.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

And of course there's non-consensual nudes and child abuse (because people can be monsters).

The image is of a slide and shows headlines about non-consensual porn and child abuse images

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

Using fake people to sell books on Instagram

The image shows a runner sitting down. He is ai-generated.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

Using fake women to get more eyeballs on their Marketplace listings (the women are usually wearing less clothes than this

The images shows a truck with an AI-generated woman standing in front of it.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

Like scaring the shit out of people during a weather crisis (I live in Asheville and saw this as it hit Reddit) www.citizen-times.com/story/news/l...

The photo is a slide of a social media post of a AI-generated tornado in Asheville, NC

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

I wanted to remind the journalists in the room we should absolutely be discussing AI ethics, policies, standards and good use cases . . . but at the same time the streets are going to do whatever they want with the technology.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 27/08/2026

@alexmahadevan.com and I came to LA to speak and lead a workshop for @hackshackers.com on visual AI. On the way I read Corey Doctorow's new book and saw this quote by @greatdismal.bsky.social (my fav author). It was a perfect fit for a session we did, so I switched the title at the last second.

Two presenters are on a stage discussing AI

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 26/08/2026

I wish every billionaire would see how Dolly is loved and mourned and decide to do good with their money instead of take. They won't, but I wish they would.

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Iron Spike @ironspike.bsky.social · 25/08/2026

When your timeline is filled with queer folks and brown/Black people singing the praises of and loudly mourning a 1940s-Tennessee-born white Boomer lady, welp. She was pretty goddamn extraordinary, you can assume.

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Maggie Harrison Dupré @mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 19/08/2026

NEW: Teen boys are using smart glasses — mainly Meta's AI Glasses — to film themselves harassing classmates at school, following girls around and "rizzing" them or "ragebaiting" them w/ insults. In several videos we reviewed, girls plead w/ the poster to stop filming. futurism.com/artificial-i...

futurism.com

Teen Boys Are Using Meta Glasses to Harass and Bully Girls at High Schools and Middle Schools

Teen boys are using Meta's AI glasses to harass and bully victims -- overwhelmingly girls -- at middle schools and high schools.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 10/08/2026

RIP Airtable. You were a real one.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 31/07/2026

If your spouse has ADHD how many times a day do you have to call their phone for them to find it? Asking for a friend.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 29/07/2026

This will continue to be a problem because for some reason we can't impede technology, quarterly revenue, IPOs or the impending climate change huge data centers will cause. We should start covering this aspect more, instead of giving time to CEOs trying to get us hooked on half-baked tech.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 29/07/2026

But just as quick as the storm passed . . . the image, of a very real, recognizable place in town, turned out to be AI-generated. The creator said it was “just a joke” he posted on Snapchat. This type of shit causes actual harm during an emergency when people are scared and seeking safety.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 29/07/2026

It quickly made it’s way across Reddit and Facebook. Even @wlos-13.bsky.social mentioned it on-air (per Reddit, I didn’t see this first hand). The storm was pretty decent sized and we had lots of trees and power down around the area, but no serious injuries.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 29/07/2026

Last night we had a tornado warning in Asheville. If you know the mountains, that’s pretty rare. The local subreddit was posting updates and links to storm damage. In the middle of it a thread popped up with an image of the tornado touching down.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 29/07/2026

Rant: I was really trying to come around to practical AI-assisted technology where it helped people accomplish a job they needed to do . . . then last night happened and this Asheville-local put me back into Camp Doomer.

Image of a Facebook post that reads:

"Don't believe everything you hear, and only half of what you see."

Well... I guess my little joke got bigger than I expected.

For everyone who has seen the tornado picture making the rounds on Facebook: it was an Al-generated image that I originally made as a joke on my Snapchat that got shared from there.
It was never intended to fool anyone, but once it got shared around, a lot of people thought it was real.

Stay safe, everyone-and sorry for the confusion!

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 28/07/2026

A nice reminder of two things I teach during almost all my @poynterinstitute.bsky.social trainings: - You cannot do more with less, you do less with less. - You are a limited resource. Don't let short-sighted decisions rob you of your valuable time and energy.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 21/07/2026

So far I'm up to a total of 11 hours of delayed flights today. This is assuming my last flight actually leaves later tonight.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 20/07/2026

Blink twice if you need help!

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 13/07/2026

And the Buffalo chooses the NPS tourist.

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Damon Kiesow @kiesow.net · 19/01/2026

News outlets treating prediction markets like news are traitors to their mission and communities.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 04/07/2026

Spent my 4th enjoying our public lands in Pisgah National Forest. It’s one of the greatest gifts America has given its people.

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 30/06/2026

Seeing more and more FB Marketplace car and motorcycle ads suddenly appear with AI-generated women in the stereotypical bikini/daisy dukes type dress. This is some Grade-A loser behavior.

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Mina Kimes @minakimes.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

How your email finds me

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Tony Elkins @tonyelkins.com · 17/06/2026

Should you stay or leave journalism? It's a question that's coming up a lot lately with consolidation, reduction and owner influence on the rise. @mgg.bsky.social and I teamed up to answer some tough questions we're hearing lately at @poynterinstitute.bsky.social. www.poynter.org/business-wor...

poynter.org

Should I stay or should I go? How to decide whether it’s time to leave your journalism job - Poynter

The news about the news is looking grim. Here are a few things to consider if you’re thinking about making a major career change

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