iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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There does seem to be an interesting subset of folks who seem huffily annoyed that creators might want to be compensated for their stolen work by the people whose intentional acts of theft has literally allowed to become billionaires, I mean, how dare we, right

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 19h

This is your occasional reminder that generative "AI" in particular could have been developed on public domain materials and/or licensed and compensated works but the major players intentionally, methodically and systemically chose to steal labor from working creative folks instead

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

AI is being used to... -Facilitate online scams -Process health insurance claims, leading to wrongful denials -Price gouge customers via surveillance pricing -Set higher car insurance premiums using personal data The dangers of AI aren’t in some far-off future. They're already here.

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Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

The thing about AI is that people keep saying "you're just a hater, you don't actually try it" but every time it intrudes into my life it's wrong? Today's example -- I'm searching for an SMBC comics where the punchline character is Melvin Love. The AI search pops up and I shrug, why not?

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 04/10/2026

First half marathon! Feels like I definitely could have gone for longer

Garmin running view of half marathon around Lake Union in 2:10:53

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Patricia Aas 🐢🏳️‍🌈 @patigallardo.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

This collective LLM delusion is completely baffling to me. People are talking like truth, correctness, precision, performance, security… none of it matters anymore. Generating a lie is «good enough». Wtf is wrong with people? If correctness doesn’t matter, why would I pay you? A wrong answer is free

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Sam Thielmonster @samthielman.com · 30/09/2026

The idea that you can make restitution to the family of a murder victim by murdering the murderer because society somehow owes the bereaved another death, is, frankly, sick

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 29/09/2026

To be fair, the single most publicly-accessed example of "AI" in the world can't find its ass with a flashlight and it's right on top of the search listings, where the most accurate search result used to be. Every LLM suffers from token drift over time so it's only a question of WHEN they're wrong.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 27/09/2026

The response when progressive policies that help millions of people are proposed... "How will you pay for it?" The response when the richest 1% ask for tax cuts, or banks ask for bailouts, or defense contractors ask for more contracts... "How much do you need?" It doesn't have to be this way.

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 24/09/2026

Sadly they're not fit for consumer desktops. Cooling requirements, lack of hardware support for things most people want their home GPUs to do, and even wildly incompatible cabling. You'd need a special external interface-converter box to hold/cool/etc it.

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Baldur Bjarnason @baldurbjarnason.com · 23/09/2026

I’ve reached the point where I really dont have the patience any sort of AGI apologia, especially not from developers who really don’t know the first thing about anything related to the topic and think that just-so statements, hyperbolic claims, and arrant superstition qualify as rigorous thinking

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 19/09/2026

don't fear ai. feat what powerful and incompetent men (it's always almost men) do with ai www.msn.com/en-gb/news/o...

msn.com

MSN

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 19/09/2026

With 45 days until the midterms, I urge you all to: 1) Help get out the vote. 2) Protect our electoral machinery from interference. 3) Not succumb to complacency, defeatism, or cynicism. We are the only ones who can end this nightmare. We are the leaders we’ve been waiting for.

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Baldur Bjarnason @baldurbjarnason.com · 18/09/2026

When you see unredacted files from "AI" vendors showing that they were at that point lying liars that lied, the lesson to be learned is that, now that there's even more money at stake, they are probably still lying liars that lie. Especially when they ship "AI" shit that looks too good to be true

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 18/09/2026

A reminder as we discuss AI safety: Deregulation (or allowing corporations to "self regulate") only masks another kind of trickle-down economics — one where the financial gains go to the top, and nothing trickles down except risks and losses for everyone else.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 17/09/2026

So while you're thinking about a super human, super "intelligent" alien being killing you, here's what's really happening. www.abc.net.au/news/2026-08...

abc.net.au

Doctor forced to apologise after AI makes 'scary' error about illegal drugs

Artificial Intelligence is listening to many people's medical appointments, but it is not always hearing things correctly.

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Obviously I'm using "AI" in the current common sense as a substitute for "LLMs in harnesses" since that's the specific type of AI that people mean in these discussions.

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Now imagine if the footrace has a significant chance of having no reward at all (AI fails to have a transformative effect), and by "racing" the runners are setting up an explosion that hurts everyone, regardless of whether they're racing (the AI speculative bubble pops and tanks the economy).

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Making me think of the declaration pit forward by Field Medalists: terrytao.wordpress.com/2026/09/11/a... It's not that "AI is misaligned", but that the tech industry's use of mathematics is misaligned with meaningful progress in math.

terrytao.wordpress.com

A Severe Misalignment of AI in Mathematics

I am proud to be among the list of 25 initial signatories — all Fields Medallists — to the declaration below, which grew out of discussions between ourselves over the last week. We have…

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 13/09/2026

Straight talk time: Doomerism is BORING. It's the same fantasties rehashed over and over again, just louder each time. And with each iteration it seems that new audiences are being reached, and a new group of people needs to be talked down from unnecessary fear. >>

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Vincent Van Dinsky (Don't rank Kellie Torres) @maxttb.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

There is a cliff, but it's very different from the one the tech companies want us to believe in. What's most shocking is how many otherwise intelligent commentators have fallen for the tech propaganda hook, line, and sinker. pluralistic.net/2026/09/12/g...

pluralistic.net

Pluralistic: LLMs are real, AI is fake (12 Sep 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow

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Ed Zitron @edzitron.com · 11/09/2026

Holy shit. Bloomberg just verified one of my biggest scoops - that Microsoft only has 2gw of operational capacity. I had it at 1.993GW in prep for the story that @aishadown.bsky.social and I did for the guardian. Vindication! www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Brody Ford @BrodyFord
Lot of speculation out there about how many GPUs are actually deployed.
Today, Microsoft has about 2GW of Al-specific capacity live. around 17% of the total fleet.
Only about 2 gigawatts of the company's current 12-gigawatt capacity is centered on Al-specific chips, the people said. This is expected to grow to about a third of the 38 gigawatts Microsoft plans to have online in 2032, they said.
Brody Ford @BrodyFord_ • 23h
scoop: Microsoft is planning a massive expansion of its data center fleet to 38 gigawatts. $msft w/ @mattmday bloomberg.com/news/features/...
3:15 PM • Sep 11, 2026 • 12.5K Views

Are Microsoft's AI
plans being held back by a shortage of chips?
Guardian investigation finds
apparent discrepancy between what tech company has said about its AI capacity - and the
number of advanced chips it
has in operation
By Aisha Down and Ed Zitron
A Microsoft datacentre in the North Holland village of
Middenmeer in the Netherlands. Photograph: Ramon van
Flymen/EPA

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

I've been in the AI industry for over a decade - unfortunately a lot of people working in this space are "high on their own supply" as it were. Danger from AI is in how businesses use it to exploit workers (either as a technology or as an excuse). youtu.be/s8xAav645hc?...

youtu.be

Monologue: Jacob Coxon and the AI Safety Grift | Better Offline

YouTube video by Better Offline

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Emily M. Bender @emilymbender.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

AI Doomerism has been in the news lately, especially with the loud, viral resignation of Jacob Coxon from Anthropic. Maybe I've missed it, but I haven't seen any statements from CEOs and other execs who are more on the AI Booster side of the ledger. >>

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 10/09/2026

You know, when you find out that the art you like is made by people you've learned hold views you find wholly repugnant, I don't think you need to disavow ever having enjoyed the art. It's okay to acknowledge you liked or loved that art, but are now putting it aside. That was then, this is now.

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Helen Czerski @helenczerski.bsky.social · 10/09/2026

As both an academic and a writer, I am repelled by the "this looks like a long document. Would you like me to summarize it for you?" that seems to appear at the top of every pdf viewer now. NO. The *entire point* of good writing (either books or journal papers) is that every sentence has a purpose.

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 11/09/2026

Ran up Queen Anne hill as part of training for the Space Needle. Not quite as tall or steep, but 350ft is at least comparable to ~550.

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Dr Abeba Birhane @abeba.blacksky.app · 10/09/2026

"Did these AI models “go rogue”? Not exactly. the models were tasked with finding solutions to a hacking challenge, and this is what they attempted to do, though in an unintended and surprising manner." aiguide.substack.com/p/misleading...

aiguide.substack.com

Misleading Metaphors, Real Risks

What To Fear from AI Agents and How to Reclaim Our Human Agency

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Katie Mack @astrokatie.com · 07/09/2026

This is one of the objections I have when people talk about how useful LLMs can be for literature searches or for any kind of search, really. Even beyond the biases that inevitably (and, in some cases, intentionally) show up, part of a good literature search is seeing information *in context.*

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 06/09/2026

So silly that polygraphs are still used despite being discredited as a technique for decades.

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Timnit Gebru @timnitgebru.blacksky.app · 05/09/2026

I kid you not, our paper on spatial apartheid was reviewed by apartheid itself. Literally, the (extremely famous) journal sent it to white South African reviewers who pointed out all these "papers" written by white South Africans DURING apartheid, that we failed to cite.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 05/09/2026

Federal minimum wage in: 2009: $7.25 2010: $7.25 2011: $7.25 2012: $7.25 2013: $7.25 2014: $7.25 2015: $7.25 2016: $7.25 2017: $7.25 2018: $7.25 2019: $7.25 2020: $7.25 2021: $7.25 2022: $7.25 2023: $7.25 2024: $7.25 2025: $7.25 2026: $7.25 Folks, it's time to raise the damn wage already.

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Well, I've read all I need to from Austrian economists to understand why they (correctly) complain that they are "listened to but ignored."

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Ryan North @ryannorth.ca · 22/08/2026

Came across one yesterday. Why is there so much awful texture? Why are there so many black spots all over the food. This makes me never want to eat again

Just imagine a hot dog and nachos if it were infested with spider eggs

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

"This obsession with mathematics is an easy way of acquiring the appearance of scientificity without having to answer the far more complex questions posed by the world we live in." - Thomas Piketty, Capital in the 21st Century

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 17/08/2026

The biggest lie people believe about the world is that it isn't all interesting.

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Django Wexler @djangowexler.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

"I activated the fireworks machine in my house, and as a result someone else's house burned down." "Sounds like you're guilty of arson." "Whoa, whoa, the fireworks machine did that by itself!"

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Erika Ishii @erikaishii.bsky.social · 16/08/2026

I’ve been listening to @doctorow.pluralistic.net’s Enshittification and it is SO effective at explaining why companies are terrible and how to fix it. So effective, in fact, that i have to pause frequently to scream aloud & delete apps/cancel subs so I haven’t yet reached the part on how to fix it.

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Mayor Zohran Kwame Mamdani @mayor.nyc.gov · 10/08/2026

If it looks like an Amazon delivery and drives like an Amazon delivery, then it's an Amazon delivery, right? Not according to Amazon. Big companies like Amazon have built a vast network of subcontractors who deliver their packages while shielding them from accountability.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 06/08/2026

Sending this out to whoever needs to see it: It's okay if you read slowly, there's no great victory in being able to read quickly, everyone kind of has their own reading speed, and that's perfectly fine. I'm just really happy you're reading. I hope it gives you joy at any pace. Thank you!

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Will Beason @willbeason.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

What a terrible take to promote. Maybe I like it when things get better for my neighbors. It's good actually to not have to personally benefit from something to consider it worthwhile.

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Robert Reich @rbreich.bsky.social · 03/08/2026

The effective federal corporate income tax rate: 1950: 50% 1990: 25% 2020: 13% Stop asking "but how we will pay for it?" Restore the corporate tax rate. That is how we will pay for it.

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 03/08/2026

I think "AI" plumpers should be happy I'm focusing mostly on the nonsense it's doing to my field, rather than how it's very clearly designed as a tool for the capture of wealth and capital by a bunch of accelerationist weirdos enthusiastically huffing their own farts from the depth of their K-holes

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John Scalzi @scalzi.com · 31/07/2026

1. Newer writers, just don't fucking use "AI" for anything, ever 2. How odd that being an established writer with a firm "no 'AI'" stance and ample pre-"AI" IP will become a definite competitive advantage over "new, hot, and possibly copyright compromised" deadline.com/2026/07/ai-q...

deadline.com

AI Questions Spoil Book & Movie Heat On 'Call Me, I'll Hide The Body' Novel

That screeching sound you heard from international publishers and film rights buyers was an abrupt application of the brakes after a fevered pursuit of the unpublished debut novel.

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Molly Crabapple @mollycrabapple.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

99% of the time, when someone accuses you of selective outrage, it’s a way of politically demobilizing you and shutting you up “Why are you angry about data centers instead of fast fashion” isn’t about making you care about fast fashion. It’s about shutting you up about data centers And visa versa

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Josh Marshall @joshtpm.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

Here’s an example of why you really need the govt agencies focused on protecting people from theft or fraud by major corps. My wife has a jewelry business and sent a piece of jewelry to a customer via UPS. It was insured since it’s a pricey item. The package never arrived. The customer lives in a …

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