Media
My next experiment
I'm spending a year at Stanford to explore community platforms in news.
Ben Werdmuller
Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
Link roundups
Notable links: July 31, 2026
Change is fractal; data ownership can be collective.
Media
Change is fractal. It starts with leaders
"Leaders are leverage. Every leader is a multiplier, if they choose to be."
Democracy
Don't bring sensitive data to a border crossing
The DOJ is trying to prosecute Sam Tunick for allegedly using a duress passcode. It's a lesson in why your best protection is having nothing to protect.
AI
Can data collectives help strengthen vulnerable cultures in the face of AI?
"Data collectives and cooperatives, which let creators control the collection and distribution of their data, are emerging as preferred alternatives to big tech companies."
Link roundups
Notable links: July 24, 2026
America's AI dominance is under threat; AI vendors put us at risk; meanwhile, everyone's staying in their jobs for the health insurance.
AI
AI vendors can't be trusted to secure their systems. Newsrooms need to act accordingly
There were two big lapses in the Hugging Face / OpenAI hacking story: the lack of security protections on OpenAI's end, and Hugging Face's vulnerable production database. That should worry anyone who uses AI with sensitive data.
Democracy
Private healthcare makes industries less innovative. It's time for change.
1 in 4 American workers stay in their jobs because of the healthcare. It suppresses wages and working conditions - and prevents innovators from heading out on their own.
Technology
People are transcribing your conversations without asking. That puts you at risk.
Apps like Granola make it easy to transcribe conversations without asking for consent. Those transcripts are a subpoena honeypot.
AI
American AI is locked down and proprietary. It's losing.
China's open-weights AI strategy is winning: its companies are taking the lead. America's closed-first, locked-down strategy is doomed to failure - and it could take the US economy down with it.
Link roundups
Notable links: July 17, 2026
At a time when journalism is increasingly under attack, we need PIT Crews for news.
Media
To innovate, news needs allies
"Allies, archives and infrastructure in the AI age" - a list of people with the potential to push news forward.