AI
Two more newsrooms are suing OpenAI. It's complicated.
Publishers are suing AI vendors, accusing them of theft. But are they giving the creators responsible for building their value a fair deal?
Ben Werdmuller
Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
Democracy
Your TV is spying on you, and it's worse than you think.
In a world where predictive policing is becoming more commonplace, TVs that report on what you're watching, record you using live mics, and scan your network for connected devices are a liability.
AI
AI companies are at risk of making Silicon Valley's harmful mistakes all over again
Years ago, Facebook's lack of care for global communities made them complicit in a genocide. AI companies risk making the same mistakes.
Link roundups
Notable links: August 14, 2026
Chicago Public Media is building a social network for America's third largest city. Forget AI - this is the thing I'm most excited about in news technology.
Media
Chicago's social network is a huge bet for news. I think it's the future.
Chicago Public Media is building a social network for America's third largest city. Forget AI - this is the thing I'm most excited about in news technology.
Media
My next experiment
I'm spending a year at Stanford to explore community platforms in news.
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.