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.
Ben Werdmuller
Ben Werdmuller helps leaders at newsrooms, non-profits, and mission-driven organizations to navigate their biggest technology challenges.
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.
Democracy
The SFPD leaked its drone footage. It shouldn't be surveilling to begin with.
Surveillance doesn't improve crime or make anyone safer. It wastes civic dollars and creates new risks for vulnerable communities. The SFPD's leak demonstrates one reason why.
Media
We need a PIT Crew for news
Zohran Mamdani has unveiled a radically collaborative, cross-disciplinary approach to building internal technology capacity. News has a lot to learn from it.
Democracy
Climate.gov was destroyed. Open data saved it.
"After losing their jobs at NOAA, Rebecca Lindsey, her sister and another colleague teamed up to rebuild a pivotal resource the Trump administration took offline."