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When did you last look up? What’s the best thing you’ve seen lately? Who did you want to show it to? Why?
Notable Links
Being More Like Republicans
[A.R. Moxon at The Reframe] An interesting election mortem and post-mortem, from an arguably refreshing perspective: "Here's what I think is going on: Our system is foundationally built to devour human beings in order to enrich the already wealthy, and it's moved so far
AI
Things we learned about LLMs in 2024
[Things we learned about LLMs in 2024] Simon's overview of what happened in the LLM space during 2024 is genuinely excellent. For example, on the environmental impact: "Companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft and Amazon are all spending billions of dollars rolling out new datacenters, with a very
Notable Links
How a Mole Infiltrated the Highest Ranks of American Militias
[Joshua Kaplan at ProPublica] This ought to be a movie: "Posing as an ideological compatriot, Williams had penetrated the top ranks of two of the most prominent right-wing militias in the country. He’d slept in the home of the man who claims to be the new head of
Twenty twenty five
Hey, it’s 2025! Happy New Year. May it be better than we hope and fear. Here are my technology predictions for the year. Here are my resolutions / OKRs. Ready or not, here we go!
Tintin and the fascists
As a child, I freaking adored Tintin, the Belgian comic strip about a boy detective and his little white dog, Snowy. There was something intoxicating about the mix: international adventures, a growing cast of recurring characters, conspiracies, humor, hi jinx. Even the ligne claire style of drawing — cartoonish figures on
Predictions for tech, 2025
You know what they say: predictions are like resurgent nationalist movements. Everyone’s got one. I missed the deadline for Nieman Lab’s always-excellent Predictions for Journalism this year, so I thought I’d share a few more bite-sized predictions about various topics I’ve written over the last year.
Technology
Tech pace layers
[Ryan Barrett] Ryan Barrett takes Stewart Brand's Pace Layering and adapts it to model technology progress: "I’ve been a fan of Stewart Brand‘s Pace Layering for decades now. Really great framework for thinking about how different ecosystems and emergent forces interact. I’ve been thinking
Technology
Massive VW Data Leak Exposed 800,000 EV Owners’ Movements, From Homes To Brothels
[Thanos Pappas at CarScoops] There are a few different levels to this story about the VW Group's terrible cybersecurity: "According to a new report from Germany, the VW Group stored sensitive information for 800,000 electric vehicles from various brands on a poorly secured and misconfigured Amazon
Stuff I loved in 2024
For many of us, myself included, it’s been .. a year. Rather than rehash all of that again, I thought I’d mark the end of the year by just listing some things I’ve loved. Here you go. Books Julia, by Sandra Newman Not just a retelling but a
Business
If You Don’t Like Sales, Don’t Start a Company
[Hunter Walk] As Hunter points out, it's impossible to start a company without tackling sales, and you aren't absolved from it no matter which route you take: "If you avoid sales or are poor at it, you are doing a disservice to your team, your
Notable Links
Secret Service Admits It Didn’t Check if People Really Consented to Being Tracked
[Joseph Cox at 404 Media] The contracts and relationships that seemingly allow law enforcement and federal agencies to use private services and data brokers to monitor the activities of American citizens without obtaining a warrant seem to be based on a nudge and a wink. 404 Media obtained an email