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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

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We need solidarity across creative industries

I strongly believe in this: "Artists and writers must have solidarity across creative industries: if you wouldn’t feel comfortable with your own work being replaced by algogen, then you shouldn’t use generated content of other creative mediums." On top of it being an ethical affront across

13 Nov 2023

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Top consultancy undermining climate change fight: whistleblowers

Management consultants are to blame, for sure, but so are politicians for taking the bait. We know that there's big oil and gas money pushing against real solutions to climate change - anyone who's in that space needs to be vigilant against it. One aspect of

12 Nov 2023

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‘It is a beast that needs to be tamed’: leading novelists on how AI could rewrite the future

This runs the gamut, but generally sits where I am: AI itself is not the threat. How it might be used in service of a profit motive is the threat. Harry Josephine Giles worries about the digital enclosure movement - making private aspects of life that were once public -

12 Nov 2023

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Matt Mullenweg on Tumblr's downsizing

This is a great post from Matt: in response to a leak, he re-posted the full leaked content and added transparent context. Exactly how it should be done. I wish, like many, that this wasn't the reality for Tumblr. But it's likely that it's

11 Nov 2023

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Meet Nightshade—A Tool Empowering Artists to Fight Back Against AI

While empowering artists is obviously a good thing, this feels like an unwinnable arms race to me. Sure, Nightshade can produce incorrect results in image generators, but this will be mitigated, leading to another tool, leading to another mitigation, and so on. For now, this may be a productive kind

11 Nov 2023

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Advertisers Don’t Want Sites Like Jezebel to Exist

I just don't think advertising is an appropriate way to support this kind of journalism - or, potentially, any kind. This is more evidence, but it's also worth knowing that the private equity firm that owns G/O Media has not been a good steward. Non-profits

10 Nov 2023

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We're sorry we created the Torment Nexus

"Speaking as a science fiction writer, I'd like to offer a heartfelt apology for my part in the silicon valley oligarchy's rise to power. And I'd like to examine the toxic role of science fiction in providing justifications for the craziness."  #Technology

10 Nov 2023

NotableLinks

How Will Journalists Survive Digital Media’s Decline? Forget Scale.

On models for journalism: "I wonder if the big problem is that we focused on scale when we should have been focused on nailing down the audience. If we focused on millions when we should have focused on building ourselves a liveable wage. And if we put too much

09 Nov 2023

Hatching great teams through reflection

I’ve been thinking a lot about supporting shared, informal reflection at work. In software development, we do a lot of what I’d call formal reflection. These usually take the form of retrospectives after a development sprint, where the team gets together to discuss what went right and wrong,

09 Nov 2023

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Mark Zuckerberg ignored teen and user safety warnings from Meta executives

Over time, I think it's becoming more and more likely that Zuckerberg will step down. I strongly suspect he'll be replaced by Adam Mosseri, whose Instagram and Threads products have been doing very well for Meta (in contrast to Zuckerberg's metaverse shenanigans). In any

09 Nov 2023

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Court rules automakers can record and intercept owner text messages

At least in Washington State, car manufacturers may record and intercept the text messages of drivers who have connected their devices to their cars via Bluetooth or cable. That data can then be resold or provided to law enforcement without a warrant.  #Technology [Link]

08 Nov 2023

I'd love to know what you think about team reflection

I like to test project ideas from time to time to see if there’s some merit to them. This is one of those times. If you work on a team of knowledge workers, and use a communications tool like Slack or Microsoft Teams, I’d love to know how

08 Nov 2023
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Werd I/O explores the intersection of technology, democracy, and society. It's independently published by Ben Werdmuller, reader-supported, and always free to read.