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Ben Werdmuller

Ben Werdmuller

NotableLinks

John Grisham, other top US authors sue OpenAI over copyrights

"A trade group for U.S. authors has sued OpenAI in Manhattan federal court on behalf of prominent writers including John Grisham, Jonathan Franzen, George Saunders, Jodi Picoult and "Game of Thrones" novelist George R.R. Martin, accusing the company of unlawfully training its popular artificial-intelligence based

21 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

‘The scripts were the funniest things I’d ever read’: the stars of Peep Show look back, 20 years later

Before there was Succession, there was Peep Show. A brilliant piece of TV that launched a bunch of careers. If you haven't seen it, give yourself the gift of checking it out.  #Culture [Link]

20 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

Revealed: top carbon offset projects may not cut planet-heating emissions

“The vast majority of the environmental projects most frequently used to offset greenhouse gas emissions appear to have fundamental failings suggesting they cannot be relied upon to cut planet-heating emissions, according to a new analysis.”  #Climate [Link]

19 Sep 2023

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Online Safety Bill: Crackdown on harmful social media content agreed

This is a horrendous bill that is designed to encourage self-censorship, including around topics like "illegal immigration", as well as vastly deepen surveillance on internet users. And Britain passing it will likely embolden other nations to try the same.  #Technology [Link]

19 Sep 2023

I'm going to keep using Zapier for my link blog

The way my link blog works is like this: I save an article, website, or book I thought was interesting to a database in Notion using the web clipper, together with a description and a high-level category. (These are Technology, Society, Democracy, and so on.) I also have a checkbox

19 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

Remote work may help decrease sexual assault and harassment, poll finds

“About 5 percent of women who were working remotely reported instances in that time, compared with 12 percent of in-person women workers. Overall, only 5 percent of remote workers reported instances in the past three years, compared with 9 percent of those who work fully or mostly in person.”  #Labor

19 Sep 2023

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Migrants tracked with GPS tags say UK feels like ‘an outside prison’

I had no idea Britain was fitting migrants and asylum seekers with ankle bracelets and surveilling them to this level. It seems impossible that this is something people would think is right and just. The dystopian cruelty is mind-boggling.  #Democracy [Link]

19 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

A (more) Modern CSS Reset

I particularly valued the explanations here. I spend less time coding these days - I can go weeks without writing a line - and I’m determined to keep my skills up.  #Technology [Link]

19 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

The Berkeley Hotel hostage

I know people who worked with Douglas Adams and I'm incredibly envious of them. He seems like someone I would have really enjoyed meeting - and his books (all of them) were a huge part of my developing psyche. This story seems so human, so relatable. Trapped by

18 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

A New Low: Just 46% Of U.S. Households Subscribe To Traditional Cable TV

I've lived in the US for twelve years, and at no point have I even been tempted by traditional cable. Every time I encounter it, I wonder why people want it. It's a substandard, obsolete product. So this is no surprise.  #Media [Link]

18 Sep 2023

NotableLinks

19th News/SurveyMonkey poll: The State of Our Nation

Lots of interesting insights in this poll, including on nationwide attitudes to gender-affirming care (only 29% of Republicans think their party should focus on it) and gun control (82% of Americans want to restrict access in domestic abuse cases). #Society [Link]

18 Sep 2023

Nobody Will Tell You the Ugly Reason Apple Acquired a Classical Music Label

Makes complete sense: if you're charging a monthly subscription to access music, directing users to royalty-free music instead of other recordings will improve your margins. It doesn't say great things for classical music revenue in the future, though.  #Technology [Link]

17 Sep 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.