One of the popular uses of "AI" that I truly do not understand involves "brainstorming" – and okay, I admit, I truly do not understanding using "AI" at all with what we know about its politically, psychologically, cognitively, and environmentally destructive effects. I've
You know how last week I had some good news? Yeah, well... that was nice, wasn't it. Because this week – Happy Fourth of July! LOLSOB – everything isn't just bad, it's dire. Trump's "Big Beautiful Bill" will provide tax breaks for
Greetings from Maine where Kin, Poppy, and I are visiting family for a few days. As such – as summer – today's missive is a little shorter than usual. And, quite unlike recent emails, today's newsletter opens with some very good news: Zohran Mamdani's win in
Several weeks ago, a commenter suggested the word "howlround" to describe the dangerous tendency of LLMs to "glaze" their users – to provide responses that are self-reinforcing in both substance and style, that are overly agreeable ideologically and psychologically. A "howlround" is what one hears
While I was pleased to see millions of Americans turn out for last weekend's protests, I have to say I've spent this week more depressed and more worried than ever about the road ahead. Perhaps it was the arrest of NYC Comptroller Brad Lander – the latest
I recently finished reading Geraldine Brooks's memoir Memorial Days, about the sudden death of her husband, author and journalist Tony Horwitz. It was fine, I thought; others have given the book much more praise, suggesting it belongs in the canon of "dead loved one" lit, the
"This is not right. This is not right." @justsayuhatebasketball I know this is a basketball page but I can’t think about hoops 🏀 right now. 🚨PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT🚨 PROTECT YOURSELVES AND YOUR FAMILIES AT ALL COSTS. THEY (ICE) ARE TRYING TO REACH THEIR QUOTA OF 3000 PEOPLE PER
