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AI Is Not Fascism: On Tools, Power, and the Danger of Misplaced Metaphors

AI Is Not Fascism: On Tools, Power, and the Danger of Misplaced Metaphors

I have started to see discourse online essentially boiling down to "AI is fascism,” or, “those who use AI tools are enabling authoritarianism.” These takes are emotionally charged, and that makes them hard to evaluate. At first glance it may seem like a brave moral stance. But when you

On the Predictable Emergence of Consequence Following Volitional Engagement with Poorly Considered Action: A Grounded Exploration of Experiential Causality

On the Predictable Emergence of Consequence Following Volitional Engagement with Poorly Considered Action: A Grounded Exploration of Experiential Causality

Throughout human history, there has persisted a curiously durable pattern of behavior in which individuals, either through hubris, curiosity, boredom, or an overestimation of personal exceptionality, engage in actions that are widely acknowledged—either explicitly or through tacit cultural understanding—as unwise. These actions often disregard previously established norms, boundaries,

Nearly All Tesla Cybertrucks recalled for being sharp metal held together by glue

Nearly All Tesla Cybertrucks recalled for being sharp metal held together by glue

I have to be honest with you guys, I struggled to reacquire and maintain the motivation to keep writing on this blog after my thyroid cancer diagnosis and subsequent thyroidectomy. But, also let me level with you guys, seeing the Tesla Cybertruck being a flaming piece of garbage, and the

This is not an article

This is not an article

You ever look at your reflection in a spoon and think "that's me, but also... not really me"? That's exactly the kind of moment René Magritte was going for with his famous 1929 painting "The Treachery of Images." Ceci n'est

I love the sun

This is not an allegory about anything else that’s relevant right now

The cyclical public reaction to new technology

The cyclical public reaction to new technology

We are seeing, in real time, the predictable cyclical public reaction to a new technology. And it has all my favorite qualities of a new technology: it’s difficult to explain or understand at first, but once you get an idea of what it is, it sticks with you, for

Apple Intelligence: Apple’s new strategy to make you want a new iPhone

Apple Intelligence: Apple’s new strategy to make you want a new iPhone

That is, after all, how they make their money

Apple’s yearly big update show is on Monday. Here’s what I’m excited about.

Apple’s yearly big update show is on Monday. Here’s what I’m excited about.

Every year Apple holds their Worldwide Developer’s Conference or WWDC for “short,” or just “dub-dub” for actual short. They really should come up with a better name for these things, as these are the events where the true star of the show takes center stage: the software. If the

Why ChatGPT users Still Have an Upper Hand in the Workforce (and how to take advantage)

By now, people who know what ChatGPT is, but don’t use it themselves, are probably sick and tired of hearing about it from those who do use it. But even with its meteoric rise, there are still a vast majority of people out there who have little to no

Why the Rabbit R1 is no longer a serious product in my view

Why the Rabbit R1 is no longer a serious product in my view

The Rabbit R1 pocket companion has shown very little signs of changing its arc at this point, and I’m finding it harder and harder to maintain any faith in the project and its leadership. I stand corrected by all the internet people who correctly pointed out that the project

Trump trial: hypocrisy and death threats not enough to dispel uncertainty

Trump trial: hypocrisy and death threats not enough to dispel uncertainty

For the last few weeks, former president Donald Trump has been spending (most of) his days in a Manhattan criminal courtroom, metaphorically sweating through the trial regarding his hush-money payments to the adult film actress known as Stormy Daniels with whom he allegedly had an affair while his wife was

The Rabbit R1’s unfortunate launch

The Rabbit R1’s unfortunate launch

It has been a month since the launch of the Rabbit R1 Pocket Companion, and it has not been smooth sailing for this startup. It has been one thing after another for them, from the founder’s past association with overly-ambitious projects, to gaslighting and broken promises. It looks bad

Did OpenAI clone Scarlet Johansen’s voice without her permission?

After last week’s OpenAI demo of their realtime voice model, users suddenly noticed over the weekend that one of the AI’s five selectable voices, named “Sky,” had been changed to be the same as another voice. In effect the “Sky” voice was gone. People assumed it was a

GPT-4o: The next game-changing update from OpenAI

GPT-4o: The next game-changing update from OpenAI

OpenAI just unveiled their new realtime GPT model, and this is one of those tech demos you have to see for yourself to really appreciate. But I still want to recount what happened in the demo and unpack my thoughts about why this is a huge deal for AI. A

Apple apologizes for out-of-touch iPad commercial

One of the most polarizing aspects of Apple as a company has long been their marketing. Some see the classic Macintosh “think different” ad campaign as a brilliant campaign that put the company’s values in focus. Others saw it as a manipulative and shallow attempt to associate the Mac

What Rabbit is working on now

What Rabbit is working on now

Following the official start of the Rabbit R1 finding its way to the first pre-order customers, the startup of just 17 individuals is doing their best to keep up with the unexpected hype and demand around their first product. They’ve taken a substantial risk, and right now it seems

The Rabbit R1 Reveal Keynote

The Rabbit R1 Reveal Keynote

a transcript of the reveal of the Rabbit R1 device from January 2024 Hi everyone. My name is Jesse and I'm the founder and CEO of Rabbit. I'm so excited to be here today to present to you two things we've been working on.

AI wouldn’t replace humanity, it would replace slavery

AI wouldn’t replace humanity, it would replace slavery

“AI will replace us.” This is the fearful refrain I keep hearing. It conjures a variety of images, from the humble CRT office computer to the menacing T-1000 roaming the wasted earth, our cultural zeitgeist has drawn a clear line from the beginning of technology to the end of humanity,

Remember when Trump failed to color the US flag?

Remember when Trump failed to color the US flag?

I didn’t until I saw this picture but now I do. It was a visit to a children’s hospital in Ohio in 2018. The Independent: Donald Trump colours in US flag, gets it wrong I would hate to be one of those kids. I would be like, “this

Why “The Outer Wilds” is the best science fiction game ever made

Why “The Outer Wilds” is the best science fiction game ever made

The Outer Wilds is an open-world game about flying a spaceship around a galaxy packed with lots of stuff to discover. That means it’s a game about discovery, which means that anything you learn about the game itself outside of playing it, constitutes a spoiler. The Outer Wilds is

The TikTok Ban: Will it happen? What would it mean?

The TikTok Ban: Will it happen? What would it mean?

The US House of Representatives recently passed a bill that would effectively ban TikTok in the United States by forcing its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the app to a US company, to continue operating in the country. The bill, titled the "Protecting Americans From Foreign Adversary Controlled

The State of Siri

The State of Siri

I’ve seen Siri referred to as a “sometimes useful dumpster fire” and while this is definitely funny, I’m not sure I agree that it’s accurate. The sentiment is one that I understand and agree with to some degree, but it’s too harsh. It’s understandable, because

All Tesla Cybertrucks recalled due to stuck accelerator pedal issue

All Tesla Cybertrucks recalled due to stuck accelerator pedal issue

Tesla Cybertruck, genius billionaire brainchild of genius billionaire manbaby suffers multiple simultaneous failure conditions, up to and including the penultimate failure mode for a fucking car. "Won't slow down." dude imagine be driving truck and can’t slow donw, stuck go pedal, drive fast no want,

Fallout: Amazon sets the standard for the video game TV series

Fallout: Amazon sets the standard for the video game TV series

first episode impressions For fans and newcomers alike, the first episode of the Fallout series by Amazon Studios, with Jonathan Nolan and Lisa Joy, the creators of the HBO series Westworld at the helm, was one of the most breathtaking video game tie-ins that I’ve ever seen, by a

Why is “AI” suddenly everywhere?

Why is “AI” suddenly everywhere?

In 2021, we saw the beginning of the AI explosion when OpenAI released ChatGPT, a Generative Pre-Trained model. This was not their first text-generating system. The GPT framework had been available to anyone who signed up for the OpenAI “playground,” a testbed for developers to build things with their services.