“It’s literally the gulag. You have zero purpose in life all of a sudden, you barely interact with anyone, you just have these tasks every week." Every once in awhile, the clouds part & provide perfect moments of clarity. This description of life at Meta perfectly mirrors life…
Who's Who of AI
Neil Turkewitz
I write mostly about the intersection of tech & art/culture which these days means I spend nearly all my time trying to address the exploitation underlying current AI models. A secular humanist interrogating modern religions.
What they're sharing
‘Tell Him He’s a Piece of Shit’: Meta’s New AI Unit Is a Total Mess wired.com
Researchers Wanted Preschool Teachers to Wear Cameras to Train AI 404media.co
Opinion | This Could Be the Winning Issue for Democrats nytimes.com
Who Will Actually Thrive in the Hybrid A.I.-Human Work Force nytimes.com
Opinion | What 370,000 College Essays Tell Us About A.I.’s Effects on Creativity nytimes.com
nytimes.com
I’m launching Tech Influence Watch as AI follows crypto into politics citationneeded.news
arxiv.org
How Anthropic used AI ethics slop to play the pope and eclipse OpenAI bloodinthemachine.com
Catching bad content in the age of AI technologyreview.com
nytimes.com
nytimes.com
Articles & links
It’d be great if everyone interested in launching some AI project first asked themselves—would this be acceptable without the AI angle? The conflation of AI & Progress obscures judgment & erases necessary interrogation of processes. Also, can everyone stop with OPT-OUTS? That’…
“The public seems to agree that DATA CENTERS ARE GIANT, UGLY, SMELLY ALTARS TO INDUSTRIAL-SCALE HOSTILE ARCHITECTURE.” Brava @tressiemcphd.bsky.social That’s perfect. And this “hostility” isn’t limited to physical architecture. AI is hostile to our very humanity, borne of stri…
A panel of “experts” gives us advice about the future of AI, c/o @nytimes.com Problem is, no one challenging the status quo is included. No artists leading the fight against unauthorized use of creative works to train AI. No leaders of the AI resistance. Noone from GenZ—the gr…
“The erosion of creative thinking means young people will struggle to navigate uncertainty. Workers will strain to adapt to a shifting labor market. And society will miss out on the new ideas that can solve complex problems & enhance lives.” And there’s also a darker side…
“Everyone in the field recognizes that guardrails remain a challenge, & likely will for some time,” said Matt Fredrikson, a professor of computer science at Carnegie Mellon University. C’mon, “likely will for some time?” They will ALWAYS remain a challenge. Not a challenge act…
“The [AI & crypto] PACs may look different from the outside, but they’re increasingly the same operation with aligned goals: deregulate the tech sector, slash consumer protections, & allow tech companies to capture even more enormous profits at the expense of everyday people.”…
“We demonstrate that when users discuss high- stakes social concerns (i.e., interpersonal conflict), interactions with sycophantic AI models degrade prosocial intentions: participants were more convinced of their own righteousness & less willing to repair their relationships.”…
Anthropic is succeeding “by building a popular product, partly by correctly recognizing which way the winds of public sentiment were blowing, partly out of luck, and also by being unabashedly full of shit.” Brilliant stuff, as usual, from @bcmerchant.bsky.social
I love how direct he always is. “Content moderation has not kept up with the threats because it’s not in the financial interest of the tech companies. This is all about greed. Let’s stop pretending this is about anything other than money.” —Hany Farid
“Fear of being left behind works only if you haven’t already been left behind. Women can see through the smoke and mirrors.” 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼 @tressiemcphd.bsky.social
“We’re seeing an unprecedented deluge of money being poured by AI companies into lobbying in order to protect their bottom lines & their images at a time when Americans are very anxious about the technology.” But who has to lobby for something we’re told is inevitable? @nytcec…
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Recent commentary
A visual representation of the AI resistance we’ve seen from college graduates these past weeks.
The world offers endless opportunities. Why would anyone abandon their agency and let AI chart their path based on inferences drawn from statistical probabilities? Find your own beach…metaphorically, & possibly literally too.
Famine Memorial Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪 Statues by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie Photos ©2026 Neil Turkewitz Any AI use strictly prohibited 🚫
San Diego California Temple (and no, this is not AI generated. I took this photo from a car traveling at 70 mph on the freeway!)
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