Serife (Sherry) Wong

Re your bit on Islamic algorithms, I have this illuminated piece where I compare the algorithmic art of the empire to LLMs as political propaganda logicmag.io/supa-dupa-sk...

The Origin of Clouds logicmag.io

[email protected] has surprised many with his shift towards Xrisk speculation. Many policymakers have, perpetuating false AI narratives. These beliefs aren't organic & need to be to contextualized with how much EA lobbying has happened. From 2023: www.politico.com/news…

politico.com

Teens annoy a lot of people sure, but what next? Waymo facial recognition identifies immigrants, Waymo calls ICE, Waymo follows activist home, Waymo blocks traffic to aid in mass arrests at pro democracy protest www.mercurynews.com/2026/07/07/w...

Waymo car delivers misbehaving teen passengers to San Mateo police mercurynews.com

Art & critical AI discourse: I see a beam from a lighthouse bright but still, illuminating the ocean as our boat steers right into the rocks of totalitarian AI. Our discourse burns at both ends, But oh what waves! & oh snap, friends, it casts a beautiful light. www.totei.com/s…

Trevor Paglen and Holly Herndon on Making Art with AI and What the Discourse Is Missing totei.com

Reading this in context of how "skeptical" of their company anthropic employees must have been finding about Claude use in Venezuela by the US military. They are screened to do so and encourage friction. www.implicator.ai/at-anthropic...

Anthropic's Culture Interview Is Its Top Hiring Gate implicator.ai

Then I get this ad asking me to support a policy coalition to protect kids that's run by OpenAI. parentsandkidssafeai.com which by the way was a surprise to some of the coalition. sfstandard.com/2026/04/01/o...

Kids groups say they didn’t know OpenAI was behind their child safety coalition sfstandard.com

How can I share in progress work with people if it is work I would not want put in an LLM. What kinds of thinking or creativity are accelerated while what kinds are thwarted? And more interestingly, what kinds of new forms will work need to take pushing new sociotech frictions?

Two ads to consider together in the context of AI marketing and the power of belief. First is for the controversial note taking AI gizmo pocket that records your conversations, possibly illegally. Next one in thread.

Companies are like: Hey teach this AI agent how to do your job! For funsies only, we swear. Heard two stories this week from friends this actually happened to. Its a mess in many ways. AI agents really can't do these jobs, but workers are expected to make it work, so they are in trouble either way.

Look to San Francisco, home of the tech booms & AI labs, to see how the febrile AI sector benefits ripple out to communities. My local CVS locks up the frequently shoplifted items: ramen noodles, baby formula, canned food. Rent for a 1bdrm apt nearby is $6500.

I've been talking with friends about the recent viral videos of students booing commencement speakers who bring up AI. So far they have all shared that their Bay Area teens and college students refuse to use AI. I think their critical lens on AI is born from their social media skepticism

2 signs in the Bay Area capture different kinds of anger at AI tools, consequences & forms of community education. Swanky neighborhood sign's AI is optional, harming others, call to action is read more. The other sign's AI is for jailing, control, fear. It warns for safety. AI hits different.

Another successful day listening to someone compare AI to a tool in that it's neutral and can be used for good or evil & not ending my disagreement explaining AI political economy with "but you might be a tool, though". 🍦 #punkdiplomacy

Some very smart folks are elevating the good intentions of anthropic above the contracts & market incentives that contradict their marketing strategies. I think it's because there's little else in AI to pin hope on that we are incentivized to find one to trust, otherwise what would we do? Despair?

I saw a headline proclaiming AI boom is bailing out California as I was asked to sign a petition to save Bart our public transportation that is headed to close down several lines, cutting people off from being able to commute for work. And that's how the benefits of AI will roll out to you too

Well that's a first. Customer Service I called made me prove I was human before helping me. (After the AI agent hung up on me twice)