Nostr notes by Cory Doctorow

Here's an irony: the "gig economy" is a statistical ...

2026-07-11T08:55:58Z

Here's an irony: the "gig economy" is a statistical black hole. Workers, customers and regulators know very little about the most basic aspects of it: how much workers get paid, for example, or much unpaid time on the clock a worker puts in before they get a job from the app.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/11/your-risk/#my-reward

1/

THIS SATURDAY (Jul 11), I'll be at the Idler Festival in ...

2026-07-09T06:57:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…8834
_________________________

THIS SATURDAY (Jul 11), I'll be at the Idler Festival in #London

https://www.idler.co.uk/festival/

eof/

I'm also on Bluesky. Read today's thread there at: ...

2026-07-09T06:57:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…x0gp
_________________________

I'm also on Bluesky. Read today's thread there at:

https://bsky.app/profile/did:web:pluralistic.net/post/3mq72b22l3s2q

15/

You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ...

2026-07-09T06:56:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…4vsp
_________________________

You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ads, trackers, or data-collection!

Here's today's edition: https://pluralistic.net/2026/07/09/wilhoitian/

--

If you prefer a newsletter, subscribe to the plura-list, which is ad-/tracker-free, and is utterly unadorned save a single daily emoji. Today's is "🧊". Suggestions solicited for future emojis!

--

You can also get a fulltext RSS feed, licensed CC BY 4.0:

https://pluralistic.net/feed/

14/

Recent appearances * Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday ...

2026-07-09T06:56:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…wrhl
_________________________

Recent appearances

* Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday Anarchism)
https://www.everydayanarchism.com/192-can-ai-be-saved-from-capitalism-cory-doctorow/

* Lawfare Daily
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1KIwaYRs1g

* How to Think About AI (Organized Money)
https://www.organizedmoney.fm/p/how-to-think-about-ai-with-cory-doctorow

* Breaking Points
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJmUbkRqXeE

* A.I. Enshittifies Everything (Slate)
https://slate.com/podcasts/what-next-tbd/2026/06/cory-doctorow-thinks-a-i-is-overvalued-and-overrated-and-still-a-threat

13/

Upcoming appearances (cont'd): * #London: The Reverse ...

2026-07-09T06:56:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…04cv
_________________________

Upcoming appearances (cont'd):

* #London: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Riley Quinn (Foyle's Picadilly), Sep 9
https://www.foyles.co.uk/events/enshittification-cory-doctorow-riley-quinn

* #SouthBend: An Evening With Cory Doctorow (Notre Dame), Oct 6
https://franco.nd.edu/events/2026/10/06/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow/

12/

Upcoming appearances: * #London: Idler Festival, Jul 11 ...

2026-07-09T06:56:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…uxcy
_________________________

Upcoming appearances:

* #London: Idler Festival, Jul 11
https://www.idler.co.uk/festival/

* #Edinburgh International Book Festival with Jimmy Wales, Aug 17
https://www.edbookfest.co.uk/events/the-front-list-cory-doctorow-and-jimmy-wales

* #Sydney: The Festival of Dangerous Ideas, Aug 23-24
https://festivalofdangerousideas.com/cory-doctorow/

* #Melbourne: Enshittification at the Wheeler Centre, Aug 25
https://www.wheelercentre.com/events-tickets/season-2026/cory-doctorow-enshittification

* #Brighton: The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI with Carole Cadwalladr (Brighton Dome), Sep 8
https://brightondome.org/whats-on/LSC-cory-doctorow-the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai/

11/

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, ...

2026-07-09T06:56:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…s28j
_________________________

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."

https://craphound.com/shop/

10/

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally ...

2026-07-09T06:55:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…6n3t
_________________________

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling"The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374621568/thereversecentaursguidetolifeafterai/

--

My previous nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It":

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

9/

Tuesday's threads: How US states and international ...

2026-07-09T06:55:45Z

In reply to nevent1q…zxhp
_________________________

Tuesday's threads: How US states and international trustbusters can beat Big Tech; and more!

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116879006469715666

8/

#5yrsago Biden's Right to Repair will include electronics, ...

2026-07-09T06:55:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…2ehj
_________________________

#5yrsago Biden's Right to Repair will include electronics, too https://pluralistic.net/2021/07/10/unnixing-the-fix/#r2r-plus-plus

7/

"Post-political" movements are made up of people who ...

2026-07-09T06:43:50Z

In reply to nevent1q…wwh5
_________________________

"Post-political" movements are made up of people who don't know what politics are. A "centrist" is ultimately a rightist, because the foundation of rightism is the supremacy of property. It is the ideology that breeds hereditary aristocracy ("property is a human right" means that it's a violation of your human rights to expect you to work for a living if you emerged from a lucky orifice). It's the ideology that breeds oligarchy.

22/

If you believe property rights are tools, you can order landlords ...

2026-07-09T06:43:41Z

In reply to nevent1q…jh32
_________________________

If you believe property rights are tools, you can order landlords who want to ban their tenants from installing balcony solar to fuck off. If you believe property rights are human rights, then landlords can force their tenants to pay every dime the fossil fuel industry demands of them. "Property right as tool" allows you to defend a farmer's right to install a wind-farm, and still, to block a data-center from installing a gas turbine on its own land.

21/

If you believe property rights are tools, then you can pass laws ...

2026-07-09T06:43:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…wnla
_________________________

If you believe property rights are tools, then you can pass laws banning corporations from electioneering:

https://sos.mn.gov/media/3k4hu2if/minnesota-election-laws-statutes-and-rules.pdf

If you believe property rights are human rights, then you end up supporting unlimited dark money spending in elections:

https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-621_h315.pdf

20/

Good regulations and laws are good, but simply passing any ...

2026-07-09T06:43:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…hzwq
_________________________

*Good* regulations and laws are good, but simply passing *any* law is stupid and gets you into terrible trouble, even if the stupid law you've passed is designed to solve a real problem:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/23/destroy-the-village/#to-save-it

Viewed as tools, property rights are perfectly useful ways of achieving the primary purpose of a civilization: to safeguard the human rights of its people. Viewed as ends unto themselves, property rights are a terrible danger to our civilization and species.

19/

Leftists view property rights as a tool, like laws, or ...

2026-07-09T06:43:18Z

In reply to nevent1q…w9np
_________________________

Leftists view property rights as a tool, like laws, or regulations, or polls, or voting. Used well, these tools can produce prosperity for all. But "voting" and "laws" aren't good unto themselves. The Swiss practice of voting on whether your neighbors qualify for citizenship is barbaric:

https://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-38595807

18/

If property rights are human rights, I can fill my factory with ...

2026-07-09T06:43:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…q4ul
_________________________

If property rights are human rights, I can fill my factory with death-traps and insist that the workers I kill freely chose to assume that risk (as economists would say, they have a "revealed preference" for being killed at work):

https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/30/players-of-games/#know-when-to-fold-em

17/

"Left" and "right" represent two radically ...

2026-07-09T06:43:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…pv54
_________________________

"Left" and "right" represent two *radically* different paradigms. The right's paradigm is that property rights are human rights, which cashes out to "property rights are *the only* human right." If property rights are a human right, then I can burn down my orchard and laugh as you starve outside the gates. If property rights are human rights, I can leave an apartment building empty while you freeze to death on its sidewalk.

16/

We can disagree about reparations, about collectivization and ...

2026-07-09T06:42:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…keca
_________________________

We can disagree about reparations, about collectivization and co-operatives, about land reform. Very (very!) few leftists want to abolish property, but to be a leftist is to agree that property is only ever a means, and never an end.

In systems thinking, we are counseled that the most profound and durable changes come from shifts in *paradigms*, from which all rules, laws and arrangements flow:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/12/donella-meadows/#paradigmatic

15/

As Brust says, this fight is as old as the French Revolution. ...

2026-07-09T06:42:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…yfev
_________________________

As Brust says, this fight is as old as the French Revolution. It's literally the plot of Les Miz ("In days gone by, I stole a loaf of bread in order to live").

Note that this framework leaves plenty of room for disagreement among leftists: we can disagree about who should get taxed and how, when a company should be ordered to destroy its ill-gotten loot and when that loot should be divided up among its victims, and what to do about empty houses and homeless people.

14/

Human beings have the right to shelter. If your town has a ...

2026-07-09T06:42:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…rafy
_________________________

Human beings have the right to shelter. If your town has a million empty homes and a million homeless people, there's an obvious solution. At the very least, you can tax the shit out of empty homes to discourage the creation of derelict, empty blights:

https://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/news/liverpool-news/owners-homes-left-empty-more-28622796

Human beings have the right to food. If a cartel claims that you may not legally sell your 100,000lbs of nectarines, you can just give them away and tell the cartel to fuck off:

https://apnews.com/article/california-farmer-nectarines-lawsuit-patent-4f7bc8ab185e8b9cbdd6d6ad4f2aabd1

13/

If property rights are a tool to achieve human rights, then ...

2026-07-09T06:42:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…gdzz
_________________________

If property rights are a tool to achieve human rights, then property rights can be set aside when they impede other rights. Human beings have the right to health care, which is why we should have taken away the pharma companies' patents and copyrights, ending vaccine apartheid and letting the poor world make its own vaccines:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/25/the-other-shoe-drops/#quid-pro-quo

12/

That's it. That's the crux. If you think that property ...

2026-07-09T06:42:10Z

In reply to nevent1q…vych
_________________________

That's it. That's the crux. If you think that property rights are a *tool* for achieving human rights, then you're on the left. You might support the right of farmers to block attempts to expropriate them via eminent domain in order to build a data center, or the right of people to not have their homes or devices searched by cops, or a library's right to own and archive digital books, even if the publishers insist that ebooks are never "sold," merely "licensed."

11/

But when it comes to a "post-politics that is neither right ...

2026-07-09T06:42:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…pny7
_________________________

But when it comes to a "post-politics that is neither right nor left," the definition I turn to most often comes from science fiction writer Steven Brust, who once told me:

> "Left" and "right" have had the same meaning since the French Revolution. If you want to know if someone is on the left or the right, ask them, "What is more important: human rights or property rights?" If they say "Property rights are a human right," then they are on the right.

https://pluralistic.net/2021/03/16/wage-theft/#ppp

10/

This one hardly needs explanation in this era of "it's ...

2026-07-09T06:41:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…m9ss
_________________________

This one hardly needs explanation in this era of "it's not a crime if the president does it," where Alex Jones can owe billions to the parents of dozens of murdered children and somehow not have to pay or give up his assets:

https://www.status.news/p/infowars-the-onion-alex-jones-ben-collins

9/

Another important definition is Wilhoit's Law: > ...

2026-07-09T06:41:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…7hj0
_________________________

Another important definition is Wilhoit's Law:

> Conservatism consists of exactly one proposition, to wit: There must be in-groups whom the law protects but does not bind, alongside out-groups whom the law binds but does not protect.

https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/26/sole-and-despotic-dominion/#then-they-came-for-me

8/

This explains how the right can encompass white nationalists ...

2026-07-09T06:41:27Z

In reply to nevent1q…l2x3
_________________________

This explains how the right can encompass white nationalists (rule by white people), Hindu nationalists (rule by high-caste Hindus), libertarians (rule by bosses), imperialists (rule by military aggressors), etc. It also explains the right's obsession with learning the racial and gender markers of anyone involved in a plane crash or other disaster: "See, the oil tanker was being piloted by a DEI hire when it crashed into that bridge!"

7/

"What do we learn from all this? Mostly the same thing we ...

2026-07-08T06:58:20Z

"What do we learn from all this? Mostly the same thing we learned when the crypto bros repeatedly rediscovered financial fraud, or when effective altruists decided the most effective altruism was to buy themselves a castle, or when ride share companies kept accidentally reïnventing the bus. If you start by ignoring everything that we already know, the best you can ever hope for is to accidentally rediscover the already-known."

- Rusty Foster, Over Leveraged
https://www.todayintabs.com/p/over-leveraged

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Zuckerberg's ...

2026-06-27T11:23:10Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Zuckerberg's increasingly bizarre war on whistleblowers; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/27/zuckerstreisand/

#Pluralistic

1/

The literature on harms to kids from online platforms is complex ...

2026-06-23T11:32:24Z

The literature on harms to kids from online platforms is complex and nuanced, rife with people citing small, ambiguous studies as iron-clad evidence that kids are being destroyed by the internet:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ype6c6DdHQY

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/23/destroy-the-village/#to-save-it

1/

That meant that every solar installer I talked to was more ...

2026-06-22T17:35:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…l6ty
_________________________

That meant that every solar installer I talked to was more interested in swindling me by putting solar on my roof that *they* would own than they were in selling me a system I owned outright. Financializing America's rooftop solar conjured up a vast army of scammers and hustlers who screwed the majority of people they sold solar to, and my installers, Solaredge, were no exception:

https://www.propublica.org/article/missouri-pace-loans

15/

This is a terrible idea - it's every bit as bad as WEI was. ...

2026-06-12T20:56:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…vu8t
_________________________

This is a terrible idea - it's every bit as bad as WEI was. In an age in which Big Tech is ever-more tied to authoritarian governments, redesigning our devices to tell strangers things we don't want them to know isn't just shortsighted, it's inexcusable.

eof/

This will make it much easier for the apps and other services you ...

2026-06-12T20:56:51Z

In reply to nevent1q…7c9h
_________________________

This will make it much easier for the apps and other services you interact with to block your device if you run an Android alternative, or if you install a mod that overrides the actions of Google's stock Android:

https://www.reddit.com/r/PrivacySecurityOSINT/comments/1tbdjbj/privacy_concerns_around_googles_recaptcha_mobile/

26/

Public outrage to WEI killed the project, but Google's ...

2026-06-12T20:56:43Z

In reply to nevent1q…0x9t
_________________________

Public outrage to WEI killed the project, but Google's commitment to augmenting its illegal commercial lockdown efforts with *technical* lockdowns never ended. Now, Google has rolled out an experimental "reCAPTCHA Mobile Verification" that uses an app, your camera, and your device's TPM or secure enclave to produce an attestation about your Android device:

https://support.google.com/recaptcha/answer/16609652

25/

Apps are a source of bottomless enshittification, not least ...

2026-06-12T20:56:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…d3ut
_________________________

Apps are a source of bottomless enshittification, not least because (unlike the web), they enjoy special, dangerous legal protections that make it *very* legally risky to modify them:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/07/31/unsatisfying-answers/#systemic-problems

WEI wasn't an effort to level the playing field between apps and the web - it was *a race to the bottom*, an attempt to make the web as enshittogenic as the app hellscape.

24

These kinds of modifications aren't just used to block ads - ...

2026-06-12T20:56:23Z

In reply to nevent1q…aaqf
_________________________

These kinds of modifications aren't just used to block ads - they're also key to accessibility. People who have photosensitive epilepsy or who (like me) suffer from low-contrast vision problems use add-ons to reformat pages so that we can safely and legibly access them.

WEI's creators said they were only trying to put the web on a level playing field with apps, which routinely rat you out to the companies you connect to.

23/

We didn't get rid of pop-up ads by making them illegal, or by ...

2026-06-12T20:56:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…6vfr
_________________________

We didn't get rid of pop-up ads by making them illegal, or by boycotting advertisers who used them. We got rid of pop-up ads when web users installed pop-up blockers, which made pop-up ads pointless. Take away our ability to block obnoxious digital content and you *guarantee* that we will be flooded with it.

22/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: The world has moved on; ...

2026-06-11T17:07:36Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: The world has moved on; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/11/lapsarianism/

#Pluralistic

1/

Later, Timmons forwarded one of those emails to me. It gave an ...

2026-06-11T16:10:32Z

In reply to nevent1q…tpnh
_________________________

Later, Timmons forwarded one of those emails to me. It gave an eloquent and evocative account of just how rancid the vibe is these days. The writer said that when they and their spouse encounter this rot, they cite Stephen King's *Dark Tower* novels, quoting the oft-repeated phrase from that series: "The world has moved on."

8/

I spoke with Timmons this week about the series. She told me ...

2026-06-11T16:10:22Z

In reply to nevent1q…ty62
_________________________

I spoke with Timmons this week about the series. She told me she's been deluged with emails from readers who feel that the world is *different* now - and many of them cite my work on enshittification. Timmons wanted to know what advice I had for her readers. I told her that I don't think you can solve this as a consumer, because this isn't a *market* problem, it's a *political* problem, and shopping isn't politics:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/21/purity-culture/#stop-fucking-that-chicken

7/

So it's not just me, an old man yelling at the cloud. The ...

2026-06-11T16:10:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…nwk7
_________________________

So it's not just me, an old man yelling at the cloud. The world is getting *shittier*.

The latest Customer Rage Survey inspired *The Guardian*'s Heather Timmons to launch a new investigative series looking at how *fucked up* everything is. Her inaugural installment is very good, and it's drawn a massive reader response:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-interactive/2026/jun/04/us-consumer-rage-prices-economy

6/

The survey measures respondents' attitudes towards the ...

2026-06-11T16:10:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…ztjs
_________________________

The survey measures respondents' attitudes towards the businesses they deal with, and as of 2025, it's fair to say, customers are *pissed*:

https://customercaremc.com/2025-national-customer-rage-study/

We're experiencing more problems with the products and services we use. Those problems are more severe, they make us angrier, and they produce lingering stress. More and more, we are seeking revenge on the businesses that piss us off.

5/

World Cup fans are apparently lousy tippers? ...

2026-06-11T13:02:13Z

World Cup fans are apparently lousy tippers?

Our junk fee is not a tip ...

2026-06-09T16:30:58Z

Our junk fee is not a tip

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Criticizing the everything ...

2026-06-06T18:17:22Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Criticizing the everything machine; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/06/applied-counterescatology/

#Pluralistic

1/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: AI automates delusional ...

2026-06-04T07:12:51Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: AI automates delusional reinforcement; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/06/04/mission-space/

#Pluralistic

1/

Morgellon's sufferers pick at their skin, creating open ...

2026-06-04T07:01:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…7kjg
_________________________

Morgellon's sufferers pick at their skin, creating open sores, which form a sticky trap for random bits of fluff and loose threads that sufferers interpret as evidence of these "wires." It's a horrible mental illness, and it's hard enough to treat even in the absence of the internet (the name "Morgellon's Disease" refers to a 17th century case-report).

15/

Paranoid delusions are - thankfully - rare, and in the absence of ...

2026-06-04T07:01:03Z

In reply to nevent1q…acls
_________________________

Paranoid delusions are - thankfully - rare, and in the absence of the internet, you might never encounter another sufferer.

But thanks to the internet, sufferers can form communities that reinforce their delusions, with disastrous consequences. Take "Morgellon's Disease," the paranoid delusion that you have wires growing under your skin.

14/

"The values described in Claude’s constitution sound very ...

2026-06-03T20:22:54Z

"The values described in Claude’s constitution sound very nice, but that hardly matters; it’s dishonest to suggest that Claude is capable of moral reasoning, because it’s not."

-Ted Chiang, No, Artificial Intelligence Is Not Conscious
https://www.theatlantic.com/philosophy/2026/06/no-artificial-intelligence-is-not-conscious/687378/

In this theory I'm developing here, we could say that the ...

2026-06-02T09:27:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…pdxa
_________________________

In this theory I'm developing here, we could say that the more abstract a work is, the harder it is to evince a specific feeling with high fidelity, but the more likely it is that the feelings it *does* evince will be intensely felt. When your aesthetic sense resonates with a Henry Moore bronze or an Eno ambient track, the thrum is deep and strong.

30/

If you want an audience to experience a feeling, narrative gives ...

2026-06-02T09:27:05Z

In reply to nevent1q…rmnk
_________________________

If you want an audience to experience a feeling, narrative gives you the opportunity to explicitly *describe* the feeling you want the audience member to experience. You can situate a character on a lonely beach at sunset and tell the reader how that character feels.

The problem is that while this has an increased likelihood of being high-*fidelity* way of transmitting a feeling, it also has an increased likelihood of being a low-*intensity* way of conveying that feeling.

27/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Carneyism without Carney; ...

2026-05-30T09:48:23Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: Carneyism without Carney; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/30/rupture/

#Pluralistic

1/

The "Third Way" in liberal politics involves saying ...

2026-05-30T09:33:54Z

The "Third Way" in liberal politics involves *saying* things that working people love, but *doing* things that sociopathic plutocrats love. It works ...right up until voters notice that you're not *doing* the things. That realisation breeds cynicism and fury and paves the way for fascist strongmen.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/30/rupture/#deeds-not-words

1/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: AI and a world without ...

2026-05-27T08:22:00Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: AI and a world without migrants; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/27/unnecessariat/

#Pluralistic

1/

Nostr event nevent1qqsdghj3va7v3aavcrg3dml9v62vsdtff9ecrww7xzchndkex3e756szyqsc2md0snpwfeg99y8tyh3sswc9gkuvq04f0wycxyghelcflt0s66d3txl

2026-05-26T12:10:37Z

ITTIFICATION

The AI bubble isn't like the internet bubble: No one had to ...

2026-05-26T10:04:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…856k
_________________________

The AI bubble isn't like the internet bubble: No one had to force-feed the web to workers.

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116640243696727370

3/

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After ...

2026-05-26T10:04:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…5a8e
_________________________

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI*, out next month. Pre-order it now, including as a DRM-free audiobook or ebook, at my Kickstarter, and help me continue to prove that DRM-free isn't just the *right* way to reach an audience, it's also the *best* way to reach them:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai

2/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: The AI bubble isn't ...

2026-05-26T10:03:57Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: The AI bubble isn't like the internet bubble; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/26/the-ai-will-continue/

#Pluralistic

1/

One of the surprise breakouts of the early web was Lotus Notes, a ...

2026-05-26T09:47:54Z

One of the surprise breakouts of the early web was Lotus Notes, a primitive precursor to all-in-one office suites like Office365. It was so important that its creator, Ray Ozzie, was promoted to Microsoft's Chief Software Architect, succeeding Bill Gates himself:

https://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/podcast/knowledge-at-wharton-podcast/the-man-who-would-change-microsoft-ray-ozzies-vision-for-connected-software/

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/26/the-ai-will-continue/#until-morale-improves

1/

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical ...

2026-05-25T08:13:36Z

In reply to nevent1q…v72d
_________________________

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels

--

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally bestselling "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux:

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/

14/

Thursday's threads: Shopping isn't politics; and more! ...

2026-05-25T08:13:26Z

In reply to nevent1q…xn8f
_________________________

Thursday's threads: Shopping isn't politics; and more!

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116613307220142174

13/

#5yrsago Consent theater ...

2026-05-25T08:13:11Z

In reply to nevent1q…fjv5
_________________________

#5yrsago Consent theater https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/20/consent-theater/

#5yrsago Debunking the arguments for vaccine apartheid https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/21/wait-your-turn/#vaccine-apartheid

#5yrsago How the filibuster dies https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/22/not-with-a-bang/#theory-of-change

#1yrago Strange Bedfellows and Long Knives https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/21/et-tu-sloppy-steve/#fractured-fairytales

#1yrago The meritocracy to eugenics pipeline https://pluralistic.net/2025/05/20/big-cornflakes-energy/#caliper-pilled

12/

#10yrsago Paypal refuses to deliver online purchases to UK ...

2026-05-25T08:12:58Z

In reply to nevent1q…y3ur
_________________________

#10yrsago Paypal refuses to deliver online purchases to UK addresses containing “Isis” https://b2fxxx.blogspot.com/2016/05/the-tyranny-of-algorithm-yet-again.html

#10yrsago 30 students debate mass surveillance on Capitol Hill https://web.archive.org/web/20160521000031/https://theintercept.com/2016/05/20/high-school-debaters-bring-surveillance-encryption-arguments-to-capitol-hill/

#10yrsago What the NSA’s assault on whistleblowers taught Snowden https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/may/22/how-pentagon-punished-nsa-whistleblowers

#10yrsago Massive, coordinated ATM heist in Japan nets $12.7 million (¥‎1.4 billion) https://web.archive.org/web/20160523102154/http://mainichi.jp/english/articles/20160522/p2g/00m/0dm/044000c

#5yrsago How the Sacklers rigged the game https://pluralistic.net/2021/05/23/a-bankrupt-process/#sacklers

11/

#10yrsago Sex Criminals: Robin Hood bank robbers who can stop ...

2026-05-25T08:12:44Z

In reply to nevent1q…tdnj
_________________________

#10yrsago Sex Criminals: Robin Hood bank robbers who can stop time when they orgasm https://memex.craphound.com/2016/05/21/sex-criminals-robin-hood-bank-robbers-who-can-stop-time-when-they-orgasm/

#10yrsago Airbnb stealth-updates terms of service, says it’s not an insurer and requires binding arbitration https://memex.craphound.com/2016/05/20/airbnb-stealth-updates-terms-of-service-says-its-not-an-insurer-and-requires-binding-arbitration/

#10yrsago Oculus breaks promise, uses DRM to kill app that let you switch VR systems https://web.archive.org/web/20160520161939/https://motherboard.vice.com/read/new-oculus-drm-cross-platform

#10yrsago Nintendo claims ownership over fans’ Minecraft/Mario mashups https://web.archive.org/web/20160521193334/http://arstechnica.com/gaming/2016/05/nintendo-issues-copyright-claims-on-mario-themed-minecraft-videos/

10/

#10yrsago JJ Abrams urges Paramount to drop its lawsuit over fan ...

2026-05-25T08:12:31Z

In reply to nevent1q…yfcu
_________________________

#10yrsago JJ Abrams urges Paramount to drop its lawsuit over fan Star Trek movie https://web.archive.org/web/20160522121940/https://deadline.com/2016/05/star-trek-axanar-lawsuit-ending-jj-abrams-paramount-1201760721/

#10yrsago Pat Buchanan on the Republican Party’s historical opposition to free trade deals https://web.archive.org/web/20160521162845/http://www.theamericanconservative.com/buchanan/free-trade-vs-the-republican-party/

#10yrsago United offered men-only “executive” flights until 1970 https://viewfromthewing.com/united-airlines-men-only-executive-service/

#10yrsago Elderly man kills wife because they couldn’t afford her medicine https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/20/us/florida-man-says-he-killed-sick-wife-because-he-couldnt-afford-her-medicine-sheriffs-say.html?_r=0

9/

#15yrsago Raising a kid without disclosing their sex ...

2026-05-25T08:12:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…geng
_________________________

#15yrsago Raising a kid without disclosing their sex https://web.archive.org/web/20110523180952/http://www.parentcentral.ca/parent/babiespregnancy/babies/article/995112--parents-keep-child-s-gender-secret

#15yrsago Byron Sonne: Canadian security geek jailed for taunting G20 security theatre https://web.archive.org/web/20110518195236/http://www.torontolife.com/daily/informer/from-print-edition-informer/2011/05/03/how-byron-sonne’s-obsessions-with-the-g20-security-apparatus-cost-him-everything/

#15yrsago HOWTO make a SNES cartridge urinal https://blog.pricecharting.com/2011/05/how-to-build-video-game-urinal.html

#15yrsago German police raid German Pirate Party’s servers two days before election https://web.archive.org/web/20120516010632/https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2011/05/german-police-seize-pirate-party-servers-looking-at-anons-toolkit/

8/

#15yrsago RIAA boss takes home $3 mil+ ...

2026-05-25T08:11:52Z

In reply to nevent1q…y5ws
_________________________

#15yrsago RIAA boss takes home $3 mil+ https://lefsetz.com/wordpress/2011/05/21/another-member-of-the-overpaid/

#15yrsago Vindictive game company invites employees to pan reviewer’s novel after bad review https://maroonersrock.com/2011/05/conduit-2-developer-calls-for-internal-retaliation-against-author-of-negative-joystiq-review/

#15yrsago France lobbies G8 for Internet control and censorship https://www.laquadrature.net/en/2011/05/20/frances-g8-focuses-on-control-and-restrictions-to-online-freedoms/

#15yrsago Budweiser nunchuks: American Ninja https://web.archive.org/web/20110701153712/http://www.todayandtomorrow.net/2011/05/19/american-ninja/

#15yrsago GOP legislative aide works on punitive voter ID bill, boasts of illegally voting in another district https://web.archive.org/web/20110522014606/http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_ede5d49e-8272-11e0-a6e0-001cc4c03286.html

7/

#20yrsago Orphan works law ...

2026-05-25T08:11:34Z

In reply to nevent1q…tpps
_________________________

#20yrsago Orphan works law https://web.archive.org/web/20060531135239/http://www.copybites.com/2006/05/chairman_lamar_.html

#20yrsago U. Florida cops ask fiction writer for fingerprints, DNA https://memex.craphound.com/2006/05/22/u-florida-cops-ask-fiction-writer-for-fingerprints-dna/

#20yrsago HDMI, the Manchurian DRM – a Broadcast Flag dormant until 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20060523193853/https://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060521-6880.html

#15yrsago The Filter Bubble: how personalization changes society https://memex.craphound.com/2011/05/22/the-filter-bubble-how-personalization-changes-society/

#15yrsago Last decade’s English libel legal sharks poised to make a new fortune on stupid privacy lawsuits and superinjuctions https://memex.craphound.com/2011/05/22/last-decades-english-libel-legal-sharks-poised-to-make-a-new-fortune-on-stupid-privacy-lawsuits-and-superinjuctions/

6/

#25yrsago Best email disclaimer award ...

2026-05-25T08:11:13Z

In reply to nevent1q…pwvr
_________________________

#25yrsago Best email disclaimer award https://web.archive.org/web/20010526174903/http://www.theregister.co.uk/content/35/19057.html

#25yrsago Kaycee hoax FAQ https://web.archive.org/web/20010629212706/https://rootnode.org/article.php?sid=26

#25yrsago Crisis management in Ultima Online https://web.archive.org/web/20010605015828/http://www.newyorker.com/FACT/

#25yrsago E3 is all softcore porn now https://web.archive.org/web/20010702122044/https://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2001/05/22/e3_2001/print.html

#25yrsago Canadian payphone infinite long distance glitch https://web.archive.org/web/20010608183145/https://www.wired.com/news/culture/0,1284,43967,00.html

#20yrsago Kids make a sport out of outsmarting school web-filters https://web.archive.org/web/20060821224237/http://news.com.com/Kids+outsmart+Web+filters/2009-1041-6062548.html

5/

Hey look at this * Hating AI is good, actually ...

2026-05-25T08:10:53Z

In reply to nevent1q…7npz
_________________________

Hey look at this

* Hating AI is good, actually https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/hating-ai-is-good-actually

* The Labour Party’s Main Problem Isn’t Losing Voters to Reform https://jacobin.com/2026/05/uk-elections-labour-reform-greens

* Flipper One — we need your help https://blog.flipper.net/flipper-one-we-need-your-help/

* London mayor Sadiq Khan blocks £50m Met police deal with Palantir https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/may/21/london-mayor-sadiq-khan-blocks-met-police-deal-with-palantir

* Do AI Risks Require Extraordinary Government Intervention? https://www.normaltech.ai/p/do-ai-risks-require-extraordinary?hide_intro_popup=true

4/

No honor among (ad-tech) thieves: Including "and" and ...

2026-05-25T08:10:28Z

In reply to nevent1q…yl2k
_________________________

No honor among (ad-tech) thieves: Including "and" and "the."

https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/116634126706514148

3/

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After ...

2026-05-25T08:10:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…r48p
_________________________

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After AI*, out next month. Pre-order it now, including as a DRM-free audiobook or ebook, at my Kickstarter, and help me continue to prove that DRM-free isn't just the *right* way to reach an audience, it's also the *best* way to reach them:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/the-reverse-centaurs-guide-to-life-after-ai

2/

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: No honor among (ad-tech) ...

2026-05-25T08:09:42Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: No honor among (ad-tech) thieves; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/25/lying-spies/

#Pluralistic

1/

Hwang's book documents lots more ad-tech fraud that's ...

2026-05-25T07:56:09Z

In reply to nevent1q…c9sz
_________________________

Hwang's book documents lots more ad-tech fraud that's every bit as audacious as the Wannamaker-era con-jobs. For example, there's the fact that when Procter and Gamble zeroed out its $200m/year surveillance advertising program, they saw a *zero* percent drop in sales because (to a first approximation) all $200m of that annual spend was disappearing down the fraud-hole.

12/

That's demonstrably true of commercial surveillance. ...

2026-05-25T07:55:57Z

In reply to nevent1q…ldx8
_________________________

That's demonstrably true of commercial surveillance. Commercial spies lie to customers *like crazy*, and always have. Think of department store magnate John Wannamaker's famous quip that "half my advertising dollars are wasted, I just don't know which half." Man, did someone ever do a sell-job on old Wannamaker: imagine believing that *only half* of your advertising dollars are wasted. Today, thanks to creepy ad-tech analytics, we know that the true figure is around *99%*.

11/

The opposite of criti-hype is materialistic criticism, grounded ...

2026-05-25T07:55:25Z

In reply to nevent1q…65h5
_________________________

The opposite of criti-hype is *materialistic* criticism, grounded in independently verifiable claims about how these scams work. To be a good tech critic, you need to start by assuming that a company that lies to its *users* about what it's doing is perfectly capable of lying to its *customers* and *investors* about what it's doing (that is, "even if you're paying for the product, you're still the product").

10/

This is also a very profitable style of criticism: there's ...

2026-05-25T07:55:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…4yfz
_________________________

This is also a very *profitable* style of criticism: there's a huge commercial market for people who claim to be defending the world from conquest by evil dopamine-hacking sorcerers and/or superintelligent paperclip-maximizers that can chatbot you into killing yourself and/or voting for Trump (brackets derogatory).

9/

Criti-hype is satisfying because the hype itself is so ...

2026-05-25T07:55:02Z

In reply to nevent1q…u3tx
_________________________

Criti-hype is satisfying because the hype itself is so fantastically overblown. These companies claim they're going to save/destroy/conquer the world, transform the very nature of humanity, etc, and so critics who repeat those claims (brackets derogatory) can style themselves as defenders of the world and humanity itself.

8/

Critics who repeat these outlandish claims are helping these ...

2026-05-25T07:54:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…mdh8
_________________________

Critics who repeat these outlandish claims are helping these companies sell ads to credulous advertisers, who are getting robbed to the tune of hundreds of billions of dollars. This is the process that Lee Vinsel calls "criti-hype," which is when you "take the sensational claims of boosters and entrepreneurs, flip them, and start talking about 'risks'":

https://peoples-things.ghost.io/youre-doing-it-wrong-notes-on-criticism-and-technology-hype/

7/

Core to Hwang's thesis is these ads aren't just ...

2026-05-25T07:54:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…93rg
_________________________

Core to Hwang's thesis is these ads aren't just dangerous, they're also *ineffective*. The danger of ads is erosion of privacy and the mobilization of private data for state repression and fraud, but not particularly for persuasion. The idea that ad-tech companies have realized the ancient dream of building a mind-control ray via the novel technique of "hacking your dopamine loop" is a story that the ad-tech swindlers cooked up to *help them sell ads*:

https://pluralistic.net/2021/09/30/dont-believe-the-criti-hype/#ordinary-mediocrities

6/

So they lie like crazy. But they don't just lie to us: they ...

2026-05-25T07:53:42Z

In reply to nevent1q…tzmp
_________________________

So they lie like crazy. But they don't just lie to *us*: they lie to the people they sell our surveillance data to as well. Of course they do! Those people are the ones giving them the money! By tricking the people paying for the product, these surveillance swindlers can get them to pay more!

This is the basis of Tim Hwang's *essential* 2020 book *Subprime Attention Crisis*:

https://pluralistic.net/2020/10/05/florida-man/#wannamakers-ghost

5/

Of course they're liars! If their terms of service were ...

2026-05-25T07:53:33Z

In reply to nevent1q…en3x
_________________________

Of course they're liars! If their terms of service were honest, they'd say something like, "By being desperate enough to use this product, you 'agree' that we're allowed to come over to your house and punch your grandmother, wear your underwear, make long-distance calls and eat all the food in your fridge."

4/

The digital surveillance swindle is a con from top to bottom: ...

2026-05-25T07:53:15Z

In reply to nevent1q…3vd0
_________________________

The digital surveillance swindle is a con from top to bottom: it's not just that they spy on you, it's also that they lie to you about how and why and where they spy on you and what happens to the data they swindle out of you. They're not just cheats, in other words - they're also *liars*.

3/

The only reason this wouldn't be obvious is if you've ...

2026-05-25T07:53:01Z

In reply to nevent1q…aqxj
_________________________

The only reason this wouldn't be obvious is if you've fallen into the trap of thinking "if you're not paying for the product, you're the product." Companies that cheat when the opportunity arises will cheat *everyone*: customers, users, regulators, suppliers and employees. You're the product if the company can get away with making you the product:

https://pluralistic.net/2022/11/14/luxury-surveillance/#liar-liar

2/

It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that a company that ...

2026-05-25T07:52:16Z

It shouldn't come as a surprise to learn that a company that uses dishonest tactics to spy on you for profit will also use dishonest tactics to sell the resulting surveillance data.

--

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read or share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/23/lying-spies/#spying-liars

1/

If you're roasting in a drought, drowning in a flood, or ...

2026-05-21T15:09:07Z

In reply to nevent1q…q359
_________________________

If you're roasting in a drought, drowning in a flood, or being incinerated by a wildfire, your only move is to go shopping and hope that by buying a Tesla, you will emit a "demand signal" that "tips the market equilibrium" to "not killing you and everyone you love."

Shopping isn't politics. Politics are politics, and shopping is shopping.

This isn't to say shopping can't improve your life! I am a materialist, and having nice things is *nice*.

5/

It's a nihilistic view that insists that the only nice things ...

2026-05-21T15:08:56Z

In reply to nevent1q…520u
_________________________

It's a nihilistic view that insists that the only nice things we can have are the things that "the market" chooses for us. If "the market" doesn't decide to swap out fossil fuels for cleantech, then that's that - any attempt to draw down our carbon emissions through regulation will only "distort the market."

4/

By voting with your wallet, you are supposedly injecting ...

2026-05-21T15:08:35Z

In reply to nevent1q…u05r
_________________________

By voting with your wallet, you are supposedly injecting information about your preferences and dispreferences into a vast, distributed computer we call "the market," which uses "demand signals" to decide how we live our lives.

This belief is incompatible with the idea of politics - that is, the idea that our lives can be shaped by representative democracy, deliberation, and/or solidarity.

3/

The idea of voting with your wallet is fundamentally ...

2026-05-21T15:08:17Z

In reply to nevent1q…7qx3
_________________________

The idea of voting with your wallet is fundamentally antiprogressive, and not only because wallet-voting favors the wealthy. The ideological basis for voting with your wallet is the belief that politics are slow and unresponsive, while markets dynamically optimize for human wellbeing.

2/

Nostr event nevent1qqs9ukuen5mzhc5s4e6k0r9nygey9lalxwgn04rzs9znap5rwrphyjczyqsc2md0snpwfeg99y8tyh3sswc9gkuvq04f0wycxyghelcflt0s6zeha8c

2026-05-20T08:45:17Z

Watchful

Da boids ...

2026-05-20T08:44:11Z

Da boids

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: There's no such thing ...

2026-05-19T08:25:34Z

Today's threads (a thread)

Inside: There's no such thing as "age verification"; and more!

Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/19/shes-dead-of-course/

#Pluralistic

1/

Once you decree there is such a thing as a stream, you must bend ...

2026-05-19T08:13:14Z

In reply to nevent1q…524n
_________________________

Once you decree there is such a thing as a stream, you must bend heaven and earth to ensure that no "Save As..." buttons are added to the "streaming" program. You have to make it illegal to inspect code. To modify code. To report code defects. To index info about defects in code. To index info about mods. To link to indices that compile defects and mods. You have to swallow the fly, the spider, the bird, the cat, the dog, and the whole damned horse:

https://memex.craphound.com/2012/01/10/lockdown-the-coming-war-on-general-purpose-computing/

6/

This gives rise to some genuinely bizarre consensus ...

2026-05-19T08:12:24Z

In reply to nevent1q…muug
_________________________

This gives rise to some genuinely bizarre consensus hallucinations, in which we pretend that the reality decreed by policy matches up with *actual* reality. Take "streaming." There is no such thing as "streaming." A "stream" is just "a download that is transmitted to an application that doesn't have a 'Save As...' button":

https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/01/fulu/#i-am-altering-the-deal

5/

Technopolitics are defined by Bruce Schneier's "security ...

2026-05-19T08:12:16Z

In reply to nevent1q…wthn
_________________________

Technopolitics are defined by Bruce Schneier's "security syllogism," which goes, "Something must be done! There, I've done something." "Something" doesn't have to fix the problem, and "something" doesn't have to anticipate what will happen next. So long as "something" is done, the issue is resolved and the politician can chalk up a win.

4/

The foreseeable and foreseen consequences of bad technopolicy are ...

2026-05-19T08:12:08Z

In reply to nevent1q…r39a
_________________________

The foreseeable and foreseen consequences of bad technopolicy are all around us, but in the eternal *now* of a politics utterly devoid of object permanence, no one is allowed to remember what happened the last time we did something stupid, *especially* not when we're on the verge of doing that same stupid thing again, *only worse*:

https://pluralistic.net/2024/10/07/foreseeable-outcomes/#calea

3/

Over and over again, politicians are warned about the ways that ...

2026-05-19T08:12:00Z

In reply to nevent1q…ueta
_________________________

Over and over again, politicians are warned about the ways that their pet policies will a) produce enormous collateral damage, and; b) be easily evaded by the people they're seeking to control, giving rise to a cascade of ever-more extreme measures. And yet, they swallow a spider to catch a fly and then act baffled and hurt when we tell them it's their own damn fault that they now have to swallow a bird to catch the spider:

https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/13/wanting-it-badly/#is-not-enough

2/

"Object permanence": the ability to understand that ...

2026-05-19T08:11:31Z

"Object permanence": the ability to understand that things still exist, even if you can't see 'em. Kids acquire a thorough sense of object permanence by the age of two. But when it comes to technopolitics, object permanence eludes full-grown lawmakers. These motherfuckers would lose a game of peek-a-boo.

-

If you'd like an essay-formatted version of this thread to read/share, here's a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2026/05/19/shes-dead-of-course/#consensus-hallucination

1/

Urban exuberance ...

2026-05-17T11:49:31Z

Urban exuberance

Harsh but fair ...

2026-05-17T11:35:10Z

Harsh but fair

Nostr notes by Cory Doctorow

Here's an irony: the "gig economy" is a statistical ...

THIS SATURDAY (Jul 11), I'll be at the Idler Festival in ...

I'm also on Bluesky. Read today's thread there at: ...

You can follow these posts as a daily blog at pluralistic.net: no ...

Recent appearances * Can AI be Saved From Capitalism? (Everyday ...

Upcoming appearances (cont'd): * #London: The Reverse ...

Upcoming appearances: * #London: Idler Festival, Jul 11 ...

My ebooks and audiobooks (from FSGxMCD, Tor Books, Head of Zeus, ...

My latest nonfiction book is the internationally ...

Tuesday's threads: How US states and international ...

#5yrsago Biden's Right to Repair will include electronics, ...

"Post-political" movements are made up of people who ...

If you believe property rights are tools, you can order landlords ...

If you believe property rights are tools, then you can pass laws ...

*Good* regulations and laws are good, but simply passing *any* ...

Leftists view property rights as a tool, like laws, or ...

If property rights are human rights, I can fill my factory with ...

"Left" and "right" represent two *radically* ...

We can disagree about reparations, about collectivization and ...

As Brust says, this fight is as old as the French Revolution. ...

Human beings have the right to shelter. If your town has a ...

If property rights are a tool to achieve human rights, then ...

That's it. That's the crux. If you think that property ...

But when it comes to a "post-politics that is neither right ...

This one hardly needs explanation in this era of "it's ...

Another important definition is Wilhoit's Law: > ...

This explains how the right can encompass white nationalists ...

"What do we learn from all this? Mostly the same thing we ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Zuckerberg's ...

The literature on harms to kids from online platforms is complex ...

That meant that every solar installer I talked to was more ...

This is a terrible idea - it's every bit as bad as WEI was. ...

This will make it much easier for the apps and other services you ...

Public outrage to WEI killed the project, but Google's ...

Apps are a source of bottomless enshittification, not least ...

These kinds of modifications aren't just used to block ads - ...

We didn't get rid of pop-up ads by making them illegal, or by ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: The world has moved on; ...

Later, Timmons forwarded one of those emails to me. It gave an ...

I spoke with Timmons this week about the series. She told me ...

So it's not just me, an old man yelling at the cloud. The ...

The survey measures respondents' attitudes towards the ...

World Cup fans are apparently lousy tippers? ...

Our junk fee is not a tip ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Criticizing the everything ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: AI automates delusional ...

Morgellon's sufferers pick at their skin, creating open ...

Paranoid delusions are - thankfully - rare, and in the absence of ...

"The values described in Claude’s constitution sound very ...

In this theory I'm developing here, we could say that the ...

If you want an audience to experience a feeling, narrative gives ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: Carneyism without Carney; ...

The "Third Way" in liberal politics involves *saying* ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: AI and a world without ...

Nostr event nevent1qqsdghj3va7v3aavcrg3dml9v62vsdtff9ecrww7xzchndkex3e756szyqsc2md0snpwfeg99y8tyh3sswc9gkuvq04f0wycxyghelcflt0s66d3txl

The AI bubble isn't like the internet bubble: No one had to ...

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: The AI bubble isn't ...

One of the surprise breakouts of the early web was Lotus Notes, a ...

My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical ...

Thursday's threads: Shopping isn't politics; and more! ...

#5yrsago Consent theater ...

#10yrsago Paypal refuses to deliver online purchases to UK ...

#10yrsago Sex Criminals: Robin Hood bank robbers who can stop ...

#10yrsago JJ Abrams urges Paramount to drop its lawsuit over fan ...

#15yrsago Raising a kid without disclosing their sex ...

#15yrsago RIAA boss takes home $3 mil+ ...

#20yrsago Orphan works law ...

#25yrsago Best email disclaimer award ...

Hey look at this * Hating AI is good, actually ...

No honor among (ad-tech) thieves: Including "and" and ...

My next book is *The Reverse Centaur's Guide to Life After ...

Today's threads (a thread) Inside: No honor among (ad-tech) ...

Hwang's book documents lots more ad-tech fraud that's ...

That's demonstrably true of commercial surveillance. ...

The opposite of criti-hype is *materialistic* criticism, grounded ...

This is also a very *profitable* style of criticism: there's ...

Criti-hype is satisfying because the hype itself is so ...

Critics who repeat these outlandish claims are helping these ...

Good regulations and laws are good, but simply passing any ...

"Left" and "right" represent two radically ...

The "Third Way" in liberal politics involves saying ...

The opposite of criti-hype is materialistic criticism, grounded ...

This is also a very profitable style of criticism: there's ...

So they lie like crazy. But they don't just lie to us: they ...