Profile avatar
alixdunn.com
I bloop about the politics of technology and host the Computer Says Maybe podcast: https://www.saysmaybe.com/podcast
112 posts 2,315 followers 190 following
Prolific Poster
Conversation Starter

Two exciting things. NEW: Research on what data center development looks like in 5 countries. From democratic consultation (or not), community resistance (or not), impacts on people & nature. Includes recs on what to do to make a dire situation better. themaybe.org/research/dat... Then...

The philosopher Harry Frankfurt argued that bullshit was "a greater enemy of the truth than lies are". But is generative AI-generated botshit even worse than human-generated bullshit? (Yes) My latest @financialtimes.com here: on.ft.com/3SikRPK

LIVE NOW: Portrait artist @ianbrucestudio.bsky.social is doing a week-long live streamed portrait of Elon Musk as a creative protest against billionaire controlled social media. Seeking to raise funds for #FreeOurFeeds www.youtube.com/live/uogmc-c...

Reading Careless People. Here to report that Zuckerberg’s fave president is Andrew Fucking Jackson.

Really like @albertatech.bsky.social’s humor videos, but this latest serious one explaining what we *don’t* know about how LLMs at a tech level is a great example of what can help enable better AI criticism. (For example, LLMs are *not* “just better autocomplete”.) youtu.be/nMwiQE8Nsjc

KOSA is being reintroduced today. It's always been a dangerous censorship bill. But in this environment, with Trump weaponizing every aspect of the Federal government to suppress speech he doesn't like, KOSA is a catastrophic attack on human rights. We have to stop it. StopKOSA.com

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor has lost access to his email, because Microsoft canceled it

Heard about OpenAI announcing its search for government partners that want 'democratic AI rails'? Curious what an ex-politician, geopolitics expert, and big tech power analyst @marietjeschaake.bsky.social thinks about it?

Hell yes! So excited to see this work @article19.bsky.social led by the amazing @ccs.bsky.social.

Hey! David Seligman is running to be AG of Colorado. If you care about states playing a role in the next few years on tech politics, then CO should be on your radar. David is so great. On the power analysis, messaging & even in institution building (a close friend has worked with him for years).

The cost of Grok: "I can't breathe at home, it smells like gas outside. How come I can't breathe at home and y'all get to breathe at home?"

I see you.

This data center organizing guide from @kairosfellows.bsky.social and @mediajustice.bsky.social is so f’ing good: concise, informative, and beautifully designed. Print it out, make a zine, etc www.kairosfellows.org/fightdatacen...

In the most shocking but not the least bit surprising news, a private company building a coal-spewing lying machine wants to globalise ‘democratic AI rails’ for states.

Good morning, Bluesky.

Last year, Elon Musk's xAI set up its "Colossus" supercomputer in Memphis, Tennessee. Now, the residents of nearby neighborhoods are pushing for facts and fair treatment as the company looks to expand its footprint amid questions about its environmental impact. Listen/read:

Tortilla face mask

Pyramid of the Moon in Teotihuacan

Curious about the aesthetics of AI discourse? Check out: www.scrollthefuture.ai With muted colors and a long scroll, microsites give that hit of 'academic mimicry'. Once you take out nuance and citations, then presto! You can make claims unmoored from, well, anything. H/T @ersatzben.bsky.social

The thing about those "funny" google AI results is that you can often trace them back to the onion/someone making a joke on the Internet. It's all just stolen content.

In case you missed it, here’s the recording of our TWC/D&S webinar on data centers, climate, and labor issues with speakers from @mediajustice.bsky.social, Amazon Employees for Climate Justice, Chip Workers for Responsible Mining, Enabled Emissions Campaign, Clean Virginia, and NYC DSA Tech Action

I don’t just hate the word enshittification because it's gross, it flattens a bevy of real problems into a Dollar Tree of nothingness. We’ve gotten used to glib shorthand in tech critique. Vibes over verbs. “Haha it broke” instead of how it broke, who broke it, & why structures rewards breakage

‘Accelerationist semiotics’ 🤯 So much insight on the use of simplified language like enshitification in this thread by @ronbronson.bsky.social.

Good to know the ‘special relationship’ with the UK can continue on. Mostly over a shared love of relentlessly scapegoating trans people!

Who knew that it would be so fun talking about the depressing state of tech + politics in the UK right now! Thanks @alixdunn.com, this was a brilliant evening and fascinating (+ genuinely v fun!) convo Ps. pls come to town more often so the London tech justice scene has more excuses to get together

The party of rent-seeking.

Courage is contagious. But how do we catch it? For months, @amifieldsmeyer.bsky.social and I have been asking dissidents and activists from around the world how we can topple authoritarianism. We assembled their lessons into a field guide to courage. www.newyorker.com/news/the-wee...

Had a blast in London last week hosting @tanyaocarroll.bsky.social, @docmattmoudi.bsky.social, Seyi Akiwowo, and @marthadark.bsky.social for a CSM live show with 80 friends. You can listen to the show + takeaways from the convo w @georgiaiacovou.com and I here: www.saysmaybe.com/podcast/ai-c...

It was the worst of times, it was the scammiest of times.

The single most clarifying piece of journalism about Russell Brand that I've encountered is this video from @abbierichards.bsky.social. She charts Russell Brand's political evolution through his video content, and shows just how profitable a right wing grift can be. www.youtube.com/watch?v=eo4g...

The Wikimedia Foundation, which owns Wikipedia, says its bandwidth costs have gone up 50% since Jan 2024 — a rise they attribute to AI crawlers. AI companies are killing the open web by stealing visitors from the sources of information and making them pay for the privilege

Astonishing fact on #bbcr4today earlier, discussing the Heathrow power failure. Heathrow requires 41MW; a new data centre nearby needs 150MW. Stark illustration of the underpinning energy consequences of data storage.

Hell yeah @tanyaocarroll.bsky.social beats Meta in court. UK ruling it’s Illegal not to provide a user opt-out from targeted advertising. Their floating subscription service for ad-free users 🤣 www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

Who’s going to pick one of the many laws Elon is breaking and, like, prosecute him for it? Have we decided that the legal process is just for trying to stop things and not for accountability?

📻 New ep of Computer Says Maybe is up! The ep explores erasure of trans communities online/off, histories of transphobia, and what it's like to be a trans creator online. Made with love and care by @georgiaiacovou.com and ft. four incredible guests. Full ep 👇

Bold enforcement remedies are crucial to meet this moment in AI shaped by Big Tech dominance. My latest for @techpolicypress.bsky.social argues that removing AI divestiture as a remedy in the Google search monopoly case fits the troubling anti-regulatory patterns taking shape around the world (1/2)

Computer says VC may be cannibalizing the economy. Check out this #ComputerSaysMaybe episode w/ TechEquity Founder & CEO & “World Eaters” author @cbracy.bsky.social. She & @alixdunn.com dig into the history of VC, how it works, &, crucially, how it doesn’t work. www.saysmaybe.com/podcast/vcs-...

well this made me cry over breakfast. to any democrats holding even a shred of power right now: look at what’s possible from people far more endangered and vulnerable than you and grow a spine, you fucking cowards www.erininthemorning.com/p/powerful-s...