Peter Bihr
@peterbihr.com
Working at the intersections of tech, public interest, policy & philanthropy. Independent advisor. Before: Director at European AI & Society Fund. Co-founder at ThingsCon. Senior Fellow at Mozilla.
https://thewavingcat.com
https://thewavingcat.com
There is a special circle in hell reserved for the smart-asses who came up with the circular customer support systems where a bad error message leads to an call to action that leads back to a system that just tells you the same wrong error message. They 100% work for one of the big 4 consultancies.
December 5, 2025 at 9:58 AM
There is a special circle in hell reserved for the smart-asses who came up with the circular customer support systems where a bad error message leads to an call to action that leads back to a system that just tells you the same wrong error message. They 100% work for one of the big 4 consultancies.
Let me just say: People who can type fast and/or well with a bandaid on their finger are true heroes.
December 4, 2025 at 2:19 PM
Let me just say: People who can type fast and/or well with a bandaid on their finger are true heroes.
The longer I work in this space, the more I think that the whole framing of this recent generation of technologies as "smart" or "artificially intelligent" was an astounding success for the companies making them. So much of this should much more aptly be labeled "reactive" tech, if anything.
December 2, 2025 at 9:08 AM
The longer I work in this space, the more I think that the whole framing of this recent generation of technologies as "smart" or "artificially intelligent" was an astounding success for the companies making them. So much of this should much more aptly be labeled "reactive" tech, if anything.
one hundred percent. amen!
November 12, 2025 at 10:23 AM
one hundred percent. amen!
Every time someone presses SKIP AD on a Youtube video, the advertiser knows *for sure* they just annoyed the hell out of a potential customer. If I was in their shoes, I'd wonder why I pay for those ads in the first place.
November 10, 2025 at 10:02 AM
Every time someone presses SKIP AD on a Youtube video, the advertiser knows *for sure* they just annoyed the hell out of a potential customer. If I was in their shoes, I'd wonder why I pay for those ads in the first place.
Has anyone, like EVER, intentionally subscribed to a newsletter in that pop-up sign-up window that pops up on every website these days?
To me it feels like I'm being punished as a user, having to click first on the cookie banner(s) and then close all the extra sign-ups sheets.
To me it feels like I'm being punished as a user, having to click first on the cookie banner(s) and then close all the extra sign-ups sheets.
November 10, 2025 at 10:01 AM
Has anyone, like EVER, intentionally subscribed to a newsletter in that pop-up sign-up window that pops up on every website these days?
To me it feels like I'm being punished as a user, having to click first on the cookie banner(s) and then close all the extra sign-ups sheets.
To me it feels like I'm being punished as a user, having to click first on the cookie banner(s) and then close all the extra sign-ups sheets.
So OpenAI builds an AI browser and adds... a clock widget? Is this the 90s?
October 5, 2025 at 9:47 AM
So OpenAI builds an AI browser and adds... a clock widget? Is this the 90s?
Anyone got an idea for how to get "SwiftoDo for todo.txt", the iOS app, on a phone in Europe when the app isn't listed in Europe? I'd prefer not to get into any region-spoofing shenanigans because they tend to mess with other subscriptions, settings, etc...?
September 25, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Anyone got an idea for how to get "SwiftoDo for todo.txt", the iOS app, on a phone in Europe when the app isn't listed in Europe? I'd prefer not to get into any region-spoofing shenanigans because they tend to mess with other subscriptions, settings, etc...?
Haha now you're going all fancy on me!
September 25, 2025 at 8:44 AM
Haha now you're going all fancy on me!
Look, I know it's wrong BUT I DO IT ALL THE TIME! I'm an em-dash-spacer, I admit to the crime. To me, it just looks so right!
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
The Em Dash Responds to the AI Allegations
“In recent months, a curious fixation has emerged in corners of academia: the em dash. More specifically, the apparent moral panic around how it is...
www.mcsweeneys.net
September 24, 2025 at 8:16 AM
Look, I know it's wrong BUT I DO IT ALL THE TIME! I'm an em-dash-spacer, I admit to the crime. To me, it just looks so right!
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/the...
I guess what I’m asking is: is Google Maps genAI now?
August 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
I guess what I’m asking is: is Google Maps genAI now?
Can anyone explain why Google Maps data quality has gone down so much? Or is that a Germany/Berlin specific thing?
August 25, 2025 at 1:57 PM
Can anyone explain why Google Maps data quality has gone down so much? Or is that a Germany/Berlin specific thing?
Coming to believe that a sizeable chunk of society is held together by people doing favors to their deceased friends’ families and spouses.
August 14, 2025 at 11:26 AM
Coming to believe that a sizeable chunk of society is held together by people doing favors to their deceased friends’ families and spouses.
Haha no but that would also track
August 12, 2025 at 12:30 PM
Haha no but that would also track
In all the book reviews I ever read, this gem, hidden towards the end of a review, might be my favorite:
"I'm biased because I've been married to the author for the last 5 years, but..."
"I'm biased because I've been married to the author for the last 5 years, but..."
August 12, 2025 at 7:18 AM
In all the book reviews I ever read, this gem, hidden towards the end of a review, might be my favorite:
"I'm biased because I've been married to the author for the last 5 years, but..."
"I'm biased because I've been married to the author for the last 5 years, but..."
Just trying to stay with the metaphor, obviously
August 11, 2025 at 7:16 AM
Just trying to stay with the metaphor, obviously
People who describe talking to ChatGPT 4 felt "like talking to a grad student" and ChatGPT 5 "like talking to a PhD" know very different grad students and PhDs than me. To me it constantly feels like talking to an inept intern who will lie to your face to cover for their mistakes.
August 11, 2025 at 7:16 AM
People who describe talking to ChatGPT 4 felt "like talking to a grad student" and ChatGPT 5 "like talking to a PhD" know very different grad students and PhDs than me. To me it constantly feels like talking to an inept intern who will lie to your face to cover for their mistakes.
UPS truly has perfected the loop for sending customers from website to hotline to website and on and on.
A true Computer Says No approach.
A true Computer Says No approach.
August 9, 2025 at 1:08 PM
UPS truly has perfected the loop for sending customers from website to hotline to website and on and on.
A true Computer Says No approach.
A true Computer Says No approach.
Oh, thank you! (“Almost” ok?)
August 8, 2025 at 5:17 PM
Oh, thank you! (“Almost” ok?)
has anyone invented a travel pillow that lets its user keep some dignity?
August 8, 2025 at 4:40 PM
has anyone invented a travel pillow that lets its user keep some dignity?
Thank you, Wikipedia, for having archive the sounds of landline phones (ready to dial, ringing, etc.). I was just wondering how to demonstrate to my kid what all this sounds like.
In unrelated news, I feel somewhat old right now.
In unrelated news, I feel somewhat old right now.
August 8, 2025 at 3:23 PM
Thank you, Wikipedia, for having archive the sounds of landline phones (ready to dial, ringing, etc.). I was just wondering how to demonstrate to my kid what all this sounds like.
In unrelated news, I feel somewhat old right now.
In unrelated news, I feel somewhat old right now.
I enjoy writing, but enjoy fact checking and editing a lot less. Using ChatGPT nudges me to write less but spend more time on fact checking. (The other way round isn’t feasible as ChatGPT isn’t reliable as a fact checker.) So this double sucks!
August 8, 2025 at 7:23 AM
I enjoy writing, but enjoy fact checking and editing a lot less. Using ChatGPT nudges me to write less but spend more time on fact checking. (The other way round isn’t feasible as ChatGPT isn’t reliable as a fact checker.) So this double sucks!
As a kid, I remember border controls across Europe. It was such a big step forward when the Schengen Zone made those border controls obsolete and it breaks my heart that we’re back in an age where it’s more and more common even within Schengen to see border controls reintroduced.
August 7, 2025 at 7:18 AM
As a kid, I remember border controls across Europe. It was such a big step forward when the Schengen Zone made those border controls obsolete and it breaks my heart that we’re back in an age where it’s more and more common even within Schengen to see border controls reintroduced.