Paul Rietschka
@prietschka.bsky.social
Data science/machine learning in the Pacific Northwest. In Minneapolis through mid-2026.
Claude Code has not, in any way, blown my mind.
Claude Code has not, in any way, blown my mind.
Lol, the technology doesn’t work and yet they’re already sitting in leather chairs, sipping 80 year old scotch, surmising about the pratfalls of managing their agent/slaves.
“Turns out even the robots are going to spend most of their time on email.”
What will it be like to work alongside intelligent machines? Our management columnist learns more on our “Boss Class” podcast
What will it be like to work alongside intelligent machines? Our management columnist learns more on our “Boss Class” podcast
5. Closed problem spaces
Peering into the near future of AI
econ.st
February 18, 2026 at 2:10 AM
Lol, the technology doesn’t work and yet they’re already sitting in leather chairs, sipping 80 year old scotch, surmising about the pratfalls of managing their agent/slaves.
If they’re saying this then you know the company is so reliant on tele-operation that the tech is moribund without it.
Amazon’s “just walk out” tech was a lie, this is a much more difficult problem.
Waymo is a sham, hidden inside an enigma, wrapped in a dirty diaper.
Amazon’s “just walk out” tech was a lie, this is a much more difficult problem.
Waymo is a sham, hidden inside an enigma, wrapped in a dirty diaper.
Advice, not control: the role of Remote Assistance in Waymo's operations | Discussion
Waymo - From the road
__Advice, not control: the role of Remote Assistance in Waymo’s operations__
waymo.com
February 18, 2026 at 1:46 AM
If they’re saying this then you know the company is so reliant on tele-operation that the tech is moribund without it.
Amazon’s “just walk out” tech was a lie, this is a much more difficult problem.
Waymo is a sham, hidden inside an enigma, wrapped in a dirty diaper.
Amazon’s “just walk out” tech was a lie, this is a much more difficult problem.
Waymo is a sham, hidden inside an enigma, wrapped in a dirty diaper.
It is the omni-excuse today.
The AI Scare Trade — the all-purpose excuse for number go down
Business can’t compete if it has to think up new excuses
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBj9... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20260217-the... - podcast
time: 7 min 11 sec
Business can’t compete if it has to think up new excuses
www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBj9... - video
pivottoai.libsyn.com/20260217-the... - podcast
time: 7 min 11 sec
February 18, 2026 at 1:40 AM
It is the omni-excuse today.
My namesake here, who I've regrettably double-QTed,* is right.
We've never seen anything like AI. It is the omni-bubble. The bubble that has eaten everything. The spell this largely nonfunctional technology has cast on executive suites has been all-encompassing.
*Apologies
We've never seen anything like AI. It is the omni-bubble. The bubble that has eaten everything. The spell this largely nonfunctional technology has cast on executive suites has been all-encompassing.
*Apologies
Parallels with radium and and the tulip bubble are insufficient because there were other things going on at the time — even in the asset bubble space, even in the snake oil space. We only have LLMs.
February 18, 2026 at 12:42 AM
My namesake here, who I've regrettably double-QTed,* is right.
We've never seen anything like AI. It is the omni-bubble. The bubble that has eaten everything. The spell this largely nonfunctional technology has cast on executive suites has been all-encompassing.
*Apologies
We've never seen anything like AI. It is the omni-bubble. The bubble that has eaten everything. The spell this largely nonfunctional technology has cast on executive suites has been all-encompassing.
*Apologies
It really is an ever-widening gyre, swallowing everything, even the whole economy.
This will end, inevitably, in a collapse.
This will end, inevitably, in a collapse.
The legitimately innovative thing about AI is that it is a completely bottomless pit. It's swallowed up:
- all energy sources
- all our data
- all investment dollars
- all new jobs
- all capex
- all attention
- and now, all hardware components
with absolutely no end in sight. Nothing will satisfy.
- all energy sources
- all our data
- all investment dollars
- all new jobs
- all capex
- all attention
- and now, all hardware components
with absolutely no end in sight. Nothing will satisfy.
the AI junk that nobody - including the people making it - have enough real uses or profitable demand for is screwing up all the things that have real uses and decades of profitable demand
p.s. added alt text for the quoted post's screenshot into my alt text
p.s. added alt text for the quoted post's screenshot into my alt text
February 18, 2026 at 12:13 AM
It really is an ever-widening gyre, swallowing everything, even the whole economy.
This will end, inevitably, in a collapse.
This will end, inevitably, in a collapse.
The meritocracy!
Jack Altman and Benchmark announced today that he would be joining the firm as a general partner.
Jack Altman joins Benchmark as GP | TechCrunch
Jack Altman and Benchmark announced today that he would be joining the firm as a general partner.
techcrunch.com
February 18, 2026 at 12:09 AM
The meritocracy!
The real question is how long can we persist after AI usage, in this case misinforming children, has failed?
This was obviously a moronic experiment from the start, involving children is/was child abuse, but it persists.
Because we must pretend AI is successful. How much longer can we do this?
This was obviously a moronic experiment from the start, involving children is/was child abuse, but it persists.
Because we must pretend AI is successful. How much longer can we do this?
'Students Are Being Treated Like Guinea Pigs:' Inside an AI-Powered Private School
Leaked documents reveal the inner workings of Alpha School, which both the press and the Trump administration have applauded. The documents show Alpha School's AI is generating faulty lessons that som...
www.404media.co
February 17, 2026 at 11:33 PM
The real question is how long can we persist after AI usage, in this case misinforming children, has failed?
This was obviously a moronic experiment from the start, involving children is/was child abuse, but it persists.
Because we must pretend AI is successful. How much longer can we do this?
This was obviously a moronic experiment from the start, involving children is/was child abuse, but it persists.
Because we must pretend AI is successful. How much longer can we do this?
This is something we've never seen before, and it's all for amorphous "AI" that hasn't proved its value.
The bubble is becoming so huge the fallout will cause a second Great Depression. We once used the term "panic" for financial crises, and this will absolutely cause the "Great Panic of 202X."
The bubble is becoming so huge the fallout will cause a second Great Depression. We once used the term "panic" for financial crises, and this will absolutely cause the "Great Panic of 202X."
“.. ‘many system vendors will go bankrupt or exit product lines due to a lack of memory. Mobile phone production will be reduced by 200-250 million units, and PC and TV production will be significantly reduced.’ Yikes.”
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
@pcgamer.com #DRAM
www.pcgamer.com/hardware/mem...
February 17, 2026 at 11:19 PM
This is something we've never seen before, and it's all for amorphous "AI" that hasn't proved its value.
The bubble is becoming so huge the fallout will cause a second Great Depression. We once used the term "panic" for financial crises, and this will absolutely cause the "Great Panic of 202X."
The bubble is becoming so huge the fallout will cause a second Great Depression. We once used the term "panic" for financial crises, and this will absolutely cause the "Great Panic of 202X."
When they imagine a future, you’re not in it.
These guys just Say Things, but I think it's worth just taking them at their word that they want to decimate labor so that profit can be an automated process where the only people making money are each other.
Microsoft AI CEO Mustafa Suleyman says most white-collar work "will be fully automated by an AI within the next 12 to 18 months.”
If that’s true, it’s an economic earthquake.
We need a moratorium on new AI data centers to make sure AI works for workers, not just billionaires.
If that’s true, it’s an economic earthquake.
We need a moratorium on new AI data centers to make sure AI works for workers, not just billionaires.
February 17, 2026 at 10:22 PM
When they imagine a future, you’re not in it.
Jfc, it must dystopian to be a college student today. This sounds utterly awful.
Panos Ipeirotis (NYU): "How I started using exit tickets (short feedback surveys after every class) and processing them through NotebookLM to generate follow-up materials before the next session. The feedback loop went from one semester to a few hours." www.behind-the-enemy-lines.com/2026/02/list...
Listening to My Students at Scale: Exit Tickets, NotebookLM, and the Tightest Feedback Loop I've Ever Built
It started at a teaching workshop, last semester: Craig Kapp and Rob Egan presented a seminar at the NYU Center for Teaching and Learning ...
www.behind-the-enemy-lines.com
February 17, 2026 at 7:36 PM
Jfc, it must dystopian to be a college student today. This sounds utterly awful.
I'm sick with what I think is Covid, though may just be a bad cold, and I'd definitely be the grown man in a comforter sleeping on the floor amongst a sea of pugs in this situation.
February 17, 2026 at 7:21 PM
I'm sick with what I think is Covid, though may just be a bad cold, and I'd definitely be the grown man in a comforter sleeping on the floor amongst a sea of pugs in this situation.
What "advances?"
I see a bunch of animatronic dolls at trade shows. I see pathetic, curated displays with no real commercial applications in sight.
So...where are these advances?
I see a bunch of animatronic dolls at trade shows. I see pathetic, curated displays with no real commercial applications in sight.
So...where are these advances?
DECADE OF THE ROBOT: AI ROBOTICS MARKET COULD HIT $1 TRILLION Barclays says AI-powered robots and autonomous machines could create a $1 trillion market by 2035, led by autonomous vehicles, drones, and humanoid robots. Advances in AI “brains,” hardware, and batteries are driving
February 17, 2026 at 7:16 PM
What "advances?"
I see a bunch of animatronic dolls at trade shows. I see pathetic, curated displays with no real commercial applications in sight.
So...where are these advances?
I see a bunch of animatronic dolls at trade shows. I see pathetic, curated displays with no real commercial applications in sight.
So...where are these advances?
I hate these scummy little fucks so, so much.
This tweet appeared under this Techmeme headline:
Zak Kukoff / @zck:
Anthropic is one of those companies where the product is so good that I don't care how much they lib out. Banning them from DOW would be a massively self inflicted error
Zak Kukoff / @zck:
Anthropic is one of those companies where the product is so good that I don't care how much they lib out. Banning them from DOW would be a massively self inflicted error
February 17, 2026 at 7:13 PM
I hate these scummy little fucks so, so much.
Software is so fucked: github.com/HKUDS/ClawWork
GitHub - HKUDS/ClawWork: "ClawWork: OpenClaw as Your AI Coworker - 💰 $10K earned in 7 Hours"
"ClawWork: OpenClaw as Your AI Coworker - 💰 $10K earned in 7 Hours" - HKUDS/ClawWork
github.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:56 PM
Software is so fucked: github.com/HKUDS/ClawWork
I hate these scummy little shits so, so much.
This tweet appeared under this Techmeme headline:
Claire Vo / @clairevo:
Is Sonnet 4.6 like my girl Opus, but with less expensive tastes? Sign me up.
Claire Vo / @clairevo:
Is Sonnet 4.6 like my girl Opus, but with less expensive tastes? Sign me up.
February 17, 2026 at 6:35 PM
I hate these scummy little shits so, so much.
Bjarnason gets it wrong in that all research to date shows productivity decreasing with LLM codegen use, but the thrust here is broadly right.
tl;dr: software as a profession is utterly, completely fucked; the future is much, much less employment in tech.
tl;dr: software as a profession is utterly, completely fucked; the future is much, much less employment in tech.
Getting a bit depressed as, no matter how I slice it, basic economics would seem to indicate that the software developer job market is largely fucked no matter what happens now. No matter whether the LLM tools work or not and no matter what happens to the bubble
(short thread)
(short thread)
February 17, 2026 at 6:04 PM
Bjarnason gets it wrong in that all research to date shows productivity decreasing with LLM codegen use, but the thrust here is broadly right.
tl;dr: software as a profession is utterly, completely fucked; the future is much, much less employment in tech.
tl;dr: software as a profession is utterly, completely fucked; the future is much, much less employment in tech.
Lol, the race is over, Jan. And you lost.
Mistral AI has agreed to buy Koyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it.
Mistral AI buys Koyeb in first acquisition to back its cloud ambitions | TechCrunch
Mistral AI has agreed to buy Koyeb, a Paris-based startup that simplifies AI app deployment at scale and manages the infrastructure behind it.
techcrunch.com
February 17, 2026 at 5:26 PM
Lol, the race is over, Jan. And you lost.
I'm shocked!
Ben Goertzel, popularizer of the term AGI and creator of the Sophia robot, congratulating Jeffrey Epstein the day after Epstein was released from prison.
Goertzel is mentioned in the files nearly 800 times, including well after the Miami Herald investigation in 2018.
Goertzel is mentioned in the files nearly 800 times, including well after the Miami Herald investigation in 2018.
February 17, 2026 at 5:20 PM
I'm shocked!
The idea SAAS is dead on account of unreliable "agents," a nonfunctional garbage technology, is insane.
Proof of how detached from reality AI discourse has become.
"Agents" don't work. "Agents" can't work. The underlying LLMs just lack the needed capacities.
AI in 2026 is like living in Bedlam.
Proof of how detached from reality AI discourse has become.
"Agents" don't work. "Agents" can't work. The underlying LLMs just lack the needed capacities.
AI in 2026 is like living in Bedlam.
This tweet appeared under this Techmeme headline:
John Held / @john_a_held:
One of the better analysis of how AI is impacting SaaS, specifically vertical software companies.
John Held / @john_a_held:
One of the better analysis of how AI is impacting SaaS, specifically vertical software companies.
February 17, 2026 at 12:30 PM
The idea SAAS is dead on account of unreliable "agents," a nonfunctional garbage technology, is insane.
Proof of how detached from reality AI discourse has become.
"Agents" don't work. "Agents" can't work. The underlying LLMs just lack the needed capacities.
AI in 2026 is like living in Bedlam.
Proof of how detached from reality AI discourse has become.
"Agents" don't work. "Agents" can't work. The underlying LLMs just lack the needed capacities.
AI in 2026 is like living in Bedlam.
The way Facebook moved from a simple social network to rolling out products everyone wants is a story for the ages.
Truly something that should be taught in business schools everywhere.
Truly something that should be taught in business schools everywhere.
Meta has patented AI that can run a dead person's account, continuing to post and chat on their behalf
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
It can message and video call by replicating a user's online behavior using their past data
February 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM
The way Facebook moved from a simple social network to rolling out products everyone wants is a story for the ages.
Truly something that should be taught in business schools everywhere.
Truly something that should be taught in business schools everywhere.
This is so perfect. I have no words.
They released this like this
Why would anyone ever drive a car by people who do not Look At MEASUREMENTS
Why would anyone ever drive a car by people who do not Look At MEASUREMENTS
February 17, 2026 at 11:42 AM
This is so perfect. I have no words.
I'm increasingly concerned about the ways discourse in tech has moved into the realm of pure artifice.
These people have no real connection with reality, and exist in a world of fantasy. It's quite mentally ill. x.com/nicbstme/sta...
These people have no real connection with reality, and exist in a world of fantasy. It's quite mentally ill. x.com/nicbstme/sta...
x.com
February 17, 2026 at 11:40 AM
I'm increasingly concerned about the ways discourse in tech has moved into the realm of pure artifice.
These people have no real connection with reality, and exist in a world of fantasy. It's quite mentally ill. x.com/nicbstme/sta...
These people have no real connection with reality, and exist in a world of fantasy. It's quite mentally ill. x.com/nicbstme/sta...
The idea the executive class has some sort of talent which entitles them to insane pay packages should be sufficient to expose economics for what it is: not a discipline, more a prostitute serving power.
It’s unbelievable such idiocy is taken seriously in an era defined by the likes of Elon Musk.
It’s unbelievable such idiocy is taken seriously in an era defined by the likes of Elon Musk.
“A common objection to lavish pay is that good CEOs should be intrinsically motivated,” explains Alex Edmans. “Relying on professional pride sounds appealing, but it is unrealistic,” he argues
Dizzyingly high CEO pay is fine. It just needs to be earned
What’s changed is not the level of talent but its importance, writes Alex Edmans
econ.st
February 17, 2026 at 11:01 AM
The idea the executive class has some sort of talent which entitles them to insane pay packages should be sufficient to expose economics for what it is: not a discipline, more a prostitute serving power.
It’s unbelievable such idiocy is taken seriously in an era defined by the likes of Elon Musk.
It’s unbelievable such idiocy is taken seriously in an era defined by the likes of Elon Musk.
OpenClaw, or whatever it’s called now, is a security nightmare with no future and one of the dumbest things to come on the scene in ages.
Its creator is a fool who vibe coded this monstrosity into existence.
It’s so, so clear the leading lights of tech are just a gaggle of nitwits.
Its creator is a fool who vibe coded this monstrosity into existence.
It’s so, so clear the leading lights of tech are just a gaggle of nitwits.
'Eccentric but brilliant': OpenClaw's creator got feedback from Mark Zuckerberg
OpenClaw creator Peter Steinberger joined OpenAI after fielding offers from both the company and Meta, where Zuckerberg personally tested the viral AI agent.
www.businessinsider.com
February 17, 2026 at 6:21 AM
OpenClaw, or whatever it’s called now, is a security nightmare with no future and one of the dumbest things to come on the scene in ages.
Its creator is a fool who vibe coded this monstrosity into existence.
It’s so, so clear the leading lights of tech are just a gaggle of nitwits.
Its creator is a fool who vibe coded this monstrosity into existence.
It’s so, so clear the leading lights of tech are just a gaggle of nitwits.
We have a special, late night entry into "Blogging Culture is the STI of Tech."
Allow Mr Gannon to infect you with antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea this Monday eve. Enjoy the burning, the itching, the discharge, and the certitude your doctor is working to find a treatment regimen that works:
Allow Mr Gannon to infect you with antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea this Monday eve. Enjoy the burning, the itching, the discharge, and the certitude your doctor is working to find a treatment regimen that works:
February 17, 2026 at 4:42 AM
We have a special, late night entry into "Blogging Culture is the STI of Tech."
Allow Mr Gannon to infect you with antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea this Monday eve. Enjoy the burning, the itching, the discharge, and the certitude your doctor is working to find a treatment regimen that works:
Allow Mr Gannon to infect you with antibiotic-resistant gonorrhea this Monday eve. Enjoy the burning, the itching, the discharge, and the certitude your doctor is working to find a treatment regimen that works: