Dan
@defuturo.bsky.social
@defuturo - concerning the future.
Lawyer, interest in technology and law.
Lawyer, interest in technology and law.
Reposted by Dan
It continues to surprise me that I remain surprised at the fact that the industry not only learned nothing over the last 5-10 years, it has continued to march firmly in the direction away from not letting itself be an openly exploitable surface of disinformation for profit. Good times.
Data Voids
datasociety.net
January 20, 2026 at 5:36 PM
It continues to surprise me that I remain surprised at the fact that the industry not only learned nothing over the last 5-10 years, it has continued to march firmly in the direction away from not letting itself be an openly exploitable surface of disinformation for profit. Good times.
Reposted by Dan
"If great powers abandon even the pretense of rules & values for the unhindered pursuit of their power & interest, the gains from transactionalism will become harder to replicate" -- Carney's speech at Davos is an extended criticism of the damage Trump is doing (though he's not mentioning his name)
January 20, 2026 at 3:52 PM
"If great powers abandon even the pretense of rules & values for the unhindered pursuit of their power & interest, the gains from transactionalism will become harder to replicate" -- Carney's speech at Davos is an extended criticism of the damage Trump is doing (though he's not mentioning his name)
Reposted by Dan
The real AI extinction threat, and far more imminent — the extinction of society. Yes, “absolutely everyone should read.” Via @hartzog.bsky.social and @jessicasilbey.bsky.social, via @garymarcus.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
How Generative AI is destroying society
An astonishingly lucid new paper that should be read by all
open.substack.com
January 19, 2026 at 5:27 AM
The real AI extinction threat, and far more imminent — the extinction of society. Yes, “absolutely everyone should read.” Via @hartzog.bsky.social and @jessicasilbey.bsky.social, via @garymarcus.bsky.social. open.substack.com/pub/garymarc...
Reposted by Dan
In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have "robust protections and policies" in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms.
US senators demand answers from X, Meta, Alphabet on sexualized deepfakes | TechCrunch
In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have "robust protections and policies" in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms.
techcrunch.com
January 15, 2026 at 3:07 PM
In a letter to the leaders of X, Meta, Alphabet, Snap, Reddit and TikTok, several U.S. senators are demanding the companies provide proof that they have "robust protections and policies" in place, and how they plan to curb the rise of sexualized deepfakes on their platforms.
Reposted by Dan
hi, political philosopher here! this is not funny, central banks only do this when they're in extreme distress
Video message from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KckG...
www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/s...
Statement by Federal Reserve Chair Jerome H. Powell
YouTube video by Federal Reserve
www.youtube.com
January 12, 2026 at 1:04 AM
hi, political philosopher here! this is not funny, central banks only do this when they're in extreme distress
Reposted by Dan
How many of the commentators, op-ed writers, and politicians *outraged* about the SCC's decision striking down mandatory minimums in child porn laws have said anything about X, or quit X, as a result of it propagating CSAM?
Canada isn't banning X and its ministers continue to use it. Ok. What are the consequences of creating child sex abuse material and deepfake porn? www.thestar.com/news/canada/...
Canada not considering a ban on X over deepfake controversy, AI minister says
The platform, which is owned by Elon Musk, has been embroiled in controversy over sexualized deepfakes of women and children created by X’s chatbot Grok.
www.thestar.com
January 11, 2026 at 8:24 PM
How many of the commentators, op-ed writers, and politicians *outraged* about the SCC's decision striking down mandatory minimums in child porn laws have said anything about X, or quit X, as a result of it propagating CSAM?
Reposted by Dan
X could have put a stop to all this nonconsensual sexual imagery. Instead it decided to monetize it. from @mattburgess1.bsky.social
X Didn't Fix Grok's ‘Undressing’ Problem. It Just Makes People Pay for It
X is only allowing “verified” users to create images with Grok. Experts say it represents the “monetization of abuse”—and anyone can still generate images on Grok’s app and website.
www.wired.com
January 9, 2026 at 3:22 PM
X could have put a stop to all this nonconsensual sexual imagery. Instead it decided to monetize it. from @mattburgess1.bsky.social
Reposted by Dan
This... is a good thing actually. Because paid subscribers are not anonymous to Twitter, meaning that anyone making illegal images is easier to identify and prosecute. It's a real deterrent.
It's not enough. The feature shouldn't exist and too much is vile but legal. But it's not nothing
It's not enough. The feature shouldn't exist and too much is vile but legal. But it's not nothing
"Elon Musk's startup xAI has restricted the image generation function on its Grok chatbot on social media platform X to paid subscribers, after the tool's use of AI to create sexualized images sparked a widespread backlash." www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Musk's AI bot Grok limits image generation on X to paid users after backlash
Elon Musk's startup xAI has restricted the image generation function on its Grok chatbot on social media platform X to paid subscribers, after the tool's use of AI to create sexualized images sparked ...
www.reuters.com
January 9, 2026 at 1:25 PM
This... is a good thing actually. Because paid subscribers are not anonymous to Twitter, meaning that anyone making illegal images is easier to identify and prosecute. It's a real deterrent.
It's not enough. The feature shouldn't exist and too much is vile but legal. But it's not nothing
It's not enough. The feature shouldn't exist and too much is vile but legal. But it's not nothing
Reposted by Dan
Musk has been afforded total impunity for reconfiguring a major social network into a power A.I.-backed vector for white supremacy and CSAM. he'll probably get another $10 billion fundraising round tomorrow because no one has held him accountable for anything and no one will bsky.app/profile/greg...
Heavily-armed, out-of-control government militias are roaming the streets of US cities terrorizing citizens, and Elon Musk is totally here for it. Look at this Musk tweet:
January 7, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Musk has been afforded total impunity for reconfiguring a major social network into a power A.I.-backed vector for white supremacy and CSAM. he'll probably get another $10 billion fundraising round tomorrow because no one has held him accountable for anything and no one will bsky.app/profile/greg...
Reposted by Dan
I wrote this in April 2024, about why people were refusing to leave X as it became undeniably a pro-white-supremacist site
But holy hell could I not have predicted that by 2026, it would be a child abuse material production site and THAT TOO is not enough to get people to leave the fucking place
But holy hell could I not have predicted that by 2026, it would be a child abuse material production site and THAT TOO is not enough to get people to leave the fucking place
You are the fuel that energises Elon Musk’s hate machine
X is something entirely new: it has the clout and influence of Twitter, blended with the hate of 4chan and the lies of TruthSocial. And it lingers because its users don’t see themselves as th…
ketanjoshi.co
January 7, 2026 at 11:16 AM
I wrote this in April 2024, about why people were refusing to leave X as it became undeniably a pro-white-supremacist site
But holy hell could I not have predicted that by 2026, it would be a child abuse material production site and THAT TOO is not enough to get people to leave the fucking place
But holy hell could I not have predicted that by 2026, it would be a child abuse material production site and THAT TOO is not enough to get people to leave the fucking place
Reposted by Dan
“Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health”
It's worth keeping in mind with both of these approaches that content-mediated harm may not be picked up by broad patterns of use. This is what Meta seems to have sorted out internally as the key mechanism, and then promptly buried.
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
www.reuters.com/sustainabili...
Meta buried 'causal' evidence of social media harm, US court filings allege
Rather than publishing the findings or pursuing additional research, Meta called off further work.
www.reuters.com
January 7, 2026 at 5:11 PM
“Meta shut down internal research into the mental health effects of Facebook after finding causal evidence that its products harmed users’ mental health”
Reposted by Dan
We cannot say enough: This is insane. Just insanity start to finish.
Q: Does the US intend to buy Greenland?
MARCO RUBIO: That's always been the president's intent
MARCO RUBIO: That's always been the president's intent
January 7, 2026 at 4:34 PM
We cannot say enough: This is insane. Just insanity start to finish.
Reposted by Dan
This is such a monumental loss to information history, journalism & education. Hard to imagine we're living through this period in our country's history. Dismantling all that's good about America brick by brick.
"Defunded by Congress and fearing the Trump administration might pervert the organization to further undermine free media, the board members agreed it was better to salt the earth than leave behind a place for Trump to plant his poisonous, choking weeds." — @lizdye.bsky.social
Corporation for Public Broadcasting's patriotic goodbye
Better nothing than a MAGA mouthpiece.
www.publicnotice.co
January 7, 2026 at 3:36 PM
This is such a monumental loss to information history, journalism & education. Hard to imagine we're living through this period in our country's history. Dismantling all that's good about America brick by brick.
Reposted by Dan
Has a court ruled on whether, under Section 230, a web site’s AI generating content based on a user prompt is treated as the web site’s speech? Seems to me it should be, just as if the site operator published speech answering someone’s question.
BWEPRA
BWEPRA
I am not a Section 230 expert but being that Twitter is creating and publishing these photos I wonder if they actually have any civil legal protection? @kenwhite.bsky.social ? @akivamcohen.bsky.social ?
What X is allowing Grok to do is unlawful or regulatory-illegal in multiple jurisdictions, creates clear DSA violations, and continues despite regulator scrutiny. The images do not need to be pornographic, non-consensual sexualised or intimate depictions are enough.
January 5, 2026 at 4:09 PM
Has a court ruled on whether, under Section 230, a web site’s AI generating content based on a user prompt is treated as the web site’s speech? Seems to me it should be, just as if the site operator published speech answering someone’s question.
BWEPRA
BWEPRA
Reposted by Dan
The whole "Grok admits" "Grok apologizes" thing reminds me of the famous IBM presentation quote that evidently everyone has forgotten. And I do think representing your brand on social media counts as a "management decision".
January 2, 2026 at 11:54 PM
The whole "Grok admits" "Grok apologizes" thing reminds me of the famous IBM presentation quote that evidently everyone has forgotten. And I do think representing your brand on social media counts as a "management decision".
Reposted by Dan
just gonna drop some links to a few papers of mine about AI-CSAM and the law here, for no particular reason
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/news/ai-csam... (May 2025)
partnershiponai.org/hai-research... (November 2024)
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/addr... (February 2024)
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/news/ai-csam... (May 2025)
partnershiponai.org/hai-research... (November 2024)
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/addr... (February 2024)
January 2, 2026 at 7:49 PM
just gonna drop some links to a few papers of mine about AI-CSAM and the law here, for no particular reason
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/news/ai-csam... (May 2025)
partnershiponai.org/hai-research... (November 2024)
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/addr... (February 2024)
cyber.fsi.stanford.edu/news/ai-csam... (May 2025)
partnershiponai.org/hai-research... (November 2024)
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/addr... (February 2024)
Reposted by Dan
On New Year’s Day, California gave its 40 million residents a permanent delete button for a largely covert part of the personal data economy.
Here's how Californians can use the new tool, as well as some privacy measures the rest of us can take:
Here's how Californians can use the new tool, as well as some privacy measures the rest of us can take:
Analysis | America’s toughest privacy protections have finally kicked in
How to delete your data in one easy step — if, that is, you live in California.
www.washingtonpost.com
January 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
On New Year’s Day, California gave its 40 million residents a permanent delete button for a largely covert part of the personal data economy.
Here's how Californians can use the new tool, as well as some privacy measures the rest of us can take:
Here's how Californians can use the new tool, as well as some privacy measures the rest of us can take:
Reposted by Dan
Reposted by Dan
Brother-in-law used Chat-GPT for this year's Christmas quiz and it said that Ronan O'Gara scored the Grand Slam winning drop goal against France, rather than Wales.
Given how competitive our Christmas trivia is, it caused the whole quiz to be called into disrepute and dad's victory has an asterisk
Given how competitive our Christmas trivia is, it caused the whole quiz to be called into disrepute and dad's victory has an asterisk
In what's now become an annual tradition, I've written another piece for The Gist about how and why I hate A.I.
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
On a bubble about to burst, a future rotted to its core, and the limits of the Mrs Doyle Theory of artificial intelligence.
www.thegist.ie/guest-gist-2...
Guest Gist: 2026, Our Already Rotting Future
Seamus O'Reilly warns of AI maximum bubbledrive this year.
www.thegist.ie
January 2, 2026 at 1:01 PM
Brother-in-law used Chat-GPT for this year's Christmas quiz and it said that Ronan O'Gara scored the Grand Slam winning drop goal against France, rather than Wales.
Given how competitive our Christmas trivia is, it caused the whole quiz to be called into disrepute and dad's victory has an asterisk
Given how competitive our Christmas trivia is, it caused the whole quiz to be called into disrepute and dad's victory has an asterisk
Reposted by Dan
great job to all these media organizations misleading readers into believing the grok AI bot is in control, not the people turning the dials behind the scenes.
we’re three years into this wave of ai hype. how are they still so bad at this?
we’re three years into this wave of ai hype. how are they still so bad at this?
Musk's Grok AI bot is fixing safeguard 'lapses' after posting of sexualized images of children
Musk's Grok AI bot is fixing safeguard 'lapses' after posting of sexualized images of children
Users on X raised concerns over explicit content of minors being generated using Musk's Grok tool.
cnb.cx
January 2, 2026 at 5:06 PM
great job to all these media organizations misleading readers into believing the grok AI bot is in control, not the people turning the dials behind the scenes.
we’re three years into this wave of ai hype. how are they still so bad at this?
we’re three years into this wave of ai hype. how are they still so bad at this?
Reposted by Dan
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
January 1, 2026 at 8:00 PM
Mamdani: For too long, those fluent in the good grammar of civility have deployed decorum to mask agendas of cruelty
Reposted by Dan
Blog Post: Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) 📉
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) - Technology & Marketing Law Blog
‘Tis the season for Internet censorship. 🎄 More accurately, Internet censorship is now a four-season sport in state legislatures. There is not a stereotypical red state/blue state divide. Instead, the...
blog.ericgoldman.org
December 28, 2025 at 4:35 PM
Blog Post: Too Many Courts Are Letting States Take Wrecking Balls to the Internet (Roundup) 📉
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/202...
Reposted by Dan
That's just a few of the (draft) bill's many provisions.
It's blatantly named to get Trump to support it and pressure GOP lawmakers to do the same
And its sponsor explicitly says its meant to "protect... conservatives" reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
It's blatantly named to get Trump to support it and pressure GOP lawmakers to do the same
And its sponsor explicitly says its meant to "protect... conservatives" reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
The TRUMP AMERICA AI Act is every bit as bad as you would expect. Maybe worse.
Sen. Marsha Blackburn’s latest is an anti-tech omnibus, combining years' worth of dangerous policy ideas into one big, bad bill.
reason.com
December 29, 2025 at 6:47 PM
That's just a few of the (draft) bill's many provisions.
It's blatantly named to get Trump to support it and pressure GOP lawmakers to do the same
And its sponsor explicitly says its meant to "protect... conservatives" reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
It's blatantly named to get Trump to support it and pressure GOP lawmakers to do the same
And its sponsor explicitly says its meant to "protect... conservatives" reason.com/2025/12/29/t...
Reposted by Dan
All of my news sources:
- Requires email address
- cookie policy
- When you click the cookie policy, our scripts autofire to every tracker imaginable
- Have an email with a tracking cookie in it
- "We won't sell your data"
- Immediately sells data
- Mobile/Desktop totally inconsistent
Not techdirt
- Requires email address
- cookie policy
- When you click the cookie policy, our scripts autofire to every tracker imaginable
- Have an email with a tracking cookie in it
- "We won't sell your data"
- Immediately sells data
- Mobile/Desktop totally inconsistent
Not techdirt
Call me crazy, but I do think it's important for news orgs to work on business models that don't treat their readers like enemies, just like I thought the same of record labels decades ago. Too many business models are antagonistic. We can fix that.
You Shouldn’t Have To Hate Your News Source To Support It
Last week, I pointed out that part of the reason for running our current fundraiser (donate $100 or more and you’ll get our first commemorative challenge coin) is to show that it is possible to have a successful media business model that…
Last week, I pointed out that part of the reason for running our current fundraiser (donate $100 or more and you’ll get our first commemorative challenge coin) is to show that it is possible to have a successful media business model that…
December 30, 2025 at 7:10 PM
All of my news sources:
- Requires email address
- cookie policy
- When you click the cookie policy, our scripts autofire to every tracker imaginable
- Have an email with a tracking cookie in it
- "We won't sell your data"
- Immediately sells data
- Mobile/Desktop totally inconsistent
Not techdirt
- Requires email address
- cookie policy
- When you click the cookie policy, our scripts autofire to every tracker imaginable
- Have an email with a tracking cookie in it
- "We won't sell your data"
- Immediately sells data
- Mobile/Desktop totally inconsistent
Not techdirt