I just had this strange dysphoric experience—flipping through videos on a social app I encountered one stated to have been created by gen AI (Veo). The fact that it was “fake” was nearly imperceptible but there were a few things that felt “off”.
May 29, 2025 at 2:41 PM
I just had this strange dysphoric experience—flipping through videos on a social app I encountered one stated to have been created by gen AI (Veo). The fact that it was “fake” was nearly imperceptible but there were a few things that felt “off”.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
I just got word that this federal transportation grant was terminated today, despite us removing the word "climate" from the title. The moral of the story? Obeying orders doesn't keep you safe with this administration.
I was just told that I have to remove “climate” from the title of an ongoing grant if I want to keep it. And publications from that grant cannot include “climate” and other forbidden words. I can’t believe I’m writing this from the United States of America. #AcademicSky
Just received an email saying that it's not advisable to include the following words in future applications for research funding to the US DOT. Here we are.
May 2, 2025 at 9:30 PM
I just got word that this federal transportation grant was terminated today, despite us removing the word "climate" from the title. The moral of the story? Obeying orders doesn't keep you safe with this administration.
Before we stress about AI alignment too much, can we solve capitalisms alignment problems? That might make the other thing easier.
April 17, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Before we stress about AI alignment too much, can we solve capitalisms alignment problems? That might make the other thing easier.
Read (most of) #AI2027 this weekend. My intuition is that no single vector, no matter how influential, can lead to civilizational collapse in 2-5 years. The planet and human systems are just too complex for that. Historians, sociologists, economists, help me out.
April 15, 2025 at 2:49 AM
Read (most of) #AI2027 this weekend. My intuition is that no single vector, no matter how influential, can lead to civilizational collapse in 2-5 years. The planet and human systems are just too complex for that. Historians, sociologists, economists, help me out.
The rationalists and other techno cults , like religious movements to political revolutions really over-dramatize change narratives. Why? Because these narratives offer something powerful: a sense of belonging and certainty in uncertain times.
April 1, 2025 at 7:05 PM
The rationalists and other techno cults , like religious movements to political revolutions really over-dramatize change narratives. Why? Because these narratives offer something powerful: a sense of belonging and certainty in uncertain times.
Tech discussions today swing between two extremes: breathless promises of AI utopia or warnings of inevitable doom. This pattern of thinking—called millenarianism—has appeared throughout history whenever societies face rapid change.
April 1, 2025 at 7:02 PM
Tech discussions today swing between two extremes: breathless promises of AI utopia or warnings of inevitable doom. This pattern of thinking—called millenarianism—has appeared throughout history whenever societies face rapid change.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Every word I read about congestion pricing reminds me of when they reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone and the whole ecosystem started working correctly again.
"More people visited the Business Improvement Districts within Manhattan’s congestion relief zone in January than during the same month last year, dispelling some business owners’ fears that the toll would deter visitors to Manhattan’s core..." [Subscription required]
Business foot traffic is up within the congestion pricing zone
A million more people visited the city’s Business Improvement Districts in Manhattan below 60th Street in January.
www.crainsnewyork.com
February 6, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Every word I read about congestion pricing reminds me of when they reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone and the whole ecosystem started working correctly again.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
As Musk decimates federal agencies that provide critical services to Californians & ransacks people’s personal data, his personal wealth & companies should be financially responsible for that harm.
Call it a coup tax.
Call it a coup tax.
February 6, 2025 at 8:57 PM
As Musk decimates federal agencies that provide critical services to Californians & ransacks people’s personal data, his personal wealth & companies should be financially responsible for that harm.
Call it a coup tax.
Call it a coup tax.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Today’s news… and the steady and depressing drumbeat of ignorance to come leads me right back to Jane Jacobs.
January 29, 2025 at 12:43 AM
Today’s news… and the steady and depressing drumbeat of ignorance to come leads me right back to Jane Jacobs.
Masculine energy: teaching with care and emotional intelligence, using physical and social power to protect rather than dominate, engaging in self-reflection and accountability, supporting women's leadership without feeling threatened, practicing vulnerability while maintaining healthy boundaries.
January 23, 2025 at 6:39 AM
Masculine energy: teaching with care and emotional intelligence, using physical and social power to protect rather than dominate, engaging in self-reflection and accountability, supporting women's leadership without feeling threatened, practicing vulnerability while maintaining healthy boundaries.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Paris doubled its cycling rate in a single year (2022 -2023) by sustained and increased investment in infrastructure (read: political will).
NYC will likely have a new mayor at this time next year. Which one has the guts to articulate and deliver a similar outcome?
momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...
NYC will likely have a new mayor at this time next year. Which one has the guts to articulate and deliver a similar outcome?
momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...
Paris cycling numbers double in one year thanks to massive investment and it's not stopping
The report delves into the nuances of Parisian cycling culture, exploring the vibrant community of riders who navigate the city's streets
momentummag.com
January 22, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Paris doubled its cycling rate in a single year (2022 -2023) by sustained and increased investment in infrastructure (read: political will).
NYC will likely have a new mayor at this time next year. Which one has the guts to articulate and deliver a similar outcome?
momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...
NYC will likely have a new mayor at this time next year. Which one has the guts to articulate and deliver a similar outcome?
momentummag.com/paris-cyclin...
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Octavia Butler couldn’t see the future. She saw what was happening in front of her and, in addition to studying the past, was able to imagine where it would lead. It’s important to tell the truth about her because mythologizing her is a disservice to her legacy.
January 9, 2025 at 8:46 PM
Octavia Butler couldn’t see the future. She saw what was happening in front of her and, in addition to studying the past, was able to imagine where it would lead. It’s important to tell the truth about her because mythologizing her is a disservice to her legacy.
Coming back from vacation and thinking about how we “spend” our time. In capitalist societies our lives are governed not by simply quantifying time—hours, days—but by the time value of money. Obvious, perhaps, but really struck me at this moment. There are still worlds where this doesn’t apply.
January 9, 2025 at 7:00 PM
Coming back from vacation and thinking about how we “spend” our time. In capitalist societies our lives are governed not by simply quantifying time—hours, days—but by the time value of money. Obvious, perhaps, but really struck me at this moment. There are still worlds where this doesn’t apply.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
A thought that actually helped this when I was doomscrolling inside my mind on my bikeride this morning was:
"OK, you've been sent back from the future to fix the timeline starting now. What do you do?"
"OK, you've been sent back from the future to fix the timeline starting now. What do you do?"
I keep dreaming of being in the other timeline where we’d be saying “can you even imagine how bad it would be if things had gone the other way?”
January 8, 2025 at 9:37 PM
A thought that actually helped this when I was doomscrolling inside my mind on my bikeride this morning was:
"OK, you've been sent back from the future to fix the timeline starting now. What do you do?"
"OK, you've been sent back from the future to fix the timeline starting now. What do you do?"
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
as LA is burning, a swath of the country is recovering from an ice storm, Alabama is preparing for up to 6” of snow and I’m praying for the TX power grid, a reminder:
we don’t need climate action just for future generations, we need it now.
the climate crisis is here, all around us
we don’t need climate action just for future generations, we need it now.
the climate crisis is here, all around us
January 9, 2025 at 1:00 AM
as LA is burning, a swath of the country is recovering from an ice storm, Alabama is preparing for up to 6” of snow and I’m praying for the TX power grid, a reminder:
we don’t need climate action just for future generations, we need it now.
the climate crisis is here, all around us
we don’t need climate action just for future generations, we need it now.
the climate crisis is here, all around us
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Shout out to @caseynewton.bsky.social for:
A) the clear-eyed, cutting analysis of Meta's policy changes today.
B) the very ethical disclosure of his new boyfriend, who works in AI, and the lines they will draw.
(psa: the below photo is part of A, not B)
www.platformer.news/meta-fact-ch...
A) the clear-eyed, cutting analysis of Meta's policy changes today.
B) the very ethical disclosure of his new boyfriend, who works in AI, and the lines they will draw.
(psa: the below photo is part of A, not B)
www.platformer.news/meta-fact-ch...
Meta surrenders to the right on speech
“I really think this a precursor for genocide,” a former employee tells Platformer
www.platformer.news
January 8, 2025 at 2:10 AM
Shout out to @caseynewton.bsky.social for:
A) the clear-eyed, cutting analysis of Meta's policy changes today.
B) the very ethical disclosure of his new boyfriend, who works in AI, and the lines they will draw.
(psa: the below photo is part of A, not B)
www.platformer.news/meta-fact-ch...
A) the clear-eyed, cutting analysis of Meta's policy changes today.
B) the very ethical disclosure of his new boyfriend, who works in AI, and the lines they will draw.
(psa: the below photo is part of A, not B)
www.platformer.news/meta-fact-ch...
The bicycle, vaccines, radio, the early internet… in different ways had wide-spread positive impact on education, health, and community. How do we want to use AI to make life better for more people? Examples?
January 7, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The bicycle, vaccines, radio, the early internet… in different ways had wide-spread positive impact on education, health, and community. How do we want to use AI to make life better for more people? Examples?
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
The idea that humans could be motivated to labor by finding their work meaningful, or by releasing their “creative impulse” through work, was, at least in part, a product of early 20th century social engineering
(Erik Baker’s excellent “Make Your Own Job”)
(Erik Baker’s excellent “Make Your Own Job”)
December 28, 2024 at 3:42 PM
The idea that humans could be motivated to labor by finding their work meaningful, or by releasing their “creative impulse” through work, was, at least in part, a product of early 20th century social engineering
(Erik Baker’s excellent “Make Your Own Job”)
(Erik Baker’s excellent “Make Your Own Job”)
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
Increasingly it feels like the only way to think about algorithmic media is that it’s a game normal people don’t even know they’re playing
January 2, 2025 at 5:23 PM
Increasingly it feels like the only way to think about algorithmic media is that it’s a game normal people don’t even know they’re playing
This man is making good sense. www.instagram.com/reel/DDNSjrO...
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December 31, 2024 at 5:45 AM
This man is making good sense. www.instagram.com/reel/DDNSjrO...
Every few years around this time I like to re-read Jay Ogilvy’s Facing the Fold or From the Eclipse of Utopia To the Restoration of Hope. The gist; optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same modern/post-modern coin. In our time, what Ogilvy calls a tragi-comic time, we need a new stance.
December 31, 2024 at 12:44 AM
Every few years around this time I like to re-read Jay Ogilvy’s Facing the Fold or From the Eclipse of Utopia To the Restoration of Hope. The gist; optimism and pessimism are two sides of the same modern/post-modern coin. In our time, what Ogilvy calls a tragi-comic time, we need a new stance.
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
There’s a huge double standard when it comes to funding public transit vs funding highways. It plays out in various ways in how society looks at the costs of building & operating transit vs highways. The result is massive under-investment in transit. 🧵:
December 27, 2024 at 5:44 PM
There’s a huge double standard when it comes to funding public transit vs funding highways. It plays out in various ways in how society looks at the costs of building & operating transit vs highways. The result is massive under-investment in transit. 🧵:
Reposted by Kurt McCulloch
"All intuition about AI capabilities will need to get updated for o3," says the founder of the ARC prize — designed to be very difficult for LLMs to solve — after OpenAI took the benchmark from 5% with o1 to 85% today with o3 arcprize.org/blog/oai-o3-...
December 20, 2024 at 6:45 PM
"All intuition about AI capabilities will need to get updated for o3," says the founder of the ARC prize — designed to be very difficult for LLMs to solve — after OpenAI took the benchmark from 5% with o1 to 85% today with o3 arcprize.org/blog/oai-o3-...