banner
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill
@kashhill.bsky.social
38K followers 360 following 680 posts
Journalist, currently at The New York Times. I cover privacy, technology, A.I., and the strange times we live in. Named after the Led Zeppelin song. Author of YOUR FACE BELONGS TO US. (Yes, in my head it will always be All Your Face Are Belong To Us)
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
brianjohnroach.bsky.social
brianjohnroach.bsky.social @brianjohnroach.bsky.social · 6d
I just finished reading @kashhill.bsky.social 'Your Face Belongs to Us' and it's absolutely fucking tremendous and fucking terrifying in equal measure. If you care about privacy and technology it's a must read. Here's the link which has blurbs that more eloquently praise it than I'll be able to!
Your Face Belongs to Us by Kashmir Hill: 9780593448571 | PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • The story of a small AI company that gave facial recognition to law enforcement, billionaires, and businesses, threatening to end privacy as we know it “The dystopian...
www.penguinrandomhouse.com
1 6 10
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 5d
Thank you so much!
2
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 6d
Outstanding questions from the last few weeks of news:

1. What happened to the $50,000 in the Cava bag?

2. Who were the 17 people in the boats who were killed?

3. Is it safe to fly when the government is shut down?
9 44
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 8d
Article was updated to include that. Thanks for flagging!
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 8d
A way to distance yourself from the bots -- from the NYT comments section. (www.nytimes.com/shared/comme...)

For the companies making similar decisions about how the models should act, it's a tradeoff between fun and safety.
2 5 28
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 10d
Oh, that is a good question and something I had not noticed.
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 11d
Not the point of this piece exactly but a great example of how chatbot validation could increase polarization

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/26/w...
18 99 360
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 14d
Like the new haircut!
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 15d
Oh thank you! That makes way more sense.
1
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 15d
A month after my last skeet, the subreddit "My Boyfriend is AI" now has 88,000 members and is the subject of an MIT study that found that "AI companionship emerges unintentionally through functional use rather than deliberate seeking."

arxiv.org/html/2509.11...
7 27 79
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 16d
This is from a story about the president getting rid of federal prosecutors who refuse to follow his marching orders, but this speaks to what seems to be the mindset in general this time around.

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/u...
Screenshot from New York Times article, that reads “But Mr. Trump responded to repeated entreaties by saying, “I don’t care,” according to a person with knowledge of the matter. His position seemed to be that he had been warned several times during his first term about firing U.S. attorneys, given that it could have put him in jeopardy, and he ended up being investigated after leaving office anyhow, the person said.”
2 5 19
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 19d
lol no. I would love to read that old article though.
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 19d
lol, I had the same thought while reading this: Which person is ChatGPT the stand-in for: the therapist, the toxic friend, or the family member who hates your spouse?
1 4
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 19d
Use ChatGPT for relationship advice at your peril.
mharrisondupre.bsky.social
Maggie Harrison Dupré @mharrisondupre.bsky.social · 19d
NEW: ChatGPT is causing chaos in marriages, as one spouse becomes deeply fixated on AI therapy/advice/spiritual wisdom — alienating the other spouse and, often, resulting in divorce.

In some cases, ChatGPT-enmeshed spouses are using the tech to bully their partners.

futurism.com/chatgpt-marr...
Futurism Poison Tongue Sep 18, 11:05 AM EDT by Maggie Harrison Dupré ChatGPT Is Blowing Up Marriages as Spouses Use AI to Attack Their Partners "My family is being ripped apart, and I firmly believe this phenomenon is central to why." Image: A frustrated-looking woman holding up her phone to a man who looks confused.
10 13 61
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
Thank you! I appreciate you. (If you know, you know.)
2 14
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
In the thread: bsky.app/profile/did:...
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
Link to paper: openai.com/index/how-pe...
How people are using ChatGPT
Largest study to date of consumer ChatGPT usage shows demographic gaps shrinking, economic value being created through both personal and professional use.
openai.com
1
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
Link to paper: openai.com/index/how-pe...
How people are using ChatGPT
Largest study to date of consumer ChatGPT usage shows demographic gaps shrinking, economic value being created through both personal and professional use.
openai.com
9
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
This part is fascinating to me, because I've observed that there is a gender difference in AI delusional spirals, with men having STEM breakthroughs and women talking to spirits.
2 2 16
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 20d
OpenAI has a new paper on how people use ChatGPT. I can't help but look at the categories and wonder which ones the various delusional spirals I've reported on slot into.
Breakdown of how people use ChatGPT
3 13 62
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 21d
Some of the reviews
Screenshot of one-star Amazon reviews of Charlie Kirk biography Screenshot of one-star Amazon reviews of Charlie Kirk biography
1 6
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 21d
An “independently published” biography of Charlie Kirk was one of the top selling books on Amazon this week, reaching #12 according to one news report. It was #25 when I looked last night.

Reviewers said it was AI-generated nonsense. As of this morning, Amazon has pulled it.
Screenshot of Amazon listing for “Charlie Kirk: Biography” by Christina W. Randall Screenshot of Amazon publication information showing the book as #25 in best sellers Amazon page saying book is “currently unavailable”
4 5 32
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
paleofuture.bsky.social
Matt Novak @paleofuture.bsky.social · 21d
When ChatGPT first took off this was the use case that confused me the most. People said they “only” used it to write “first drafts.” That’s the most important draft! That’s the thinking part!
oliverdarcy.bsky.social
Oliver Darcy @oliverdarcy.bsky.social · 21d
Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers.

Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...
Business Insider and the Bots
The Axel Springer-owned newsroom is buzzing over new ChatGPT writing guidelines—part of an aggressive A.I. strategy pushed by its German parentco and detailed in a memo obtained by Status.
www.status.news
36 330 1.9K
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 21d
After FTC launched an inquiry into AI chatbots, particularly dangers toward children, & Senate Judiciary subcommittee holding a hearing today on chatbot harms, OpenAI announced it's going to try to detect which users are under 18 to give them a different experience: openai.com/index/buildi...
Building towards age prediction
Learn how OpenAI is building age prediction and parental controls in ChatGPT to create safer, age-appropriate experiences for teens while supporting families with new tools.
openai.com
3 4 16
kashhill.bsky.social
Kashmir Hill @kashhill.bsky.social · 21d
I'm on The Daily today talking about my reporting on AI chatbots and how heavy users of ChatGPT can go into delusional, and sometimes tragic, spirals: www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...

Also today, an OpenAI blog post from Sam Altman on "safety, freedom & privacy": openai.com/index/teen-s...
Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral
www.nytimes.com
9 28
Reposted by Kashmir Hill
hannescools.bsky.social
Hannes Cools @hannescools.bsky.social · 22d
"Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral." 🌀

Important work by @kashhill.bsky.social & @dylanfreedman.nytimes.com on how chatbots have a tendency to endorse conspiratorial and mystical belief systems. This shows again how conformist LLMs can be. Worth a listen 👇
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/16/p...
Trapped in a ChatGPT Spiral
www.nytimes.com
1 5 8