"If regulations are to be rolled back and the role of venture capital is to increase, will European companies behave any differently from US companies? There was clearly more enthusiasm for not losing out in the symbolic race than for holding up European values, whatever they might be in times of a right-wing shift at the EU level." 🎯 @npub1l7g6...nudk about the FR-GER Digital Sovereignty Summit:

Tech Policy Press

At the Sovereignty Summit, Europe Put Start-Ups on Stage and Kept Big Tech in Control | TechPolicy.Press

At the Berlin summit on digital sovereignty, Europe backs start-ups, avoids Big Tech confrontation, and bets on deregulation, writes Aline Blankertz.

"The Data Center Resistance Has Arrived A new report finds that local opposition to data centers skyrocketed in the second quarter of this year."

Bluesky Social

molly taft (@mollytaft.com)

NEW from me: a new report found that national resistance to data centers skyrocketed between March and June of this year—especially in red states...

Argumentationen wie "Dank "KI" können die weniger Privilegierten jetzt auch schreiben und dichten" laufen darauf hinaus, diese Bevölkerungsgruppen mit billigem Ersatz für Bildung, Kunst und Kultur abzuspeisen. "KI" verschafft Zugang zu Bildung genauso wie McDonald's Zugang zu Ernährung verschafft.

If a book is claiming to be critical of so-called "AI" and feels the need to include "AGI" but includes it in any other way but completely dismantling and ridiculing the nonsense that is "AGI": The book basically disqualifies itself. Covering "AGI" with any ambiguity simply says that the author is willing to sacrifice analytic clarity for appeasing "AI" hypers.

I still have an iPhone 13 Mini that I hold very dear (I love small phones). I reluctantly finally installed iOS 26 yesterday. Hot damn: What an ugly, hectic mess. It's all fluff for fluff sake and borderline aggressively user-hostile. A perfect example of a company having to "innovate" as part of its corporate theater. And of course: It's performance is noticeably worse, killing all joy of using the perfectly adequately powered device.

OpenAI stopped letting ChatGPT generate text that humans would perceive as legal or medical advice. I may eat my words but I strongly feel like this single decision will be looked back at the moment the "AI" hype collapsed. The hype is over. Now comes the time of collapse and downfall. The price will - as in 2008/2009 - be paid by the collective. And the same grifters that cheered for "AI" will be back soon with new speculative FOMO tech.

It has been a while since I felt as torn about a book as I do with "The AI Con" (2025) by @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and @Alex Hanna. Both are well respected experts, not only regarding their expertise but also regarding their personal conviction. Their book was much anticipated and became a reference as a critical and sober perspective on the hype around so-called "AI". After reading it, I'd like to share a few thoughts. #Thread

„Computers can make judicial decisions, computers can make psychiatric judgments. They can flip coins in much more sophisticated ways than can the most patient human being. The point is that they ought not be given such tasks. They may even be able to arrive at “correct” decisions in some cases—but always and necessarily on bases no human being should be willing to accept.“ - Joseph Weizenbaum, Computer Power and Human Reason (1976)

What I found to be helpful for understanding the limits of certain progressive campaigns against "market power" and "Big Tech dominance" is this: Replace the word "market power" with "power of the lords". Do we want fair competition between lords? Do we want smaller kingdoms? Are we fighting for more transparent aristocracy?

I am currently reading "The AI Con" by @Prof. Emily M. Bender(she/her) and @Alex Hanna and - while not being quite done yet - want to express joy about the book not beating around the bush. As a (former) member of the judiciary I was explicitly delighted to read this quote: "The tools do little to address the punitive, carceral, and racist foundation of the criminal justice system. We can't automate our way to a fair criminal justice system."