benwerd 1 year ago

Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website

Ben Werdmuller

Google removes pledge to not use AI for weapons from website

[Maxwell Zeff at TechCrunch] I know "don't be evil" is from another era of Google, but still, this rankles: "Google removed a pledge to not build...

benwerd 1 year ago

A Push to Stop Police Ticketing in Illinois Schools Becomes Urgent in the Trump Era

Ben Werdmuller

A Push to Stop Police Ticketing in Illinois Schools Becomes Urgent in the Trump Era

[Jodi S. Cohen and Jennifer Smith Richards at ProPublica] From my colleagues at ProPublica: "Citing an urgency to protect students’ civil right...

benwerd 1 year ago

The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s power grab: a coup veiled by chaos

Ben Werdmuller

The Guardian view on Donald Trump’s power grab: a coup veiled by chaos

[The Guardian Editorial] The Guardian editorial board isn't mincing words: "Donald Trump is provoking a US constitutional crisis, claiming sweepi...

benwerd 1 year ago

Settlements With Trump Are Weakening Press Freedoms

Ben Werdmuller

Settlements With Trump Are Weakening Press Freedoms

[Jameel Jaffer in The New York Times] Jameel Jaffer is the executive director of the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University: "Th...

benwerd 1 year ago

Ask a CTO

Ben Werdmuller

Ask a CTO

I’ve been a technical leader a few times: CTO and Director of Technology at two nonprofit newsrooms; technical lead at five tech companies of...

benwerd 1 year ago

Musk’s Takeover Of The Government’s Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse

Ben Werdmuller

Musk’s Takeover Of The Government’s Computer Systems Needs To Be Understood As A Cyberattack, Or Worse

[Cathy Gellis at TechDirt] On point: "So that Elon Musk and his minions have managed to walk right into government offices to take over computer ...

benwerd 1 year ago

A guide to using Signal for government workers

Ben Werdmuller

A guide to using Signal for government workers

[Matt Haughey] I really like the way this guide to Signal lays it all out. As Matt Haughey explains: "A friend of mine works in the federal gover...

benwerd 1 year ago

I want you to do these four things right now

Ben Werdmuller

I want you to do these four things right now

Four simple steps to keep yourself safe online.

benwerd 1 year ago

Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites

Ben Werdmuller

Researchers rush to preserve federal health databases before they disappear from government websites

[Naseem S. Miller at the Journalist's Resource] A massive, last-minute data preservation effort was undertaken this week as important federal data...

benwerd 1 year ago

The Bitcoin ghouls

Ben Werdmuller

The Bitcoin ghouls

Imagine being so genuinely empty as a human being that you support a regime that conducts mass deportations and runs concentration camps because th...

benwerd 1 year ago

Imagine being so genuinely empty as a human being that you support a regime that conducts mass deportations and runs concentration camps because they support Bitcoin.

benwerd 1 year ago

Everyone who supports what is happening right now is a fucking fascist. If that's you, that's what you are.

benwerd 1 year ago

On its birthday, The 19th announces a new model for funding media

Ben Werdmuller

On its birthday, The 19th announces a new model for funding media

An endowment for reporting gender, politics, and policy

benwerd 1 year ago

The Bear Manifesto

Ben Werdmuller

The Bear Manifesto

[Herman Martinus] I recognize a lot of the sentiment here. Twenty years ago, I ran an open source social networking startup and tried to different...

benwerd 1 year ago

Experimental Playgrounds

Ben Werdmuller

Experimental Playgrounds

[Adrian Hon] I was today years old when I learned the original meaning of an "adventure playground": "The post-war period saw “junk playgrounds...

benwerd 1 year ago

How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms

Ben Werdmuller

How Democrats Drove Silicon Valley Into Trump’s Arms

[Ross Douthat and Marc Andreessen in The New York Times] This podcast conversation with Marc Andreessen is very revealing. It's particularly fasci...

benwerd 1 year ago

TikTok’s “cute winter boots” meaning explained

Ben Werdmuller

TikTok’s “cute winter boots” meaning explained

[Taylor Lorenz at UserMag] This is like something from a cyberpunk novel: "The phrase “cute winter boots” is not about footwear. It's a code ...

benwerd 1 year ago

In the face of this, who do you want to be?

Ben Werdmuller

In the face of this, who do you want to be?

The time for hypotheticals is gone. It's time to decide.

benwerd 1 year ago

Seeking trans-friendly employers who sponsor visas

Ben Werdmuller

Seeking trans-friendly employers who sponsor visas

Nobody should have to move to another country to be themselves.However, I’ve spoken to multiple people who feel they need to move away from the

benwerd 1 year ago

The next four years

Ben Werdmuller

The next four years

The last time this man was in power we wound up with one of the largest civil rights movements ever conducted in the United States.