Werd I/O

A vivid, clear-eyed account of a series of lived experiences that nobody should have had to endure. As well as the story of her leaks and their aftermath, Chelsea discusses what it’s like to work in military intelligence in fascinating detail. This memoir is one of those historical documents that reveal so much about their era. More than that, and most importantly, it tells the truth. An important book written by a brave, fiercely intelligent, and fundamentally principled human being. #Nonfiction

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Europe knows what's up. I wish we could do this in the US - but there are so many obstacles. #Society

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Directing funding from self-interested billionaire philanthropy to grassroots environmental justice organizations is wonderful to see. They're so much more likely to actually have an impact that will matter. And they need so much more support. #Climate

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I agree that ActivityPub is the right choice for Meta and any company wanting to follow a similar strategy, for the reasons laid out here. I’ve been thinking about tools that might make adoption easier for startups and hobbyists. #Technology

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This caught my eye: an example of OpenAI licensing content from a publisher in order to make its models better. Other publishers should now know that they can make similar deals rather than letting their work be scraped up for free. #AI

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Exactly this. What this piece calls People Theory, I call motivation over metrics. It's the same idea: there are no cheat codes for people. You've actually got to use empathy with each other and build a community made of three dimensional human beings. #Labor

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This feels like a good opportunity for a studio to become pro-union and scoop up every amazing writer in the business. #Labor

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One of my nightmares is that something I helped to build would be used in this kind of prosecution. There’s an expectation of privacy built into the design of direct messaging apps, and designers have a responsibility to protect their users. They failed here. #Technology

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I love Amber Case's framing of "truthy" tech: hype-driven technologies that promise too much too soon, are driven by FOMO, and are intriguing because of their depictions in popular culture. There are plenty of examples to choose from right now, and this is a great guide to spotting them. #Technology

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An interesting thought experiment: do we need Google, or does Google need us? At what point does the center of gravity change enough for us to consider it worthwhile to block Googlebot and come out better for having done so? Until recently this would have been unthinkable. #Technology

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Climate change comes for package deliveries - not because of the flights, but because of the trucks. The back of Amazon trucks can reach 135 degrees, with no cooling system. These are the same drivers who have trouble stopping for water or bathroom breaks. #Climate

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Worth considering the number of grifters who swore blind that the metaverse would be a thing. Of course it wasn’t a thing. It was a fever dream embraced by people who have clearly never watched anyone actually use technology: a corporate boondoggle at best. #

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The only reason to make immigration more difficult, particularly for people who are seeking asylum from terrible conditions, is because you hate immigrants and want to hurt them. As it turns out, these stupid rules don't even do what they claim to. #Democracy

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A lovely, personal reflection on (in my opinion) the best TV show ever made. #Culture

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I respect Bruce Schneier a great deal, but I hate this proposal. For one thing, what about people outside the US whose data was used? On the internet, the public is global. Wherever the tools are used, the rights infringed by AI tools are everyone's, from everywhere. Paying at the point of use rather than at the point of scraping cannot be the way. #AI

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It's not really mentioned in this article, but lead sheathing isn't just used in old phone cabling. It's in some modern cabling too, including underground and undersea cables used to provide internet. And the health risks are real. #Health

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The key word, of course, is “declared”. #Democracy

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To put it another way: Meta doesn't want to have to worry about throwing an election. Meta wants us to focus on "sports, music, fashion, beauty, entertainment." Newsrooms, be advised. #Media

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The thing about this kind of grief is that nobody knows what it's like until it happens. The sadness becomes a permanent a part of you, lurking just under the surface, and nobody understands. The feeling of being seen is extraordinarily rare. This book made me feel seen, and gave me space to feel the sadness. I'm not OK. But I'm not the only one. #nonfiction #memoir

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A lot of people in the fediverse are rightly worried about what the arrival of Threads (which is Mastodon-compatible) will bring. I think it's probably a positive addition for most people, and Casey Newton's writeup here does a good job of explaining why. #Technology

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It's important that lawsuits like this center on the use, not the act of scraping itself - the latter does need to be protected. One to watch. #AI

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Greenwashing goes deep. Environmentally outspoken organizations should not hire fossil fuels lobbyists. There should be a list loudly calling out those that do. Otherwise it's all just words. #Climate

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People against child marriage restrictions say they will infringe on religious liberty. 86% of children who are married are girls. So, let's be clear: if you want this, fuck your religious liberty. #Democracy

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The Fairphone is more properly referred to as a fairer phone - there's still work to do to really make it equitable - but it's great to see it being launched in the US. More products that have this focus on repairability and owner control, please. #Technology

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A sort of call to arms for writers, but here the arms reach out in a warm embrace and tell you to be yourself. It's not about being published; it's not about following other peoples' rules; it's about telling the stories that make your heart sing in a way that's true to you. The advice here is rooted in kindness and written with such warmth, wit, and charm that I came away feeling like I had a true ally. Thanks, Chuck. #Nonfiction

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