Kurt McCulloch

That’s all we need to get around. That’s it.

But then every video that followed—all “real”—also felt off. My brain was looking for, and finding flat affects, mechanical speech, oddly crisp focus, twitchy movements. Everything was off. Everything was fake. I was stuck in the uncanny valley.

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”.

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.

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.

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.

Every word I read about congestion pricing reminds me of when they reintroduced wolves in Yellowstone and the whole ecosystem started working correctly again.

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.

Today’s news… and the steady and depressing drumbeat of ignorance to come leads me right back to Jane Jacobs.

The image of masculinity that some people embrace: hunting, martial arts, aggression. This would all be funny if it weren’t so sad—these images are tropes that little boys, and I mean actual children, draw from our culture.

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.

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

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...

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.

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?"

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

Meta surrenders to the right on speech “I really think this a precursor for genocide,” a former employee tells Platformer

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...

That picture! The expression for disgust is recognized across all human cultures.

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?

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”)

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

@jonniepenn.bsky.social I buy the argument that social movements are more likely to have lasting positive impact on society than technical innovation alone. We don’t have 400 years to figure this out this time though.

This man is making good sense. www.instagram.com/reel/DDNSjrO...

And I wondered if she had read this essay, if there’s a common origin point in this philosophy, and/or is this just evidence that the world is just asking us all to face the fold?

This really resonates! I was reminded of this essay when listening to @SeanIlling talk with @ayanaeliza.bsky.social, marine biologist and author of What If We Get It Right? Visions of Climate Futures.

But, no, that is not in itself reason for inaction. Yes, things could turn out very well, but, no, that is not in itself reason for foolish bravado. By holding in mind several different futures at once, one is able to proceed deliberately yet flexibly; resolutely yet cautiously.”

Facing the fold in which multiple futures are held simultaneously and constantly in view, one achieves a kind of emotional
and intellectual maturity that is not available to either the simple optimist or the simple pessimist. Yes, things could turn out badly.