Mark Hurst

I hope more people will cancel their Amazon Prime accounts.

The only surprise is they admit it

French Response * @FrenchResponse X.com Investigating child sexual abuse material isn't controversial. Turning it into political theater is manipulation. Maybe that logic flies on some island. Doesn't fl in France. Elon Musk & X @elonmusk • 3h This is a political attack

The French are taking none of Musk’s bullshit.

thanks!

Anyone who hasn't discovered this show - do! One of the most incisive and informative voices in this space.

New from me: on Techtonic I talked about how AI is spreading where it doesn't belong... like Google in schools.

Full episode + links for more reading:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...

‘Spy Sheikh’ Bought Secret Stake in Trump Company $500 million investment for 49% of World Liberty came months before U.A.E. won access to tightly guarded American AI chips.

Yet another impeachable offense. He should be getting impeached on a different offense each and every week until he's out.

Gift link:
www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Peter Thiel has been open about this for a long time. Trump is a way to break the republic, which can then be replaced by “free economic zones” with oligarchs as dictators and tech as a taskmaster for helpless humans without any rights. (1/2)

Mehmet Oz on rural healthcare: you don’t need doctors, hospitals, or investment—here’s an AI avatar. When policymakers replace care with chatbots, it’s not innovation, it’s abandonment dressed up as tech optimism.

Dr Oz on rural healthcare: "There's no question about it, whether you want it or not -- the best way to help some of these communities is gonna be AI-based avatars"

Poll: New Yorkers not that interested in hailing a robotaxi Amid a lobbying push for self-driving cars, a new survey shows less than a third of New Yorkers are interested in riding in one.

Say no to Waymo:
"less than a third of New York City residents surveyed are interested in riding a robotaxi."

www.cityandstateny.com/policy/2026/...

Okay this rules

A diagram shows a re-entering satellite burn up in the atmosphere and turn into fiery space junk raining down onto the surface of the earth.

Kessler Syndrome described by Futurism:
futurism.com/space/earths...

Just as I warned about in 2024:
buttondown.com/creativegood...

for anyone who doesn't know: in the context of ai, "doomers" are people who think ai is dangerous because it might be *too powerful and smart* and are worried about imaginary dangers

this is distinct from people who think it's washed up overhyped crap and are worried about *current actual harms*

/cc @lizpelly.bsky.social

What technology takes from us – and how to take it back | Rebecca Solnit The long read: Decisions outsourced, chatbots for friends, the natural world an afterthought: Silicon Valley is giving us life void of connection. There is a way out – but it’s going to take collectiv...

A beautifully written defense of the non-quantifiable life, by @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social

www.theguardian.com/news/ng-inte...

What we get from paying attention 20 years or so ago I visited the Museum of Modern Art here in New York and saw an exhibit that I’ve never forgotten. Somewhere on the third or fourth floor...

"There is no sanctuary, no hiding place that is safe from Silicon Valley’s predations. Any community activity – a potluck dinner club, even a knitting circle – can be targeted by a bro to be monetized. All is vulnerable to the growth-at-any-cost mindset."

New from me:
buttondown.com/creativegood...

Sans Papiers Sound, Art, Vegetables

"Tech companies have forged the way toward a voluntary surrender of our privacy, demanding “consent” for surveillance when we don’t have a choice. That surveillance has now been swept up by the state"

Thanks for this, @dadadrummer.bsky.social
dadadrummer.substack.com/p/sans-papiers

Dystopian Pricing Tactics: A Primer Pricing and fairness in an age of AI.

The difference between surveillance pricing, dynamic pricing, AI-powered price discrimination, and algorithmic price fixing - explained by Pat Garofalo:
boondoggle.substack.com/p/dystopian-...

Waymo robotaxi hits a child near an elementary school in Santa Monica | TechCrunch The child, whose age is not known, sustained minor injuries according to Waymo. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating.

BREAKING: A Waymo robotaxi hit a child crossing the street near an elementary school on January 23.

The company claims the child sustained minor injuries.

NHTSA is already investigating.

Much more to come.

techcrunch.com/2026/01/29/w...

pretty sure that's the one button that Big Tech would *never* put on a product

Reality check: The creators of "The American Story" want people to know that they're not using AI to create new historical records. (added: YET.) - Instead, they used AI to tag and structure data, to understand themes and time periods and connect those to visitors' interests. - "We're not doing anything generative," (added: YET.) McCarthy tells Axios. "We're not reinventing history or anything like that." (added: YET.)

The National Archives have launched an AI-powered exhibit, reassuring Axios that "they're not using AI to create new historical records."

That's not happening *yet.* We always have to add *yet.* I fixed it:

www.axios.com/newsletters/...

Amazon is ending its palm ID system for retail, Amazon One, as it closes physical stores Amazon is winding down its Amazon One palm recognition service as the company retreats from physical retail experiments.

Hahaha

Living in the trump era makes me feel very connected to my ancestors, who lived as serfs under a succession of insane moron god kings

Wow, you think you know someone. First he approved algorithmic enablement of content harming teenage girls, then knowingly allowed fraud for around 10% of his ad revenue - and now this?

If only tech critics had warned about Zuck every day for the past 8-or-so years...

The book "Attensity!" is a manifesto for attentional well-being. I spoke with co-editor Peter Schmidt on the new Techtonic.

Full episode:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...

More Techtonic episodes:
techtonic.fm

relevant
bsky.app/profile/core...

i have just gotten off a productive call with sauron where i laid out our requests

- nazgul bodycams
- morgul knife must remain sheathed unless suspect is determined to be carrying the one ring
- shelob will be the new point of contact

Their entire industry deserves to die