K.A. Wiggins (Kaie)

Once, technology solved problems. People liked having problems solved, so they liked technology.

Tech execs started to think of that sentiment as their due. So when they stopped solving problems, and people stopped liking them, they became outraged. "How dare you not love whatever we give you?"

this is why the whole “oh, suffering creates great art” thing is bullshit

you know what’s conducive to art? a roof over your head and food on the table

you know what isn’t? stressing out over where the fuck the rent money is going to come from

Cashmere.io Wants Better AI Licensing Deals for Publishers The little-known startup, which powers publishing deals with AI firm Perplexity, aims to help publishers monitor, monetize, and control their content inside AI systems. CEO Jonathan Munk says the indu...

It always strikes me, in news items about AI licensing schemes and/or startups, how often authors are simply not mentioned: it's all about making things easy for publishers. Writers will need to fight their publishers--not just the AI companies www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/...

FWIW there are 23 years between those two. There's plenty of inspo for improving fast these days; there are artists younger than that first picture who can absolutely kick my ass. But if you struggle, remember that forward movement is still movement and the destination's getting closer regardless.

Journalists Arrested in Cameroon While Reporting on Trump’s Secretive Deportation Program

"An Associated Press reporter was beaten by the police and detained along with three other journalists on Tuesday in Cameroon while reporting on a secretive Trump administration program to deport migrants to the Central African country, according to two of the people detained." (gift link)

I am here to be rude, because this is a rude technology, and it deserves a rude response. Miyazaki said, “I strongly feel that this is an insult to life itself.” Scam Altman said we can surround the solar system with a Dyson Sphere to hold data centers. Miyazaki is right, and Altman is wrong. Miyazaki tells stories that blend the ordinary and the fantastic in ways people find deeply meaningful. Altman tells lies for money. And I’m glad they’re lies. Because the makers of AI aren’t damned by their failures, they’re damned by their goals. They want to build a genie to grant them wishes, and their wish is that nobody ever has to make art again. They want to create a new kind of mind, so they can force it into mindless servitude. Their dream is to invent new forms of life to enslave.

oh "the left" is missing out on AI? yeah, i'm a socialist, i'm for humanity. good. no reason to act like this lifeless and error prone tool is going to do much of anything for me or society.

from one of my favorite AI critical essays in the last six months: anthonymoser.github.io/writing/ai/h...

so you can't trust the output, there's no way to fix it so you can, and using it to replace people who know how to do things will result in people relying on it more with less ability to know when it's wrong

If you want to write anything good, you cannot afford to be afraid of your reader.

PSA for BC kidlit friends: if you've applied to @cwillbc.bsky.social & haven't heard back, try again &/or shoot us a message!

We respond to 100% of applicants... but sometimes tech gremlins do eat the applications in transit😅

The library has books about almost any craft you want to try, and you can pretty much check out as many as you can handle. It’s how I learned basically every craft I’ve ever gotten serious about, and they also have related magazines - I’m able to read several weaving magazines through Libby!

BC Budget Brings a Record Deficit and No Big Changes | The Tyee ‘This is not an austerity budget,’ says Finance Minister Brenda Bailey.

“I’m disappointed they didn’t raise income and disability payments,” said senior economist Iglika Ivanova, noting that the government could have implemented measures to raise more revenue.

On the left: black and white photo of the exterior of a school building with police tape across the image. Red dots of blood are near the centre of the image. On the right: text that reads “What we’re getting wrong about the Tumbler Ridge shootings. Blaming mental illness—or identity—lets society avoid harder truths about violence”

“It makes sense that we often get it wrong at the beginning,” says Tracy Vaillancourt of early mass shooting coverage. Reporters are often racing to inform the public—but that urgency can also cause harm. https://thewalrus.ca/tumbler-ridge-shooting/

YouTube video by Benn Jordan Datacenters Behaving Like Acoustic Weapons

every video from benn jordan lately is absolute gold because noise pollution is such a serious issue that does not receive even a fraction of level of attention it should. between cars and data centers, the effects of man-made sound are quite literally deadly.

Cover of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction Volume 1, Summer 2025, with Nnedi Okorafor, Maurice Broaddus, Justin C. Key, Matthew Kressel & Mercurio D. Rivera, John Shirley, Inda Lauryn all listed on the cover. A Black cyberpunk-ish figure is in the front, full, long dreadlocks, trench coat, having pulled a sword with an umbrella handle from its sheath, against a futuristic cityscape and a stunning orange-red sky with turquoise touches.

Just posted "By the Numbers 10: Why We Need To Count on Each Other" to my site!

arleysorg.com/by-the-numbe...

This was published in the recent F&SF (Summer 2025, edited by the amazing Sheree Renée Thomas aka @shereereneethomas.bsky.social ) and is posted with permission of the publisher.

I just did the dumbest thing of my entire career to prove a much more serious point.

I tricked ChatGPT and Google, and made them tell other users I’m a competitive hot-dog-eating world champion

People are using this trick on a massive scale to make AI tell you lies. I’ll explain how I did it

Apple Drops ESG Links From Top Executives’ Pay Packages The company’s retreat follows moves by Starbucks, Salesforce and Mastercard.

Apple has quietly dropped environmental metrics for executive pay, reports @benelgin.bsky.social, following similar moves by Salesforce, Starbucks and other big companies. "If something isn't reflected in compensation, it rarely gets sustained attention at the leadership level." Gift link:

Peter Thiel is unleashing a neocolonial billionaire fantasy in Honduras Tech billionaires want to create their own city-states. Hondurans pay the price.

Tech billionaires want to create their own city-states. Hondurans pay the price.

John Manley: Why Canada needs to play it cool on CUSMA — and keep its options open Canada was a successful trading nation long before the North American pact. Signalling that we are desperate to keep it only strengthens Trump's hand

Really, read this John Manley piece from a few days ago. He is 100% on the mark on how we should approach this.

ca.finance.yahoo.com/news/john-ma...

Drones used in Israel's genocide of Palestinians are now surveilling Americans. Why isn't corporate media covering it?

According to Nate Bear's Substack ¡Do Not Panic!, after October 7, US drone manufacturer Skydio supplied more than 100 Al-powered surveillance drones to the Israeli military for use in Gaza. By 2025, US police departments across major cities began deploying the same drone models to monitor protests and public spaces.

Skydio now holds contracts with more than 800 US law enforcement and security agencies, up from 320 in early 2024. Federal agencies, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), use drones to track and pursue targets, while police departments launch them hundreds of times a day in towns and cities nationwide.

A March 2025 rule change expanded police drone use by allowing flights beyond visual line of sight and over crowded areas. The New York Police Department alone has flown drones more than 20,000 times in under a year, including at political protests.

AI drones used in Gaza are now surveilling American cities…

And corporate media isn’t covering it.

www.donotpanic.news/p/the-ai-dro...

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

YOU CAN GET EVERY DISCWORLD TOME ON EBOOK FOR LESS THAN THE COST OF A SUBWAY FOOTLONG COMBO.

USUALLY GETTING EVERY SINGLE BOOK LEGALLY IS LIKE 400+

NOT.

A.

DRILL.

www.humblebundle.com/books/terry-...

Joys of capitalism

“The playing field is poised to become a lot more competitive, and businesses that don’t deploy cocaine to help them innovate in everything they do will be at a disadvantage,” says Paul Daugherty, Chief Technology and Innovation Officer at Accenture.

Hey, it works!

I know this makes me an extremist but I think our baby concentration camps should be abolished.

News article that reads: Canadian passport holders can travel to China visa-free starting this week

We’re renewing Canada’s relationship with China.

As part of our new strategic partnership, China is granting visa-free travel for Canadians.

Hi Jason, I just came across We Who Hunt Alexanders, and I have to say it immediately grabbed me. Amelia’s story is gripping, dark, and layered with emotion. The way you explore a monster who feels happiness, sadness, fear, and love in a world that’s cruel and unforgiving makes this story compelling and unforgettable. That’s exactly why I wanted to reach out. I run a book review service through Super Lovers Book, connecting books with real readers who genuinely enjoy science fiction, dark fantasy, and emotionally rich stories. These readers don’t just leave stars they leave thoughtful, honest reviews that highlight what makes a story unique, powerful, and worth discovering. Here’s why reviews are so important for We Who Hunt Alexanders: Build Trust: Potential readers often decide whether to pick up a book based on reviews. Authentic feedback signals that your story is worth their time. Increase Visibility: Platforms like Goodreads reward books with steady, genuine reviews, helping them appear in search results, recommendations, and “readers also enjoyed” lists. Generate Momentum: Each review encourages more readers to pick up the book, engage with the story, and leave their own thoughts, creating a snowball effect of attention. Reach the Right Audience: Reviews written by readers who love sci-fi and dark fantasy ensure your story reaches the readers most likely to appreciate and recommend it. I truly believe We Who Hunt Alexanders deserves this kind of engagement. A few honest reviews now can amplify your book’s reach, help it gain visibility, and connect it with the readers who will love it most. Would you be open to having We Who Hunt Alexanders read and reviewed by genuine readers who are passionate about sci-fi and dark fantasy? No pressure at all I just wanted to reach out because your work deserves to be discovered by more readers. Warmly, Herry Sharp CEO, Super Lovers Book

if you continue to ignore my messages, I might do something you would regret for the rest of your life. I already have access to your book, and instead of giving it a positive review, I will leave a negative one and damage its reputation. It seems you have forgotten that I have a community of readers, and I can easily influence them to bring your book down. You can try me though. CEO | Super Book Lover Curator Helping brilliant books find their people, one honest review at a time.

Book club scams are now threatening authors who don't fall for their BS. In December, I received an email from Herry Sharp, so-called CEO of "Super Book Lover Curator" praising my novella We Who Hunt Alexanders.

Totally AI-generated and a scam so I didn't respond.

Now Herry is threatening me. 1/

If you want to understand why rich guys are turning back to eugenics and recreating the rhetoric and theology of slavery, it’s because they know on some level this level of wealth inequality is unjustifiable bsky.app/profile/marl...

Despite Epstein’s Toxicity, Steve Bannon Stood by Him, Texts Indicate

"We must counter ‘rapist who traffics in female children to be raped by worlds most powerful, richest men’ — that can’t be redeemed.” Steve Bannon is even more sleazy and horrible than you thought he was. Which seems impossible. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/u...

Check out my February Clarkesworld/GigaNotoSaurus review! Or stick around for a thread of favorites! www.tarvolon.com/2026/02/16/t...

Do former DOGE employees have the type of access to SSA’s database that wld allow them to make changes? I ask bc there seems to be no transparency, & Trump & Musk now want states to purge voters from the rolls by using the “SAVE” system to compare data in the rolls to the data in SSA’s database. 1/

A tragic morning in Gaza after nine Palestinians were killed in a series of Israeli airstrikes overnight, marking the latest breach of the ceasefire agreement.