Chris Bajgier

Why Understanding AI Doesn’t Necessarily Lead People to Embrace It New research has uncovered a paradoxical relationship between AI literacy and receptivity: Individuals with lower AI literacy are more likely to embrace AI, despite perceiving it as less capable and m...

"The more knowledge people have about AI and how it works, the less likely they are to embrace it. ... People in countries with lower average AI literacy tended to be more open to adopting AI compared to those in countries with higher literacy levels."

"The myth of technological and political and social inevitability is a powerful tranquilizer of the conscience. Its service is to remove responsibility from the shoulders of everyone who truly believes in it." --Joseph Weizenbaum, 1975 #ai

What’s a technology that you think is overhyped? I’m going to give a sideways answer to this, which is that the venture capital business model needs to be understood as requiring hype. You can go back to the Netscape IPO, and that was the proof point that made venture capital the financial lifeblood of the tech industry. Venture capital looks at valuations and growth, not necessarily at profit or revenue. So you don’t actually have to invest in technology that works, or that even makes a profit, you simply have to have a narrative that is compelling enough to float those valuations. So you see this repetitive and exhausting hype cycle as a feature in this industry. A couple of years ago, you would have been asking me about the metaverse, then last year, you would have asked me about Web3 and crypto, and for each of these inflection points there’s an Andreessen Horowitz manifesto. It’s not simply that one piece of technology is overhyped, it’s that hype is a necessary ingredient of the current business ecosystem of the tech industry. We should examine how often the financial incentive for hype is rewarded without any real social returns, without any meaningful progress in technology, without these tools and services and worlds ever actually manifesting. That’s key to understanding the growing chasm between the narrative of techno-optimists and the reality of our tech-encumbered world.

Stand by this: www.politico.com/newsletters/...

What good is a union in Hell? “Brothers, sisters, siblings, we stand here now on the precipice of oblivion… This isn't just about fighting for better wages and working conditions… This is about who is willing to fight for life its...

Must-read of the day from Maximilian Alvarez; reads like a sequel to @astra.bsky.social and Naomi Klein’s “end-times fascism” piece (which it explicitly references)

therealnews.com/uaw-what-goo...

Searching for Trump’s Soul Donald Trump’s modus operandi has a sharp focus: never budge from the premise that the universe revolves around you, and, above all, stay in character.

Remember — before any of this Epstein stuff came to light, Ghislane Maxwell was familiar enough to Trump to be casually included in this New Yorker profile of him from 1997, in a “these are the kinds of folks he hangs out with” way.

Donald Trump doesn’t really try to dispute his corruption or his lies. His point is more sinister, and made by other would-be despots.

His argument is that they are all liars and crooks, and that he is the only one who is open about it.

For all its cynical appeal, it is just another con.

I am grieving the barbarism that is going to unfurl from all this. People are going to die. Livelihoods gone. All to feed a corrupt kleptocracy.

I see every day up close how different it is from the first time around. There are no guardrails. A disaster. I’m sorry we have to live through this.

Whatever it is .... it is sad.

Is the decline of reading poisoning our politics? Your brain isn’t what it used to be.

My essay on how the decline of deep reading is (arguably) reshaping our consciousness, culture, and politics is out from behind the paywall www.vox.com/politics/414...

Trump 2.0 Runs on Tech Accelerationism | TechPolicy.Press Jacob Metcalf says the alliance between the American far right and the tech oligarchy is driven by a shared commitment to accelerationism.

Data & Society’s Jacob Metcalf writes that whenever you hear someone advocating for acceleration, you should ask: accelerating toward what? Today’s techno-accelerationists aim to undo generations of slow, arduous progress toward social, political, and economic equality, he says.

Tech companies only have five ideas: robot slave (actually just human slaves), hallucinatory counter-reality, untaxable money, The Everything App, and Clippy

"I asked ChatGPT" "I asked Grok" ok well I asked Gandalf and he said he has not passed through fire and death to bandy crooked words with a witless worm

Most orgs give little thought to the consequences, ethics or environmental impact of creating their digital products & services. But they really should 🙊

It is really really sinking in for me the degree to which LLMs are the ultimate expression of right wing anti-intellectualism. Its proponents are literally mocking the idea that anyone would ever want to learn anything, know anything, develop any actual skill, or have a thought of their own.

Our photojournalists @stephstrasburg.bsky.social and @quinnglabicki.bsky.social will be out covering #nokingsprotest today in Downtown Pittsburgh.

Tomorrow: No Kings Trump is trying to turn our army into a domestic army of occupation — into neo-redcoats.

Tomorrow, we will be demonstrating across this country against our wannabe king and his decision to destroy the constitutional rights that Americans fought long and hard to secure.

We will show solidarity — and we will do it peacefully. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/tomorrow-is-no-kings-day

YouTube video by The Beach Boys - Topic 'Til I Die (Remastered 2009)

Forever indebted to his voice:
excavated from fragments of angels, myth, and memory, that flicker white light throughout the birth cry to the final breath.
May you be reunited with Carl and Dennis in the warmth of the sun. Rest… Brian Wilson.

The Beach Boys - ‘Till I Die
youtu.be/eXZ_L6zJn1c?...

No Kings Day: June 14 protests set to be biggest yet, will counter Trump military parade in locations nationwide. Here's what to know Millions of Americans are expected to turn out on Saturday, which is also Trump's birthday, for No Kings Day demonstrations organized by Indivisible.

In a statement to Fast Company, the No Kings organizers described their event as “peaceful, organized, and united.” They added: “Make it clear: We don’t do kings in this country.”

I realize I’m nitpicking here but calling how Roberto Clemente died “passing away” really doesn’t do justice to the man, his bravery & integrity or his legacy.

Hannity’s February interview with Trump and Musk: “And now I see they want you two to start — they want a divorce.  They want you two to start hating each other.”
The always undefined “they” got their way, at least momentarily. Musk needs taxpayer dollars.

NEW REPORT: Artificial Power, our 2025 Landscape Report, is out.

Today’s AI isn’t just being used by us, it’s being used on us. We urgently need to reclaim public power over the future trajectory of AI. Another path is possible.

Read the report: ainowinstitute.org/2025-landscape

New “memento mori” just dropped, in case you’re still not taking living life seriously

Ban them again

What Are People Still Doing on X? Imagine if your favorite neighborhood bar turned into a Nazi hangout

I realize posting this here is preaching to the choir. But after the Grok White Genocide thing & Ye essentially launching an exclusive Neo Nazi single on the platform... I felt motivated to write about X and how bizarre it is that so many people (news outlets, celebrities, politicians) use it

We plan to sue if Paramount settles with Trump over CBS lawsuit Freedom of the Press Foundation notifies Paramount executives of liability and demands preservation of records

This is good to see: Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) has informed Paramount Global executives that it plans to file a lawsuit if Paramount settles with President Donald Trump over his court case against CBS News. freedom.press/issues/we-pl...

AI Abuse of Fair Use Must Stop Plus: ‘Friendship,’ the funniest feel-bad movie of the year.

"Tech magnates have said that licensing the material they want to use to train their LLMs would be prohibitively expensive, so they would prefer simply to steal it, thanks. To this the Copyright Office has, apparently, said Uh, not so fast guys."

Opinion | A dangerous plan to ‘win’ the AI race is circulating Congress might release AI from state laws. Why put Americans at risk?

"The proposed moratorium on state AI policymaking would be far worse than Congress’s inaction....States play an essential role in AI regulation — eliminating that will leave Americans more exposed to risks and with fewer avenues to influence AI policies." www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind. Be kind.

I cannot remember what I did last week but distinctly recall every slice of NYC pizza I ever had, and we were only ever there because of my dad. You are setting your kid up for some great memories!