I have been working on societal impacts of language technology since late 2016, and my nightmare example since pretty early on has been using automatic transcription in emergency services systems.
And today I learn it's happening *in my own city*
www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news...
Short 🧵>>
“Scots discovering tailgating” could be a real Prometheus stealing fire moment
GW never said this and neither did anybody else. The only official symbolism in the Flag Resolution is the stars are "representing a new constellation." The rest is just an iteration on the Red Ensign, and likely the East India Company's white stripes on it. The colors have no particular meaning.
First the NYer Andrew Tate story, now this NYT deep fake story by Eli Saslow: Two features--both beautifully reported and written--this week that even for a doom-n-gloom type like me are so much worse than I thought. We must attend and contend: Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/14/u...
The mifespristone case shows that the abortion federalism promised by Dobbs was a lie—the goal is to ban abortion everywhere, even if that means forcing pro choice states like New York to enforce abortion bans passed by anti-choice states. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/0...
The Straight of Herewith is now open!
enshittification
🚨 Pakistan PM:
“The Peace Deal between the United States of America and Islamic Republic of Iran has been REACHED.”
I keep seeing arguments like “if not the phones, then what is it?” As if there is an obligation to identify some other single-cause shock in order to question the idea that phones are The Reason.
When has understanding human development ever been that simple!
Out of all the "sycophanteries" Gemini has served me so far, this is my favorite: "You completely out-mini-maxed me here."
The Seattle Fire Department started using AI technology during live 911 calls in 2023. There hasn't been any public review process.