Pluralistic: A tale of three customer service chatbots (12 Nov 2025)

Today's links

A tale of three customer service chatbots: Two were worse than useless, one betrayed its masters.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: General strike; We won't fly; Green tea doesn't promote weight-loss.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

"Flexible labor" is a euphemism for "derisking capital": It's a zero-sum game.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Corrupt CDs; 10,000 wax cylinders; EU wants copyright on links; Sony rootkit; Humbling math-papers; Chelsea Manning on Aaron Swartz; "Boundless Realms."
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The enshittification of labor: Pavlina Tcherneva, getting her peanut butter in my chocolate.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 3D printing with tape-guns; TPP is the worst; HP ends customers' lives.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The 40-year economic mistake that let Google conquer (and enshittify) the world: If reality doesn't fit the theory, ignore reality.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: The Master Switch; Dueling useless machines; Chrome delists Symantec; Someone tried to buy the UK; "Made to Kill"; #Audiblegate; Sony lies about de-rootkitifier; “Aurora”; Bluesky and enshittification; Polostan; New Zealand's 3 strikes law; Open Kinekt drivers; Co-op platforms vs Uber; Chelsea Manning's surveillance reform bill.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Checking in on the state of Amazon's chickenized reverse-centaurs: When your shitty boss is a shitty app and you're not even allowed to call yourself an employee.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Correcting the Disneyland Railroad's Morse code; Breathalyzer source-code; Teaching Little Brother to math students; Arson attacks on Ferguson's Black churches; Tom Lehrer in the public domain.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

Microsoft, Tear Down That Wall! What the Eurostack is missing.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Giga pudding; What Technology Wants; Blue Screens of Death; Bernie outperforming Obama; DRM in JPEGs; Dirty words are politically potent; Fury Road 8-bit side-scroller; History of web auth; Prop 22 is a scam.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

The curious, intertwined history of climate and digital rights activism: It's going much [better|worse] than expected.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Bricked EVs; Cross-stitched tracert.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

A disenshittification moment from the land of mass storage: Score one for the good guys.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Douglas Copeland's depressing 10-year outlook; Unicorn poop; The brainwashing grift.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.

They're just trying to earn a buck: No, they're taking what they can get.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Milk jug Storm Trooper; HIV-positive muppet; Optimal copyright; EU v NSA; Pig bomb; Maine's disgraceful public defenders; Google Reader launches; Bill Gates hates Blu-Ray; NYPD steals Black woman's BMW and puts her in a mental institution; Baby flask; Zombie mouth cupcakes.
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
Recent appearances: Where I've been.
Latest books: You keep readin' em, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Upcoming books: Like I said, I'll keep writin' 'em.
Colophon: All the rest.