Pluralistic: Scrutinized (05 Oct 2026)

Today's links

Scrutinized: Pervert glasses vs the authentic self.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: DRM-free in the UK; Maple-leaf roses; Italian Wikipedia shuts down; Vancouver's property speculator tax works; Ex-Soviet leftists launch "September"; "The Every"; Nielsen x Chinese internet; Get-a-cluevog; Cat EULA; Heart carafe; Millennials screwed; Apple's unlawful evil.
Upcoming appearances: Virtual, South Bend, Hudson, Calgary, Winnipeg, Paris, OVancouver, Victoria, Ottawa, Kilkenny, Oxford, Montreal.
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.

Private-sector Trumpism: Monopoly, facial recognition and property rights all add up to a private system of government.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 2010, 2020, 2024
Upcoming appearances: Where to find me.
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.

Hypothetical AI election disinformation risks vs real AI harms: And those real AI harms are priming people to believe disinformation.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2009, 2014, 2019, 2023
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Podcasting "How To Think About Scraping": How to preserve the benefits of web-scraping while targeting the real harms.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Kashmir Hill's "Your Face Belongs to Us": A candid, whistleblower-informed history of Clearview AI.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
This day in history: 2003, 2008, 2013, 2018, 2022
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Laura Poitras fired from First Look: She says it's because she spoke out on Reality Winner.
Kickstarting a pad of "Tiny Paper Dungeons": Procedural paper adventures for your pocket.
Facebook says it's the best henhouse fox: Only we can stop Qanon.
I was investigated by the FBI: It took 20 years!
Yugoslavia's Cold War obsession with Mexican music: Nonaligned Yumex gave us Celovečernji the Kid.
Machine learning is a honeypot for phrenologists: "AI" researchers just can't put away the fucking calipers.
Disneyland kills annual passes: No more Disney at a stroll.
Tesla's valuation is 1600x its profitability: Finacialization, in green and white.
This day in history: 2006, 2016, 2020
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

Email sabbaticals: I'm going offline until next year.
Chaos Communications Congress: Finally a way to do CCC without making your family furious.
Landmark US financial transparency law: Beginning of the end for the US onshore-offshore industry.
Rogues' Galleries and facial recognition: Self-fulfilling prophecies at the core of white supremacist policing.
Jan 1 is Public Domain Day for 1925: Gatsby, Dalloway, Buster Keaton, Ma Rainey, et al.
This day in history: 2010, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming/recent appearances, current writing projects, current reading

IDing anonymized cops with facial recognition: Privacy for the powerless, transparency for the powerful.
ENDSARS: Global protests over Nigeria's murdering special police.
Companies target robots in disclosures: Sentiment analysis is finally useful for something.
US border cruelty, powered by Google cloud: IBM at Auschwitz.
Free the law of Wisconsin: Carl Malamud wants you to read Wisconsin's jury instructions.
This day in history: 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading

AI, 1A and Citizens United: The lawyer behind Citizens United wants to legalize Clearview AI.
James Ball's "The System": My review of a superb new book that surfaces the invisible infrastructure underpinning our digital world.
Canadian SFF Hall of Fame induction: Today at 4PM Pacific.
This day in history: 2005, 2015, 2019
Colophon: Recent publications, upcoming appearances, current writing projects, current reading