Pluralistic: AI is how bosses wage war on "professions" (20 Jan 2026)

Today's links

AI is how bosses wage war on "professions": The only people *required* to tell their bosses to fuck off.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Enshittification v VC; Byrne v DRM; Forger does it for the exposure; Beach trash hotel; Mafia nicknames; Longbow puzzle; NIMBYs; No one should be on the No-Fly list.
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 world without people: AI is a promise to wire the boss's toy steering wheel directly into the company's drive-train.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Adding exclusive rights make economies weaker; Bloggers after the collapse; Why the media can't figure out Wikipedia; Who are these sf legends?; Anne Frank is in the public domain; Hollywood's MP in Canada; Piketty on Piketty; Vanilla ISIS; India throws out Facebook's astroturf emails; Google unionizes; "The Data Detective"; Breaking Apple ][+ DRM.
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.

Break up bad companies; replace bad union bosses: Labor should be fixed, capital should be vanquished.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Star Island"; "Mediactive"; Afraid of solar; Well-Armed Peasants; Dumpster fire exits; Wikipedia v Brittanica; Pentagon v Quakers; Stealing whole houses; "Situation Normal."
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.

Big Tech joins the race to build the world's heaviest airplane: Die as Microsoft, or live to become the IBM you overthrew.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Bean-sprouting keyboard; Ink rant; FBI wanted to deport John Lennon; "Concrete Park"; Plutocratic lane-changes.
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 Reverse Centaur’s Guide to Criticizing AI: My speech for U Washington's Neuroscience, AI and Society lecture series.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Pac Man ghost algorithms; The US wrote Spain's copyright law; Illinois makes prisoners rent their cells; "Urban Transport Without the Hot Air"; "Ministry for the Future": Canada sues Google; In defense of 230; NYPD racist murder postmortem; Student debt trap; "That makes me smart."
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 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.

When AI prophecy fails: Hating workers is a hell of a drug.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: SCOTUS lets the FBI kidnap Americans; Inequality perverts justice; Free the McFlurry!
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.

Raymond Biesinger's "9 Times My Work Has Been Ripped Off": A self-defense guide for creative workers.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Gingerbread Phantom Manor; Orwell estate censors 1984; The Abbadon; Ferris wheel fine dining.
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.