Pluralistic: Rights for robots (15 Apr 2026)

Today's links

Rights for robots: Not everything deserves moral consideration.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: 7 years under the DMCA; NOLA mayoral candidate x New Orleans Square; Kettling is illegal; AOL won't deliver critical emails; Chris Ware x Charlie Brown; Mossack Fonseca raided; Corporate lobbying budget is greater than Senate and House; Corbyn overpays taxes; What IP means; Bill Gates v humanity; "Jackpot."
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

In praise of (some) compartmentalization: Go with the flow (mostly).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Multitasking teens; Copyrighted dirt; NZ internet disconnection x CHCH quake; Hubble cake; Churchill's booze Rx; Fraud-resistant election tech.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Austerity creates fascism: We can't afford to not afford nice things.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: The Server of Amontillado; Flapper's Dictionary; Mastercard v rec.humor.funny; Philippines electoral data breach; A front page from the Trump presidency; Spike Lee x Bernie Sanders; France v password hashing; Algorithms as Central European folk-dances; Save Comcast; Lex Luthor v export controls; Zuckerberg in the dock.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Don't Be Evil: Evil genius is just a lack of shame.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: FBI x Trotsky; Jakob Nielsen x headlines; Floppy disk stained glass; Zero tolerance for mismatched socks; EFF v DOGE.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Canny Valley and Creative Commons: Another bite at the apple.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Bidenomics needs to be bigger; Al Franken's balanced war budget; Bernie x The Pope; Art is a money-laundry; UK government condemns copyright trolls; Howard Dean's genocidal pharma sellout.
Upcoming appearances: Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Cindy Cohn's "Privacy's Defender": The history of digital rights, from the very beginning to this very moment.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Tariffs and monopolies; Paperclip dodecahedron; Class war comix; Glenn Beck's brain; Iceland v Pirates; Dashers v apps; Leaked NYPD goon squad manual.
Upcoming appearances: Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Process knowledge: We also serve who stand and wash.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Chicken Little; "Anya's Ghost"; Ad-tech's algorithmic cruelty.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Switzerland's Goldilocks fiber: Public provision is a layered question.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: EU appoints henhouse fox (copyright); Emacs x Tron: Legacy; Spammer v dead man's AOL account; Scott Walker's pork fountain; "No toilets, try Amazon"; Iceland falls (x Panama Papers); Rooms in Milanese sewers; China bans Panama Papers; "Parent Hacks"; "The Nameless City"; Phishing the world's top breach expert.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

Your boss wants to use surveillance data to cut your wages: Tech rights are labor rights (again).
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: Arthur C Clarke v Buddhist monks (x DST); Bomb squad v life-size Mario power-ups; Panama Papers; Chinese antitrust; Consumerism v New Jim Crow; Absurd English spelling; Save Netflix! David Cameron's dad v Panama Papers; Trick photos with a giant coin; End-stage capitalism.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.

EU ready to cave to Trump on tech: Surrendermonkeys ahoy.
Hey look at this: Delights to delectate.
Object permanence: "Among a Thousand Fireflies"; "fiscal" not "physical"; Ontario's pusher premiere can't distribute vaccines; You need your head examined (if you trust an AI therapist); Women tell Pence about their periods; Zombie economy and digital arm-breakers; The trouble with tariffs.
Upcoming appearances: Toronto, Montreal, Toronto, San Francisco, London, Berlin, NYC, Hay-on-Wye, London.
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.