For reasons outside the scope of this note, I have been reading Scott Aaronson's Quantum Computing Since Democritus for the first time since it was originally published. ...
Recently, I read a short article from Iris Meredith about rethinking how we teach programming. It's a pretty solid piece of work all around, and it has got me thinking how to further build on her ideas. ...
Well, it seems the AI bubble’s nearing its end - the Financial Times has reported a recent dive in tech stocks, the mass media has fully soured on AI, and there’s murmurs that the hucksters are pivoting to quantum. ...
Recently, I ended up re-reading James Allen-Robertson’s “Devs and the Culture of Tech”, a five-part deep dive into the sci-fi miniseries Devs, and its critiques of the tech industry on a structural level. ...
It’s pretty much a given that we’re in for an AI winter once this bubble bursts - the only thing we can argue on at this point is exactly how everything will shake out. So, let’s beat this dead horse and make some random predictions before it inevitably gets sent to the glue factory. I’ve hardly got anything better to ...
Recently, I found myself ruminating on the general lack of AI slop over on Newgrounds (a site I use rather heavily, and have been since I joined in 2023). The only major case I've seen in recent memory was an influx of vibe-coded shovelware I saw last month. ...
I have written a thousand iterations of this story. Including poems, short stories in different genres just exploring the same theme. I have settled with this simplistic version finally, although I'm happy with the idea behind it I'm still not haply with the execution. ...
if you ever wonder how I write Pivot, it's a bit like this. The thing below is not a written text, it's a script for me to simulate spontaneity, so don't worry about the grammar or wording. But how are the ideas? And what have I missed? ...
MoreWrite preface: I wanted to get this out of my system and now that I've written it, I'm not sure if I want to post it anywhere else. Due to the sneer-like attitude of it I seem to have ended up writing it with the imagined audience of awful.systems readers, but since it's not really about anything rationalist or techbro ...
It's been a good minute since I took a shot at predicting how the AI bubble (and its burst) is gonna play out. This is less a dedicated post and more a compilation of the bajillion thoughts I've had about this. ...
I just published this on our new WriteFreely instance. It's a write-directly-into-the-cms-and-hit-publish job that took an hour. It's about the difference between the purpose of a thing and the purpose of the ux designers who work on that thing. ...
So, after the Routledge thing, I got to wondering. I've had experience with a few noble projects that fizzled for lacking a clear goal, or at least a clear breathing point where we could say, "Having done this, we're in a good place. Stage One complete." And a project driven by volunteer idealism — the usual mix of spite and ...
Whilst going through MAIHT3K's backlog, I ended up running across a neat little article theorising on the possible aftermath which left me wondering precisely what the main "residue", so to speak, would be. ...
Book Review: *Quantum Computing Since Democritus* by Scott Aaronson
For reasons outside the scope of this note, I have been reading Scott Aaronson's Quantum Computing Since Democritus for the first time since it was originally published. ...
QaD's: The Quantum Resistance ( awful.systems )
(This is an expanded version of a comment I made, which I've linked above.) ...
A Couple More Predictions about the Next AI Winter
It’s been a couple of weeks since my last set of predictions on the AI winter. I’ve found myself making a couple more. ...
Further rethinking how we teach people to code ( deadsimpletech.com )
Recently, I read a short article from Iris Meredith about rethinking how we teach programming. It's a pretty solid piece of work all around, and it has got me thinking how to further build on her ideas. ...
QaD's: The Next Tech Bubble
Well, it seems the AI bubble’s nearing its end - the Financial Times has reported a recent dive in tech stocks, the mass media has fully soured on AI, and there’s murmurs that the hucksters are pivoting to quantum. ...
A Mini-Essay on Tech's Future Prospects
(This is a mega-expanded version of a stubsack comment: ...
Some Quick-and-Dirty Thoughts on Technological Determinism ( unserious.substack.com )
Recently, I ended up re-reading James Allen-Robertson’s “Devs and the Culture of Tech”, a five-part deep dive into the sci-fi miniseries Devs, and its critiques of the tech industry on a structural level. ...
Some Off-The-Cuff Predictions about the Next AI Winter
It’s pretty much a given that we’re in for an AI winter once this bubble bursts - the only thing we can argue on at this point is exactly how everything will shake out. So, let’s beat this dead horse and make some random predictions before it inevitably gets sent to the glue factory. I’ve hardly got anything better to ...
System 3
This is a rough excerpt from a quintet of essays I've intended to write for a ...
A Mini-Essay on Newgrounds' Resistance to AI Slop
Recently, I found myself ruminating on the general lack of AI slop over on Newgrounds (a site I use rather heavily, and have been since I joined in 2023). The only major case I've seen in recent memory was an influx of vibe-coded shovelware I saw last month. ...
(OC) Visions of Nada ( open.substack.com )
I have written a thousand iterations of this story. Including poems, short stories in different genres just exploring the same theme. I have settled with this simplistic version finally, although I'm happy with the idea behind it I'm still not haply with the execution. ...
draft Pivot: "AI is here to stay"
if you ever wonder how I write Pivot, it's a bit like this. The thing below is not a written text, it's a script for me to simulate spontaneity, so don't worry about the grammar or wording. But how are the ideas? And what have I missed? ...
The Curtains Were Ebony Black with Purple Streaks and Red Tips
MoreWrite preface: I wanted to get this out of my system and now that I've written it, I'm not sure if I want to post it anywhere else. Due to the sneer-like attitude of it I seem to have ended up writing it with the imagined audience of awful.systems readers, but since it's not really about anything rationalist or techbro ...
Some More Quick-and-Dirty Thoughts on AI's Future ( awful.systems )
(No clue why I didn't get around to this earlier, I've had this in drafts for too long.) ...
I toured the future of birth. ( substack.com )
Would love any and all critique.
How I make the Pivot to AI YouTube videos [final version] ( pivot-to-ai.com )
Draft post on my youtubing set up, seeking comment
I wrote this and I want to know what else someone would want to know, if I'm dead wrong on any of it, etc. ...
Some More Off-The-Cuff Predictions about the AI Bubble ( awful.systems )
It's been a good minute since I took a shot at predicting how the AI bubble (and its burst) is gonna play out. This is less a dedicated post and more a compilation of the bajillion thoughts I've had about this. ...
Some Off-The-Cuff Predictions on Trump's Presidency
Well, Trump's got elected, I'm deeply peeved about the future, and I need to feel like I can see the future coming. ...
The incongruence of the designed and the designer ( gibberish.awful.systems )
I just published this on our new WriteFreely instance. It's a write-directly-into-the-cms-and-hit-publish job that took an hour. It's about the difference between the purpose of a thing and the purpose of the ux designers who work on that thing. ...
On Toxic Productivity
On Toxic Productivity ...
Some Quick-and-Dirty Thoughts on the Character.ai lawsuit
(This is an expanded version of two of my comments [Comment A, Comment B] - go and read those if you want) ...
Harmonice Mundi Books: An idea for an ethical academic publisher
So, after the Routledge thing, I got to wondering. I've had experience with a few noble projects that fizzled for lacking a clear goal, or at least a clear breathing point where we could say, "Having done this, we're in a good place. Stage One complete." And a project driven by volunteer idealism — the usual mix of spite and ...
Some Quick-and-Dirty Thoughts on AI's Future ( awful.systems )
(This is basically an expanded version of a comment on the weekly Stubsack - I've linked it above for convenience's sake.) ...
Some Thoughts On "The Grimy Residue of the AI Bubble" ( buttondown.email )
Whilst going through MAIHT3K's backlog, I ended up running across a neat little article theorising on the possible aftermath which left me wondering precisely what the main "residue", so to speak, would be. ...