ali alkhatib

hello, i'm about to send out the email for the first week of reading Hyperscale by @parismarx.com if you haven't got the book yet, you still have time to buy it - this week we'll be reading the introduction & chapter 1, so it'll be a pretty low-key week of reading.

if you want to join the reading group and get the email coming out today in an hour or two, you can join here:

watching a second video about flock this weekend. if someone wants to get a third video out you have a few hours to throw something together

i have 2 questions that i don't see often (& would be grateful for pointers/links) 1. i'd really like to know how solid a grasp teachers have on the policies of systems they're uploading content to. specifically, what are the privacy policies of whatever image generator you're uploading kids' pics

i know kids make collages where they'll cut out a picture of their face and put it on someone else's body and that's not like sending them spiraling, but i think looking at a pic of your face sloppily pasted on schwarzenegger's body is different from seeing a photorealistic pic of yourself aged up.

i have 2 questions that i don't see often (& would be grateful for pointers/links) 1. i'd really like to know how solid a grasp teachers have on the policies of systems they're uploading content to. specifically, what are the privacy policies of whatever image generator you're uploading kids' pics

2. my anecdotal sense is that seeing a picture of yourself substantially digitally altered can be alienating. i don't know very much about research on how it affects or (e.g. maybe desensitizes) kids to see a pic of themselves digitally altered or generated, and i'd like to have more than intuition.

i have 2 questions that i don't see often (& would be grateful for pointers/links) 1. i'd really like to know how solid a grasp teachers have on the policies of systems they're uploading content to. specifically, what are the privacy policies of whatever image generator you're uploading kids' pics

seeing an ad about how we spend billions to underwrite israel's genocide and how that's impacting us in the grocery store is effective, and i don't mean to diminish it; but it makes me feel like i will not live to see a day when we call it wrong not because it's a racket, but because it's genocide.

a lot of classics in here

a lot of classics in here

amazingly good video, and of course hoots has read Health Communism.

I'm writing this week's "AI Skeptics Reading Group" post, but the gist is: This week (... sorta), we're starting _Hyperscale: The Ambition and Excess of Big Tech's Data Empires_ by @parismarx.com. I'm super excited. Preorder/order/do-whatever-you-gotta-do to get prepared to start reading this week

The book actually comes out tomorrow, so for now, just focus on getting a copy. Leaf through, maybe read the introduction, think about stuff. We'll start in earnest next week.

don't have time to offer much commentary but here's this thing

how are matt bernstein's eyes so blue? what are they doing? is it lighting? are they wearing special contacts? it's baffling me. i'm sorry, i'll go back to watching the video.

ok more substantively @mattxiv.bsky.social is 100% correct about "this is a family issue" and 100% 100% grateful for their connection to the health fascism discourse a few weeks ago. i'm so glad they're making the self-discipline point. don't engage in in-fighting in front of your fucking enemies!