Brian Levine

Back in college, I took an intro to programming course. The final exam was to write a program. I forget what it needed to do. But I vividly remember that we had to write it by hand on paper. No computers. That seems insane now. And it wasn't that long ago.

It's October of 2026 and I'm still seeing people say that AI is useless because it's just a next token predictor. Have all the criticism you want. But if you haven't noticed what kind of things a "next token predictor" is capable of given the right harness, then you're not paying attention.

A lot of folks who thought the internet was a waste of time are now buying shit off Amazon dot com multiple times a week. You're not gonna get left behind. You'll just feel a little silly. (I say this as someone who does not shop on Amazon dot com. The point stands.)

Capitalist Koan: If the needle moves and management doesn't see a dashboard with the metrics, do we still increase shareholder value?

This morning, the D&D team and Magic's Studio X informed our leadership of our intent to unionize. We love the games we make and the work we do, and unionizing is how we protect that work. unitedwizardsofthecoast.com/news/dnd-stu...

I can't imagine wanting to hand my brain functions to a robot. I can't imagine it, because I can't use that part of my brain anymore. This is fucking awesome, you guys. Everything smells like toast.

Sometimes I'm just thankful that you're all robots.

Capitalism is a prison that we could collectively imagine ourselves out of if so many people weren't busy trying to become the warden.

Today is a Meathook Seed kinda day.

Pay an artist this week.

Hot take: Jev is pretty cool.

Gen is amazing to work with. Highly recommend.

We don't need to all act like a bunch of unpaid social critics. You can just live your life.

Say what you want about whether it's "really Sleep" or not, but I think Hempispheres is a great album.

It's all true.

Sometimes I get really annoyed with Claude's voice. The tone and the verbosity. Super aggravating. Then I remember how annoying some people are.

The difference between how people sound when they talk about Joy Division and how Joy Division sounds led me to believe for many years that there were two bands called Joy Division and I’d only ever heard the boring shitty one.

Technology was a mistake. We should have stopped at fire.

When Master Shake said "I am 30 or 40 years old and I do not need this" I really felt that.

The vibes on the internet used to be fun. I don't know if people remember that or can even imagine that.

Anyone have any opinions about AI? Just curious.

A creature wearing a woman's body becomes a lonely man's girlfriend, but the woman suit and his interest start to rot... "Not Like Other Girls" by @ghoulpus.bsky.social is out now at Reactor! Art by A.W. Sommers Edited by @annvandermeer.bsky.social

Like the moon, I have also seen better days.

I am tired of nuance and "grey areas" and all that crap.

The world is a rich tapestry of the worst people you can imagine.

Is solipsism real? Impossible to know for sure.

Seems like a lot of the tech drama still happens over on X, the Everything App. Good.

Communism is when you provide services to the constituents whose taxes pay your salary.

What's even the point of stuff, you know?

A lot of AI "analysis", both for and against, are best read as fantasy stories. They're fun. Some of them are compelling and thought provoking. Sometimes we cheer and sometimes we boo. There are protagonists and antagonists. But most of it is fiction and we should accept that.

Me reaping: "Well this fucking sucks. What the fuck?" Me sowing: "Well this fucking sucks, too. What the fuck?"

Facts of Life melody: “You take the good / You take the bad / You add them up / It’s mostly bad”

Just want to be clear that I'm not making fun of AI. I'm making fun of companies and capitalism. And probably you.

This just in. AI company says the best way to do your job is to use AI at all times for everything, consuming tokens around the clock. Guess that's what we have to do. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

This week's Bad Job Bingo is one of my favorites. Good lines, good rants, and good analysis, as usual. You won't regret subscribing.

"This AI art isn't real!" Surprise, assholes. Nothing is real.

My 3-year old asked me, “Daddy? Why does the sky taste sad?” I looked down at his sweet little face. All plump cheeks and bright, inquisitive eyes. So many eyes. Then my wife walked in and asked why I was crying and talking to the trash can. We don’t have kids. Weed didn’t used to be this strong.

There should be more public art. In general, and everywhere. Sculptures, music, poetry readings, you name it. In cities and suburbs and along highways and footpaths. And we should pay for it all with our taxes.

Every developer should volunteer for a non-profit on the side these days. There’s unlimited things to do, a magic tool for your knowledge that accomplishes things in minutes, and you learn a *ton* about a huge undervalued chunk of the world.