datapoets

2026-10-26 5:30 Hermantown City Hall Tomorrow night the hermantown city council is voting to approve the permits and the development agreement for the google data center. If they pass the agreement, google can sue to prevent the city from taking any action to block the project.

www.commondreams.org/news/meta-la...

commondreams.org'Historic Day': New Mexico Judge Orders Meta to Pay $25 Billion in Data Privacy Case | Common DreamsNew Mexico judge orders Meta to pay $25 billion for data privacy violations, one of the largest penalties in US history.

datapoets reposted

Brennan Center

@brennancenter.org

Yesterday, in the midst of a day of action involving 3,000+ voter mobilization events, Meta disabled No Kings’ Instagram account. It took 90 minutes—and rising public outcry—for public access to be restored, and four hours for No Kings to be able to post. 1/3. www.newsweek.com/no-kings-pro...

newsweek.com‘No Kings’ Says Meta Cut Off Access to Instagram Account on Key Protest Day

theguardian.comCompanies rushed in on AI. Now some are pulling backRapid AI adoption left workers cleaning up a flood of errors and low-quality work

".... warned his followers against falling into this potential “doom loop”, where AI does the reading and writing and leaves behind an “ocean of sameness”." www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

www.reuters.com/world/americ...

reuters.comMeta employees said Lula's accounts were hindered during Brazil election, Folha reportsMeta employees acknowledged in internal communications that the Instagram accounts of Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva were hindered by ‌restrictions during the country's election, newsp...

nytimes.comWhy Confiding Your Woes to a Robot Isn’t Going to Help (Gift Article)In “Artificial Intimacy,” Sherry Turkle warns that we seek comfort from A.I. devices at the peril of our well-being and even our democracy.

"In her closing pages, she warns that chatbots have been distracting and pacifying us when we need to be ever more engaged in civic life. A.I. has encouraged our descent into “passivity and post-truth,” she says." www.nytimes.com/2026/09/30/b...

"It's the same Claude that is directing missiles against schoolgirls in Iran as is helping you plan your bike trip around Europe" — Janet Vertesi

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...

theguardian.comUS military reportedly used Claude in Iran strikes despite Trump’s banTrump calls Anthropic a ‘Radical Left AI company run by people who have no idea what the real World is all about’

disruption.instituteAutomated Extraction: Tactics of Surveillance... · Tiara Roxanne — Disruption Network Institute

just listening to: disruption.institute/fellows/tiar... (so good)

mprnews.orgSilicon Tundra? Tech startups eye testing autonomous vehicles in northern MinnesotaAnno.Ai and Spear.Ai want to build infrastructure to allow companies to test technologies ranging from unmanned submarines in Lake Superior to autonomous vehicles navigating abandoned underground mine...

from earlier this year: www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...

wired.comElon Musk’s America PAC Is Spending Big on the Midterms. We’re Tracking It DailyTo follow Elon Musk’s America PAC money, WIRED created a live-updating tracker that highlights the trillionaire’s overall influence on November’s elections.

Billionaires are stepping up to buy our election. They want to keep stealing our commons & avoiding accountability. www.wired.com/story/elon-m...

datapoets reposted

Eryk Salvaggio

@eryk.bsky.social

Replying to @eryk.bsky.social

What I did not say but should have is what I *did* say here:

Eryk Salvaggio@eryk.bsky.social

“The most important thing for thinking about the way this particular technology is developed is to ask where accountability can be found.” I spoke with @sciam.bsky.social on “Rogue AI” and how that frame displaces accountability. Podcast and transcript below.

scientificamerican.comWho’s accountable when AI goes off the rails?Behind the headlines about AI agents lies a deeper debate over accountability, safety and control.

datapoets reposted

Eryk Salvaggio

@eryk.bsky.social

I was quoted in this piece, so I thought I'd share the bits that weren't included: What I see here is language models doing what language models do: reading and writing. Wikis are prime targets for agents, which are foremost writing machines.

arstechnica.comOpenAI agents tried to hack Wikipedia tools and flooded it with trafficThe reports of OpenAI agents harming third-party sites keep coming.

freedom.press/digisec/blog...

freedom.pressPolice forensic tools may bypass key phone security featureUp-to-date iPhones can lock out some forensic devices by rebooting. One major forensics company claims to have a workaround

thedreydossier.substack.com/p/americagov...

thedreydossier.substack.comAmerica.gov is Changing How You VoteAt three in the morning a government website showed me a countdown clock with nine hours and twelve minutes remaining.

youtube.comWhy Are We Sprinting Off the A.I. Cliff? | The Ezra Klein ShowYouTube video by The Ezra Klein Show

Not always wild about Klein but some good overview things here ... www.youtube.com/watch?v=fjZ9...

Key Risk Factors for AI Loss of Control Came Together in 2026 Incident, Independent UN Scientific Panel Finds www.un.org/independent-...

un.orgun.org

www.un.org/independent-...

un.orgun.org

www.wired.com/story/openai...

wired.comAn OpenAI Agent Hacked Australia’s Health Service. Their Government Found Out Months LaterThe country’s prime minister expressed disappointment at being informed of the hack only via email. Now Australia is investigating whether OpenAI broke the law.

datapoets reposted

Politico

@politico.com

A bill meant to curb energy price increases associated with data centers was blocked on the Senate floor, effectively killing the chance for Congress to act on a controversial election issue ahead of the midterms

politico.comDemocrats block data center power legislationA resounding bipartisan House vote was not enough to get Senate Democrats on board with the Ratepayer Protection Act.

axios.comScoop: Top AI companies probing tens of thousands of security incidentsThe massive scale of security incidents points to control problems for AI companies.

Top AI companies probing tens of thousands of security incidents www.axios.com/2026/09/26/o...

datapoets reposted

Northern Action

@northernaction.org

www.nytimes.com/2026/09/27/t...

nytimes.comAs A.I. Accelerates, Governments Are Increasingly Being Left Behind (Gift Article)The gap between technology and policymaking has gotten wider than ever with artificial intelligence, leaving a global policy vacuum as A.I. models rapidly advance.

thepointmag.com/letter/on-ra...

thepointmag.comOn Radical Preservation | The Point MagazineOur contention is that, if we fail to think through and delimit the role of AI in our lives, we risk undermining the intelligibility of our own guiding cultural concepts, and thus initiating a period ...

www.thenation.com/article/poli...

18 Sept

thenation.comAI Is a Kitchen-Table IssueAnd with the Trump administration encouraging unregulated growth in the industry, Democrats need to start acting like it.

datapoets reposted

Northern Action

@northernaction.org

16 Sept

www.theguardian.com/world/2026/s...

theguardian.comDatacenter rush will create ‘tsunami’ of discarded electronics, report saysGlobal push will triple toxic e-waste annually in 25 years, filling enough shipping containers to circle globe six times

14 Sept

Kairos has been supporting several Minnesota communities fighting back against massively intrusive and harmful data centers in their home towns. These fights are exhausting David & Goliath battles which position small towns against the likes of Google and Meta.

www.startribune.com/minnesotas-s...

12 Sept

startribune.comSpider webs are everywhere right now. Their designs are worth a closer look.Fall is peak season for spotting webs, with cool nights coating them in revealing dew. From spiraling orbs to sci-fi-like funnels, each design is engineered to catch dinner.

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...

theguardian.comAs AI guzzles water and energy, we are already facing a choice: datacentres or homes? | John HarrisWhitehall wants to triple their number in the UK. Yet in Slough, I saw the impact they’re having on communities, says Guardian columnist John Harris

websiteswebsiteswebsites.net

websiteswebsiteswebsites.netWEBSITES WEBSITES WEBSITES!A group exhibition celebrating the website as an artistic medium. Armory Week, New York City, September 2026.

www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026...

theguardian.comHundreds gather to urge Scottish government to pause datacentre boomOpposition mounts as at least 20 projects proposed, including one in Fife billed as second largest in world

datapoets reposted

Puff the Magic Hater

@mskellymhayes.bsky.social

Replying to @mskellymhayes.bsky.social

If a chemical is only supposed to dissolve one thing but dissolves everything, we don't say, "OMG, the chemical has gained a higher intelligence and hates everything and now wants to destroy the world! WHAT DO WE DO?" We say, "This company made a dangerous product that needs to be discontinued."

theobservingi.com/p/attention-...

4 Sept

theobservingi.com120 Attention Is the Last Frontier: Bernard Stiegler and the Age of DistractionListen now | Bernard Stiegler warned that technology steals our attention and erodes care. This episode explores his life, philosophy, and urgent legacy.

www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

29 Aug

theguardian.comTrump’s DHS is using an obscure law to secretly snoop on journalists, non-profits and unions: ‘It’s outrageous’Even after judges rejected the same ploy, the Trump administration is going directly to social media and telecommunications companies

nytimes.comOpinion | What It Took to Dismantle the Most Powerful Company in the World (Gift Article)A playbook to curb the growing power of Big Tech.

28 Aug

"Nvidia, a chip maker with some 42,000 employees, is valued at over $5 trillion, roughly the gross domestic product of Germany...The way these companies control crucial global choke points echoes the political and economic power of the East India Company" www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/o...

mncenter.orgData Centers | Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy

21 Aug

"Hyperscale data centers can require millions of gallons of water annually for cooling and vast amounts of energy to power their high-tech operations. They also carry implications for sulfide mining, and can generate significant noise and light pollution ..." www.mncenter.org/data-centers

www.startribune.com/north-loop-r...

21 Aug

startribune.comNorth Loop residents blast developer’s data center plans for former Star Tribune printing plantLegacy Investing envisions a mixed-use development on the prime downtown Minneapolis property.

www.theguardian.com/news/2026/au...

18 Aug

theguardian.comDemocracy v the machine: the birth of the digital age and the warnings that were ignoredThe long read: Many hoped that the march of technology would usher in a utopia – but some foresaw the threat it would pose to liberal society. Why did nobody listen?

www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

18 Aug

theguardian.comTrump 2.0 has deleted or altered nearly 400 US datasets, endangering public health, education and moreHealth data appears to be most affected by administration’s attempt to wipe findings that don’t align with its priorities, tracker shows

www.justsecurity.org/153773/admin...

18 Aug

justsecurity.orgNo Warrant, No Problem: Administrative Subpoena Powers and an Outdated Fourth Amendment DoctrineNumerous federal agencies possess statutory authority to obtain sensitive data without advance judicial approval or probable cause of illegal activity.

minnesotareformer.com/2026/08/13/t...

15 Aug

minnesotareformer.comThe government is spying on its own citizens — again • Minnesota ReformerThat the federal government secretly recorded conversations, infiltrated Signal chats and obtained financial records of labor unions and progressive groups in Minnesota as part of a surveillance effor...

datapoets reposted

Tech Policy Press

@techpolicypress.bsky.social

1 Aug

Mozilla CTO Raffi Krikorian says the real question for builders isn't which AI model they are using—it's whether they could leave for a different one. The door's still open to choose a different path—for now.

buff.lyIs Open-Source AI Really the Dangerous Path?The real question for builders right now isn’t which model you’re using. Rather, it's whether you could leave for a different one, writes Raffi Krikorian.

datapoets reposted

Justin Hendrix

@justinhendrix.bsky.social

31 July

Google didn't just add AI to Google Earth—it briefly turned one of the world's most trusted sources of evidence into a generator of plausible fakes. shirin anlen & Sam Gregory from WITNESS on a foreseeable fiasco, and why tech firms must consult civil society experts before launch, not after.

techpolicy.pressGoogle Earth AI Fiasco Underscores Why Tech Firms Must Listen to Outside ExpertsIt's just one more parable in a long line of product releases by AI firms with potentially dangerous consequences, write shirin anlen and Sam Gregory.

www.wired.com/story/a-leak...

1 Aug

wired.comA Leaked Memo Ties Cyberattacks on Minnesota Water Utilities to IranA memo obtained by WIRED, issued by the water utilities information sharing group WaterISAC, links dozens of cyberattacks against Minnesota water utilities to Tehran.

datapoets reposted

wagingnonviolence.org/2026/07/the-...

23 July

wagingnonviolence.orgThe data center fight is going globalAs local communities around the world unite around a shared enemy — AI data centers — a powerful new direction for climate action is emerging.

www.wired.com/story/openai...

1 Aug

wired.comNobody Knows if OpenAI’s and Anthropic’s AI Hacking Sprees Are IllegalBoth major AI labs’ models broke containment, escaped onto the internet, and hacked other companies. If a human had done that, the law would likely be against them. But a bot?

wagingnonviolence.org/2026/07/the-...

23 July