Simon Peng

Having lots of thoughts about the big conservative win in BC of all places, but to me the biggest takeaway is that we simply cannot expect status-quo centrist politics to be viable anymore. People want change, and if destructive change is the only option presented, that’s what they’ll take. 🇨🇦🔥🙈

I liked how the sunlight was peeking out from behind this church and decided to take a photo of it. A few seconds later I watched a man exit a neighbouring church, back himself against the wall, take a big wet dump on the wall, then go back inside. So that kind of ruined this nice picture for me. 🙏

I am becoming incredibly exhausted of this pattern: many people: "AI sucks!" Very Smart Person: ah but have you considered (distinct application of ML or statistical modeling that has no real relationship to what the tech industry is marketing as, and people broadly perceive as, "AI")

For the record: NOPE. Honestly, I don’t think there’s an issue today I care about on a personal level more deeply than trans rights. And it’s rough out there right now. Bigots on one side of the political aisle and too many cowards on the other. ⬇️

The crazy thing about never using AI is how I don’t feel like I’m withholding it from myself because of a belief. It’s nothing like being vegan or not using Amazon. It’s just so completely unnecessary, I don’t think about it. And this is the world changing tech we all need to be brace for?

These companies, and the tech oligarchs leading them, are completely out of control. The Carney government is committing a grave error by embracing corporate generative AI with no controls, regulation, or red lines whatsoever.

This quote feels more and more important to internalize as every day passes. "Corporations are not moral actors. They’re self-interested, immortal vampires - parasites that thrive on moving as much money from your pocket to theirs. ... https://simonpeng.net/2026/07/16/this-quote-feels-more-and.html

On the self-limiting beliefs of Canadian politics: https://simonpeng.net/2026/07/16/on-the-selflimiting-beliefs-of.html

What is the point of Adobe creating a customizable user interface if they are going to re-open their stupid generative AI tabs every time you launch the application? I have saved over my InDesign workspace so many times, and “generate” always comes back. It’s annoying and gross and unsurprising.

Carney assures Canadians that AI the fastest way to give all our money to US billionaires

An Open Letter to Hamilton Centre MP Aslam Rana re: the Government's "AI for All" Policy Announcement: https://simonpeng.net/2026/06/04/an-open-letter-to-hamilton.html

I have a lot of half-formed thoughts about Canada’s new “AI for All” policy but for now I can’t help but note how inevitability is baked into every pillar. Nowhere are consent, choices or alternatives made a focus of the policy. It’s happening whether you like it or not. The liberals have bought in.

It seems like only people who stand to profit from data centres think building data centres is a good idea. 🤔🤔🤔 #ai #hamont

I emailed my MP @aslamrana.bsky.social asking him to support this bill. He has never responded to any of my emails, this included, but I hope he does support it. It’s a simple, easy way to signal support for the working people he represents in Hamilton.

i’m already pretty cynical about canadian politics but i have to imagine it must be pretty disillusioning for people who aren’t to see all these liberal politicians and talking heads do such a big 180 on their climate rhetoric (not to mention actions) in such a short period of time

“AI is just a tool” says tech mogul who is just a tool

Patreon really can’t stop trying to enshittify. I love the IDEA of improving discoverability, but the shape it’s taking really makes me feel like one day you’ll struggle to see posts from people you follow (remember how YouTube subscriptions used to work?)

I’ve been tinkering with an old soviet “AGAT 18” half-frame film camera. The first roll had some issues, mostly with me not understanding how to focus properly, but one of the best pictures I got out of it was of the moon through my telescope!

It seems like the big AI revolution is just making automated phone systems worse? How does having fake typing and room sound make dealing with a robot that can’t understand my last name any more “user friendly?” There’s a real dishonesty to these systems that is maddening.

Artemis II was amazing!!! But most of us (most of everyone ever) will never have the chance to see what they saw with our own eyes. But you actually can see the moon in an amazing amount of detail with a pretty cheap telescope, and it is more impactful than just looking at pictures.

Lesson from this and the NW clause for labour rights: Doug really does care what people think about him. When a story lands and the optics are bad, he hits undo. Unfortunately, so much of the damage he does goes unnoticed. #onpoli

A good reminder to go tell the Canadian government to do something about those bright headlights blinding people who drive at night.

Council Quote of the Week (nothing will top this) Gage Park basketball court scheduled to be build by 2051. They will be age 41 in 2051, noted two teenagers to City Council, adding that will probably be more concerned about back pain than playing basketball by the time the court is built. #yhmcc

“AI for all” is an empty marketing phrase that serious, informed leaders would never, ever utter (And “more rewarding”? Don’t insult my intelligence). It tells us that the person saying it — in this case, Mark Carney — is either ignorant, a sucker, or simply dishonest. bsky.app/profile/saro...

I don’t often feel simple patriotism. It’s not something I really understand. But I’ll be honest, seeing a Canadian on his way to the moon fills me with a really simple kind of pride. 🇨🇦🚀🌕

Finished reading: There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm 📚 This book was a real blast. It was a fun mix of heady, sci-fi thought experiments and some more pulpy fun. It helped that it didn’t overstay its welcome, too. A differ... https://simonpeng.net/2026/04/03/finished-reading-there-is-no.html

Here’s a blog post I wrote for work: It’s okay if you have an ugly logo. My hot-take as a designer is that aesthetics in branding really aren’t as important as the people behind the brand really owning how they look and speak. If that looks janky or naive, often that’s completely fine.

ChatGPT starting to think human it talking to might be sentient

Some surprisingly good news coming from home. Ontario’s Court of Appeal upholds our city’s rejection of a bigoted ad on public transit. The older I get, the more naïve I find free-speech absolutism. I like living in a country that recognizes that we shouldn’t give hate speech a pass. Feels good.

I think by this point we’re used to any and all AI features being opt-out or impossible to disable. So imagine my surprise when I looked at Microsoft’s privacy settings to see the one feature they make opt-in is making AI slop more easily identifiable! Devious, nasty design all the way down.

Just finished reading: Empire of AI: Dreams and Nightmares in Sam Altman’s OpenAI by Karen Hao. This book is so dense and leaves me with so many different thoughts about the AI industry. My biggest takeaways right now: OpenAI ... https://simonpeng.net/2026/03/05/just-finished-reading-empire-of.html

Picture from a quick trip outside last night. It’s amazing to me how the moon is so constant and highly photographed, and yet it’s still so awe inspiring to observe. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of looking at this guy, through a telescope or with the naked eye. Puts things in perspective. 🔭

My latest newsletter, in which I talk about MAiD and addiction epidemics to try to make the point that new, better ideas rarely have a chance in government, and that’s literally killing us. This one’s maybe my most depressing piece to date, but it feels important to discuss.

If your compassion for people is limited to the extent of your patience, then I don’t think you were ever actually feeling compassion. You shouldn’t be able to be annoyed out of seeing someone’s humanity.

I am a luddite and to me there is a lot of joy in technology. In technology that we deploy for all our wellbeing. Solar panels and vaccines, high-speed rail and wikipedia. But they joy stems from the feeling of being able to be part of humanity in an embedded, meaningful way. Not from buying shit.

A lot of shit has me pretty riled up right now so let’s stop and smell the roses for once and everyone appreciate my great new (old) clock I got for my studio. ⏰

Cool, guess I’m gonna be moving my “get the fuck off substack” to-do way up the list. This is actually very helpful motivation to finish up the transition and pull the plug.

This stupid joke doesn’t work on my website because I use a font that doesn’t have ambiguous characters. Isn’t accessible design fun?! 🤷

I have been feeling really bad for people named Al in the age of AI and ambiguous characters. 😔

I feel like my hot take of the year is that, after avoiding updating for a while, I actually kind of like the whole Liquid Glass thing in iOS. It’s a bit cheesy and goofy and not always functional but isn’t that what used to make tech fun? It feels oddly retro and I’m digging it.

I posted yesterday about how Adobe had randomly shoved generative AI shit into my custom workspace layout, which I promptly closed. But surprise, when I opened InDesign today this bullshit was back! Has there ever been a feature forced into people’s faces against their will as much as AI?

Gonna need to really try not to get a big head now… I’m assuming YouTube mails you a plaque for all milestones, right?

The best purchasing decision I made in 2025 was getting this tiny box of banana stickers. They have never let me down and there’s so much joy to be found in sticking bananas to things. 🍌