Upriver Press

#Brazil today managed to overcome a flood of #disinformation spreading on some social media platforms. The same problems occur in the US. The Upriver Press book "Overcoming Information Chaos" is vital reading to promote #medialiteracy. www.upriverpress.com/home/overcom...

In "The New Dark Ages," James Marriott says, “Literacy is one of the substructures of modernity … As #reading fades, I believe that we may find ourselves facing a post-literate future that resembles the pre-literate past: mystical, tribal, and autocratic.” upriverpress.substack.com/p/read-books...

Here's an important academic article that should also apply to book #publishing. "The most important reason to resist the use of #AI in universities is that its outputs are fundamentally bullshit—indeed, strictly speaking, they are meaningless bullshit." link.springer.com/article/10.1...

During a recent visit to Takoma Park, Maryland, we found a great little bookstore called @peoplesbooktakoma.com. Owned by a mom and former educator, it is one of thousands of examples of how bookstores serve local communities. #bookstores #books #reading

Great sentence of the day: "I had stumbled into the digital labyrinth, a veritable Hotel California, and I was just a prisoner of my own device." -- Samuel A.A. Levine, in the @nytimes.com, on coping with #AI customer service bots.

While walking in #Annapolis Maryland recently, near the historic St. Anne's Parish, we came across this written prayer by a parent. May the parent's home be filled with great #books and a culture of deep #reading.

“The visible world turned me curious to books; the books propelled me back to the world.” — Annie Dillard, Living by Fiction Our ode to a great writer. upriverpress.substack.com/p/we-will-mi... #AnnieDillard #reading #books #bookreviews

"Two Wheels Good" reveals that bicycles have been disdained by motorists, idolized by environmentalists, and politicized by rabid partisans. The simple bicycle has the power to bring forth all the beautiful and ugly aspects of human nature. upriverpress.substack.com/p/life-liber... #cycling #books

It's rare to see #journalists who cover #AI report on a basic question: From what sources are the AI companies hoovering up all the data and are they paying for it?

A few decades into the digital age, we are learning the hard way that divisive information can cause social and political polarization. How can we heal those divisions and cultivate healthier, more peaceful communities? This book is a good start! #medialiteracy www.upriverpress.com/home/overcom...

Upriver Press author Luis Garicano, professor at the London School of Economics, recently provided a lecture on his new book "Messy Jobs: The Work That AI Cannot Reach." The lecture offers an overview of the book, which we hope everyone will read. www.youtube.com/live/uqtSXxX... #AI #Work

Recently, a certain political leader argued that we should all change the term #AI to SI, with the latter meaning “superintelligence.” SI might be fine, as long as the S stands for “stolen.” www.upriverpress.com/uprivercurre...

At least one political leader wants to change AI to SI (for superintelligence). We're fine with using SI as long as the S stands for "stolen." #AI #copyrights #intellectualproperty

Editing great books + listening to John Coltrane = joy #publishing #books

Unsealed court documents reveal that "Microsoft employees debated whether what OpenAI was doing represented the 'largest theft of labor in human history.'" @nytimes.com Remember that #AI models are built on troves of confiscated intellectual property. www.nytimes.com/2026/09/17/t...

The #AI companies have landed themselves, and all of us, into a classic "Zugzwang" situation. In chess, a Zugzwang occurs when a player must make a move but only has horrible options. The doomed player begins to see the impending checkmate. See our new word history. upriverpress.substack.com

Looks like the #AI companies, who need revenue but admit the tech they created is extremely dangerous, are in a classic "Zugzwang." That's a chess term for when a player only has bad choices for potential moves.

"What is reading but silent conversation?" -- Walter Landor Which is yet another reason why we need to avoid machine-regurgitated books ... #reading #books

Upriver Press author John Turner (PhD U. of Chicago), in a @whartonschool.bsky.social publication, presents ways for #Congress to reform #socialsecurity. His book "Social Security for Future Generations" can help millions of Americans. pensionresearchcouncil.wharton.upenn.edu/blog/social-...

Today we toured Distillery 291 (winner of international whisky awards) in Colo. Springs. We learned that every bottle label is printed with a 1940s letterpress. Everything at this company is artisan, highly crafted, personal--the antithesis of the AI/Amazon/Google age. #printing

"Laws die, books never." -- Lord Lytton (1803-1873), British literary patron #books #reading #publishing

"Tyranny consists in the desire to dominate everything regardless of order." French scientist and theologian Blaise Pascal in "Pensées" (published 1670) #AI #politics #elections #democracy

The 90-year-old #socialsecurity program could be insolvent in 2033 unless #Congress acts. Our book by economist Dr. John Turner provides practical, economically sound guidance for how to do that. Maybe encourage your representative and senators to read it. www.upriverpress.com/home/social-...

Guy sends us link to a 20-minute podcast with some dudes ranting about moving the US monetary system back to the gold standard. We respond by recommending a scholarly book written by a renowned economist on the history of the monetary system. No response. Keep reading books! #books #reading

Kim Phillips-Fein, professor at Columbia University, wrote an article about potential conflict stemming from America's #inequality in today's @nytimes.com. The Upriver Press book "Inequality by Design" provides tools for a better world ... without conflict. www.upriverpress.com/home/inequal...

If you hear the word “Princeton,” you probably think about that renowned university. But there's also #PrincetonNewJersey, a town with a remarkable history. Upriver Press will release this fall a comprehensive history of the town. www.upriverpress.com/uprivercurre... #princeton #history #newbooks

As #AI companies run roughshod over society while consolidating control over knowledge, data, and intellectual property, this 2003 book provides readers with an overarching history of how companies have defined and redefined their responsibilities to society. upriverpress.substack.com #bookreviews

"In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you." -- Mortimer Adler #books #reading

"For books are not absolutely dead things, but do contain a potency of life in them to be as active as the soul was whose progeny they are." -- John Milton, English poet (1608-1674) #books #reading #publishing

We at Upriver Press never use AI for anything. Not even in personal life. We are all fine. FYI. #AI #work

Upriver Press just moved to a new office in downtown Colorado Springs! The historic Exchange Building, beautifully preserved, was built in 1908. We are not far from the US Olympic Committee HQ and we get to see Pikes Peak every day (14,115 feet).

"Why must we treat all technology as if it were foregone, irresistible, like the weather, rather than a choice we make with eyes wide open? Why can’t we see that blithely shrinking the domain and value of human work shrivels humanity itself?" -- J.R. Moehringer in @nytimes.com August 2, 2026 #AI

In his book "Manipulation," Cass Sunstein shows how our lives are permeated with efforts to manipulate what we buy and believe. This reduces our freedom, costs us a lot of money, and undermines our democracy. New book review here: upriverpress.substack.com/p/our-nightm... #AI #businessethics

Lawsuits against #AI companies are piling up. One case found that #Anthropic had illegally stored a whopping 7 million pirated books to train Claude. We're seeing a massive takeover and consolidation of the world's intellectual property. Chart from Statista.

Book #publishers have filed a lawsuit against Google contending that the company knowingly disregarded intellectual property rights, illegally using troves of books to train #AI models. Anthropic did the same thing. OpenAI and Meta both face lawsuits. AI businesses lack ethics, which hurts society.

Best ever opening sentence to a book's acknowledgements page: "In the best capitalist tradition, this book has been built on the backs of many underpaid and abused workers." (In The Company: A Short History of a Revolutionary Idea, 2003.) #publishing #books

A federal judge just finalized a ruling against #AI company Anthropic for stealing 500,000 #books. The Association of American Publishers called the ruling "an important victory ... hold big tech accountable for its unscrupulous appropriation of intellectual and creative properties." #publishing

There is an important article in @theatlantic.com titled The End of Reading Is Here. Since the TV age started in the 1950s, "The decline of reading seems to be ushering in a less rational ... mode of thinking. It's difficult to see any advantages in that." #medialiteracy #reading #criticalthinking

Social Security faces insolvency in 2032. Members of Congress view #SocialSecurity as the "third rail" of politics, so they delay reforms. Upriver Press authors Dr. John Turner and Serena McCarthy provide three simple ways that #Congress can move forward. www.upriverpress.com/uprivercurrent

These guys don't like it when someone steals their intellectual property, but they have no problem stealing the intellectual property of authors, publishers, musicians, photographers ...

In our AI age of fakery, no one knows what is factual or fake. The US World Cup team, hearing that FIFA allowed a star player to play against Belgium said, “I think a lot of us thought it was AI at first ... We weren’t sure if it was true or not." www.nytimes.com/athletic/742... #AI #medialiteracy

Will #AI take your job? Princeton economist Markus Brunnermeier hosts Luis Garicano (London School of Economics) about his new Upriver Press book "Messy Jobs: The Work That AI Cannot Reach." This book will help you think clearly about the future of #careers. www.youtube.com/watch?v=70Ie...

Our new #bookreview focuses on the photography of Lewis Hine, who documented the 1.7 million children exploited by companies in the early 1900s. A great book published by @princetonupress.bsky.social upriverpress.substack.com/p/revealing-...

The @nytimes.com reports that US #AI companies are upset that Chinese "developers have illicitly leveraged American technology" (i.e., stolen their intellectual property). Funny how the same US companies don't worry about stealing the IP of thousands of #authors and #publishers and #musicians and...

"The love of money and the love of learning rarely meet." -- English metaphysical poet George Herbert (1593-1633) #books #reading #education

There's a vital election coming in November. Media literacy is more important than ever, especially in the age of #AI fakery and manipulation. Here's a book that can help. www.upriverpress.com/home/overcom... #medialiteracy #elections #journalism

"This is simply a must-read book if you are interested in the future of work in the age of AI." -- Alex Imas, director of AGI economics at Google DeepMind. #AI #work #economics www.upriverpress.com/home/messy-j...

Bookstores are helping to reduce loneliness. Sarah Arnold at @parnassusbooks.bsky.social says, “Technology and social media promised to bring us together, but more often it feels like they siphon each of us into a solitary lifestyle, and it’s hurting us.” lithub.com/a-bookstore-... #reading #books