Adam Becker
@adambecker.bsky.social
Journalist & astrophysicist. @FreelanceAstro on the bird site. New book out now: MORE EVERYTHING FOREVER, about horrifying & flawed futures pushed by tech billionaires. Words in the Atlantic, NPR, NYT, the Guardian, BBC, SciAm, Quanta, Fortune, &c. He/him.
Pinned
Adam Becker
@adambecker.bsky.social
· Apr 23
More Everything Forever
This "wild and utterly engaging narrative" (Melanie Mitchell) shows why Silicon Valley’s heartless, baseless, and foolish obsessions—with escaping death,...
www.hachettebookgroup.com
Today's the day! My new book MORE EVERYTHING FOREVER is finally out! If you want to understand why tech billionaires are so obsessed with impossible ideas about space and AI — and why that's dangerous — this book is for you. #MoreEverythingForever www.hachettebookgroup.com/titles/adam-...
Reposted by Adam Becker
I do really think these folks are underestimating how bad the AI backlash can get if the industry needs a bailout
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
Tech guys six months ago: haha yes we’re cutting all this WASTEFUL spending by eliminating medical research and USAID
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
Tech guys now: yes I think taxpayers will be excited to bailout my non consensual pornography machine
November 8, 2025 at 11:28 PM
I do really think these folks are underestimating how bad the AI backlash can get if the industry needs a bailout
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
people are still furious about the 2008 bailout and that was almost two decades ago
Reposted by Adam Becker
I get this a lot too. I don't use ChatGPT or any LLMs in my work because I want my writing to sound like me, not like the averaged-out voice of the internet. But also, writing is thinking, and thinking is a habit. I don't want to get out of that habit.
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
Recently met someone who was very surprised to hear I didn’t use ChatGPT or any LLM.
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
November 8, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I get this a lot too. I don't use ChatGPT or any LLMs in my work because I want my writing to sound like me, not like the averaged-out voice of the internet. But also, writing is thinking, and thinking is a habit. I don't want to get out of that habit.
Reposted by Adam Becker
you put self-driving cars on the road and you kill a person, you should be scared. if you put a chatbot into kids' hands and tell them to use it and they use it and then they kill themselves, you should be really fucking scared. the idea that the wagons should circle *around you* is unbelievable.
November 8, 2025 at 8:24 PM
you put self-driving cars on the road and you kill a person, you should be scared. if you put a chatbot into kids' hands and tell them to use it and they use it and then they kill themselves, you should be really fucking scared. the idea that the wagons should circle *around you* is unbelievable.
Reposted by Adam Becker
We joke about the Torment Nexus and all that, but...
The truth is science fiction warned us endlessly not to let fear control us.
"Fear is the mind killer"
"Fear is a path to the Dark Side"
etc.
Silicon Valley claimed to love SF, then built a machine to amplify fear as a means to control people.
The truth is science fiction warned us endlessly not to let fear control us.
"Fear is the mind killer"
"Fear is a path to the Dark Side"
etc.
Silicon Valley claimed to love SF, then built a machine to amplify fear as a means to control people.
November 8, 2025 at 7:49 PM
We joke about the Torment Nexus and all that, but...
The truth is science fiction warned us endlessly not to let fear control us.
"Fear is the mind killer"
"Fear is a path to the Dark Side"
etc.
Silicon Valley claimed to love SF, then built a machine to amplify fear as a means to control people.
The truth is science fiction warned us endlessly not to let fear control us.
"Fear is the mind killer"
"Fear is a path to the Dark Side"
etc.
Silicon Valley claimed to love SF, then built a machine to amplify fear as a means to control people.
Reposted by Adam Becker
A perfect dissection of Watson individually, but also Nobel Prize Syndrome generally: a pernicious disorder that the patient enjoys while everyone else suffers.
A Sharon Begley byline, almost 5 years after her death.
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
Upon hearing the news James Watson had died, a STAT reporter said in our Slack, "I wish I could read what Sharon would have written."
Incredible news: Sharon in fact did pre-write a Watson obit. And it is masterful and excoriating.
🧪🧬🧫
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
www.statnews.com
November 8, 2025 at 10:06 PM
A perfect dissection of Watson individually, but also Nobel Prize Syndrome generally: a pernicious disorder that the patient enjoys while everyone else suffers.
I get this a lot too. I don't use ChatGPT or any LLMs in my work because I want my writing to sound like me, not like the averaged-out voice of the internet. But also, writing is thinking, and thinking is a habit. I don't want to get out of that habit.
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
Recently met someone who was very surprised to hear I didn’t use ChatGPT or any LLM.
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
November 8, 2025 at 1:43 PM
I get this a lot too. I don't use ChatGPT or any LLMs in my work because I want my writing to sound like me, not like the averaged-out voice of the internet. But also, writing is thinking, and thinking is a habit. I don't want to get out of that habit.
Reposted by Adam Becker
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
Recently met someone who was very surprised to hear I didn’t use ChatGPT or any LLM.
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
I said my job depended on doing distinctive work. That was my selling point. If I started to sound like ChatGPT and turn out what it did, then how on earth could I justify doing it? What would that make me?
November 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
A friend recently texted me the same thing. “Do you really not use ChatGPT?!” It was a sign of where we are culturally on this. People are compelled to use it but also starting to question the normalcy?
Reposted by Adam Becker
It's important to shred consumer protections and financial regulation so that the very wealthiest may continue to scam and fleece the rest of us.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
Tech Billionaire Marc Andreessen Bet Big on Trump. It’s Paying Off for Silicon Valley.
The Trump administration’s gutting of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has been good for venture capitalists like Andreessen, who previously accused the agency of “terrorizing” fintech startup...
www.propublica.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:49 AM
It's important to shred consumer protections and financial regulation so that the very wealthiest may continue to scam and fleece the rest of us.
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
www.propublica.org/article/trum...
THAT'S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS, SAMUEL
DO YOU THINK POWER PLANTS 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘚, SAMUEL
THEY VERY MUCH DO NOT DO THAT
DO YOU THINK POWER PLANTS 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘚, SAMUEL
THEY VERY MUCH DO NOT DO THAT
November 6, 2025 at 8:56 PM
THAT'S NOT HOW ANY OF THIS WORKS, SAMUEL
DO YOU THINK POWER PLANTS 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘚, SAMUEL
THEY VERY MUCH DO NOT DO THAT
DO YOU THINK POWER PLANTS 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘌𝘓𝘌𝘊𝘛𝘙𝘖𝘕𝘚, SAMUEL
THEY VERY MUCH DO NOT DO THAT
Reposted by Adam Becker
Firstly, billionaires are not physically made of stocks, if a billionaire falls down a hole and expires his stock portfolio persists and continues to have value, secondarily, this is why one diversifies one's investment portfolio outside of the stock market, thirdly, okay, let's test this hypothesis
November 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Firstly, billionaires are not physically made of stocks, if a billionaire falls down a hole and expires his stock portfolio persists and continues to have value, secondarily, this is why one diversifies one's investment portfolio outside of the stock market, thirdly, okay, let's test this hypothesis
I'm completely serious about this bet, by the way. Anyone want to take it? Somehow I don't think Jeff Bezos will. (I do think he believes what he says, though, insofar as he believes anything.)
lol no they absolutely will not, for so many reasons
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
Jeff Bezos Says He Doesn't Understand Why Anybody Alive Now Would Be 'Discouraged'—Because Soon, 'Millions Of People Will Be Living In Space'
Jeff Bezos says the future is so bright, he "doesn't see how anybody can be discouraged who is alive right now." Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025 earlier this month with Ferrari and Stellantis chair...
tech.yahoo.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:29 PM
I'm completely serious about this bet, by the way. Anyone want to take it? Somehow I don't think Jeff Bezos will. (I do think he believes what he says, though, insofar as he believes anything.)
lol no they absolutely will not, for so many reasons
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
Jeff Bezos Says He Doesn't Understand Why Anybody Alive Now Would Be 'Discouraged'—Because Soon, 'Millions Of People Will Be Living In Space'
Jeff Bezos says the future is so bright, he "doesn't see how anybody can be discouraged who is alive right now." Speaking at Italian Tech Week 2025 earlier this month with Ferrari and Stellantis chair...
tech.yahoo.com
October 29, 2025 at 5:02 PM
lol no they absolutely will not, for so many reasons
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
I'd bet everything I own that in 20 years there will never be more than 1000 people in space at any one time. (It'll probably be well under 100.) Nobody will be living there with their kids.
Tech billionaires don't know a damn thing about tech.
See you tonight Boston!! #booksky
Boston! Come to the Boston Book Festival TOMORROW to see me speak about the nightmare fantasies of the tech oligarchs, and how we can fight back against them. 5PM, Copley Square, with @chafkin.bsky.social, @jacobsilverman.com, and Saraya Wintersmith. See you there! #booksky
Boston Book Festival 2025: Who Has Power? Pulling Back the Curtain...
View more about this event at Boston Book Festival 2025
https://bostonbookfestival2025.sched.com/event/27cJd/who-has-power-pulling-back-the-curtain-on-our-tech-overlords?iframe=no&w=100%&sidebar=yes&bg=no
October 25, 2025 at 2:52 PM
See you tonight Boston!! #booksky
Boston! Come to the Boston Book Festival TOMORROW to see me speak about the nightmare fantasies of the tech oligarchs, and how we can fight back against them. 5PM, Copley Square, with @chafkin.bsky.social, @jacobsilverman.com, and Saraya Wintersmith. See you there! #booksky
Boston Book Festival 2025: Who Has Power? Pulling Back the Curtain...
View more about this event at Boston Book Festival 2025
https://bostonbookfestival2025.sched.com/event/27cJd/who-has-power-pulling-back-the-curtain-on-our-tech-overlords?iframe=no&w=100%&sidebar=yes&bg=no
October 25, 2025 at 1:46 AM
Boston! Come to the Boston Book Festival TOMORROW to see me speak about the nightmare fantasies of the tech oligarchs, and how we can fight back against them. 5PM, Copley Square, with @chafkin.bsky.social, @jacobsilverman.com, and Saraya Wintersmith. See you there! #booksky
Reposted by Adam Becker
Since the United States election in November 2024, the technology industry has distinguished itself in the race to capitulate to and enable the Trump administration, writes Paul Barrett. No gesture of obsequiousness or loyalty has been too great or trivial for the moguls of Silicon Valley, he says.
Tech’s Love Affair with Trump Grows Stronger By the Day | TechPolicy.Press
The tech industry is selling out to a dangerous political force, writes Paul M. Barrett.
www.techpolicy.press
October 23, 2025 at 12:00 PM
Since the United States election in November 2024, the technology industry has distinguished itself in the race to capitulate to and enable the Trump administration, writes Paul Barrett. No gesture of obsequiousness or loyalty has been too great or trivial for the moguls of Silicon Valley, he says.
About to talk with a lovely group of philosophers and physicists at @perimeterinstitute.ca about the century-long debate over the foundations of #quantum physics! Watch live here: www.youtube.com/live/eIXSmhg...
100 Years of Quantum: Perspectives on its Past, Present, and Future
YouTube video by Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics
www.youtube.com
October 22, 2025 at 10:48 PM
About to talk with a lovely group of philosophers and physicists at @perimeterinstitute.ca about the century-long debate over the foundations of #quantum physics! Watch live here: www.youtube.com/live/eIXSmhg...
I told @davekarpf.bsky.social not to read Yudkowsky's awful new book. He didn't listen, but now you can all benefit from our shared misery. 😁
In lieu of turning this thread into a book review, I turned it into a hate-read-book-club conversation with @adambecker.bsky.social.
"Here Lies Humanity, Dead by Fancy Autocomplete"
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...
"Here Lies Humanity, Dead by Fancy Autocomplete"
open.substack.com/pub/davekarp...
October 21, 2025 at 5:19 PM
I told @davekarpf.bsky.social not to read Yudkowsky's awful new book. He didn't listen, but now you can all benefit from our shared misery. 😁
Reposted by Adam Becker
i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w
October 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
i see you're doing something online that you have effortlessly done 100,000 times. would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? would you like to use this ai tool? w
Reposted by Adam Becker
Just a reminder that this place is rotten with bad faith accounts trying openly to split apart groups, redirect discussions, and ruin any chance of creating solidarity 🥰
October 17, 2025 at 6:23 PM
Just a reminder that this place is rotten with bad faith accounts trying openly to split apart groups, redirect discussions, and ruin any chance of creating solidarity 🥰
Reposted by Adam Becker
Project 2025, Silicon Valley & Tech's AI War on Democracy.
New Nerd Reich podcast episode with @ebharrington.bsky.social and @adambecker.bsky.social
Come for the analysis of tech fascism, stay for the laughs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2eh...
New Nerd Reich podcast episode with @ebharrington.bsky.social and @adambecker.bsky.social
Come for the analysis of tech fascism, stay for the laughs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2eh...
Project 2025, Silicon Valley & Tech's AI War on Democracy | The Nerd Reich Podcast Mailbag
YouTube video by The Nerd Reich with Gil Duran
www.youtube.com
October 13, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Project 2025, Silicon Valley & Tech's AI War on Democracy.
New Nerd Reich podcast episode with @ebharrington.bsky.social and @adambecker.bsky.social
Come for the analysis of tech fascism, stay for the laughs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2eh...
New Nerd Reich podcast episode with @ebharrington.bsky.social and @adambecker.bsky.social
Come for the analysis of tech fascism, stay for the laughs.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2eh...
This conversation with @edzitron.com was so much goddamn fun, and I've been bowled over by the response - friends and kind internet strangers are both telling me that it's their favorite conversation with me they've heard yet. Thanks, all. We had a great time recording it & we'll be doing another.
Here’s this week’s Better Offline. I’m joined in studio by astrophysicist @adambecker.bsky.social to talk about his new book More Everything Forever, the BS AGI story, why we should ignore Eliezer Yudkowsky, and why billionaires love LLMs.
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
Linktr.ee/betteroffline
Radio Better Offline: Adam Becker - Better Offline | iHeart
<p>Welcome to Radio Better Offline, a tech talk radio show recorded out of iHeartRadio's studio in New York city.<br><br>Ed Zitron is joined in studio by astrophysicist Adam Becker to talk about his n...
www.iheart.com
September 25, 2025 at 4:19 PM
This conversation with @edzitron.com was so much goddamn fun, and I've been bowled over by the response - friends and kind internet strangers are both telling me that it's their favorite conversation with me they've heard yet. Thanks, all. We had a great time recording it & we'll be doing another.
I hate that I understand this sentence, and that this is totally familiar here in the Bay Area. @kerryhowley.bsky.social is doing important work documenting these horrors. (Source: nymag.com/intelligence...)
September 24, 2025 at 8:16 PM
I hate that I understand this sentence, and that this is totally familiar here in the Bay Area. @kerryhowley.bsky.social is doing important work documenting these horrors. (Source: nymag.com/intelligence...)
Reposted by Adam Becker
@edzitron.com is joined in studio by astrophysicist @adambecker.bsky.social to talk about his new book More Everything Forever, the BS AGI story, why Eliezer Yudkowsky should never be taken seriously, and why billionaires love LLMs.
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
September 24, 2025 at 5:45 PM
@edzitron.com is joined in studio by astrophysicist @adambecker.bsky.social to talk about his new book More Everything Forever, the BS AGI story, why Eliezer Yudkowsky should never be taken seriously, and why billionaires love LLMs.
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...
www.iheart.com/podcast/1119...