Brian Haas
@brianhaas1.bsky.social
Former newspaper crime and courts reporter | Professional writer | Tireless storyteller | Screenwriting | University of Michigan-Dearborn
Reposted by Brian Haas
Attention South Pasadena Weather System: It works in Culver City, which I suspect is not helpful for people in South Pasadena. It's definitely not helpful for people in Culver City.
November 12, 2025 at 1:52 AM
Attention South Pasadena Weather System: It works in Culver City, which I suspect is not helpful for people in South Pasadena. It's definitely not helpful for people in Culver City.
Depressing. The then-Knight-Ridder DC Bureau inspired me as a journalist in ways few other journalists did. Their courage during the Iraq War is still not appreciated enough today.
For-profit journalism's time is at an end. Hopefully we can pivot to successful nonprofit models, or we're screwed.
For-profit journalism's time is at an end. Hopefully we can pivot to successful nonprofit models, or we're screwed.
November 4, 2025 at 9:53 PM
Depressing. The then-Knight-Ridder DC Bureau inspired me as a journalist in ways few other journalists did. Their courage during the Iraq War is still not appreciated enough today.
For-profit journalism's time is at an end. Hopefully we can pivot to successful nonprofit models, or we're screwed.
For-profit journalism's time is at an end. Hopefully we can pivot to successful nonprofit models, or we're screwed.
GO DODGERS!
WHAT A WORLD SERIES!
WHAT A WORLD SERIES!
November 2, 2025 at 4:18 AM
GO DODGERS!
WHAT A WORLD SERIES!
WHAT A WORLD SERIES!
This is a must-read piece. Fantastic accountability journalism and an absolutely unacceptable situation with California's handling of drunk/drugged driving.
calmatters.org/investigatio...
calmatters.org/investigatio...
15 DUIs, still driving: California's failure to take repeat drunk drivers off the road
As alcohol-related roadway deaths spike across the state, a CalMatters investigation finds California has some of the weakest DUI laws in the country.
calmatters.org
October 30, 2025 at 5:37 PM
This is a must-read piece. Fantastic accountability journalism and an absolutely unacceptable situation with California's handling of drunk/drugged driving.
calmatters.org/investigatio...
calmatters.org/investigatio...
Sorry, neighbors. You're just gonna have to deal with me screeching like a 5-year-old boy.
FREDDIE!
FREDDIE!
October 28, 2025 at 6:54 AM
Sorry, neighbors. You're just gonna have to deal with me screeching like a 5-year-old boy.
FREDDIE!
FREDDIE!
Reposted by Brian Haas
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
October 18, 2025 at 6:27 PM
this rocks. when indiana edu killed the student newspaper, Purdue stepped up, printed the forbidden issue, drove it to Bloomington and stocked the boxes.
Life has become a series of 2-factor authentication nags and there is no bigger lie in this world than "REMEMBER THIS DEVICE?"
September 30, 2025 at 4:29 AM
Life has become a series of 2-factor authentication nags and there is no bigger lie in this world than "REMEMBER THIS DEVICE?"
Reposted by Brian Haas
Eye-opening thread
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
September 25, 2025 at 4:32 AM
Eye-opening thread
Guys, don't be mad at me for whatever reason. I'm having mitochondrial challenges.
August 28, 2025 at 3:00 AM
Guys, don't be mad at me for whatever reason. I'm having mitochondrial challenges.
RIP to Paul House. I'm proud that one of my last stories as a journalist was helping to tell his story.
www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...
www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...
August 18, 2025 at 4:39 PM
RIP to Paul House. I'm proud that one of my last stories as a journalist was helping to tell his story.
www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...
www.tennessean.com/story/news/l...
Reposted by Brian Haas
"If your books were uploaded to LibGen/fed into the LLMs, add your name to the potential class action lawsuit by tomorrow." Details:
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
Search LibGen, the Pirated-Books Database That Meta Used to Train AI
Millions of books and scientific papers are captured in the collection’s current iteration.
www.theatlantic.com
August 14, 2025 at 5:30 PM
"If your books were uploaded to LibGen/fed into the LLMs, add your name to the potential class action lawsuit by tomorrow." Details:
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
LibDem database: www.theatlantic.com/technology/a...
Attorney form: www.lieffcabraser.com/anthropic-au...
(This information comes via a reliable Discord source.)
Reposted by Brian Haas
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
July 24, 2025 at 5:46 PM
An AI slop factory apparently tried to rewrite our article about AI not replacing workers en masse, but hit the paywall... so just summarised the paywall. If this is the robot that takes my job I'll be v embarrassed
Statistics have consistently shown that immigrants commit fewer crimes, but are victimized more often and reluctant to report being victimized for fear of being deported. I can imagine that's only worse now.
Some politicians and pundits are pushing the idea that immigrants are more likely to commit crimes. Not only is that claim false, the opposite is true. bit.ly/4dTGTlv
Debunking the Myth of the ‘Migrant Crime Wave’
Data does not support claims that the United States is experiencing a surge in crime caused by immigrants.
www.brennancenter.org
July 19, 2025 at 5:14 PM
Statistics have consistently shown that immigrants commit fewer crimes, but are victimized more often and reluctant to report being victimized for fear of being deported. I can imagine that's only worse now.
Reposted by Brian Haas
Here's how you remove Google AI from your mobile devices.
June 21, 2025 at 9:55 PM
Here's how you remove Google AI from your mobile devices.
"AI is useful" is just "AI is a tool" in a different coat. It's exactly as facile and tautological.
TNT and asbestos and sarin gas and rocks and particle accelerators and sporks are "useful," too.
Can't tell if AI has switched people's brains off or if it's grifters all the way down. Or both.
TNT and asbestos and sarin gas and rocks and particle accelerators and sporks are "useful," too.
Can't tell if AI has switched people's brains off or if it's grifters all the way down. Or both.
I don’t think there’s a single serious critic who says AI’s not useful? The concerns I see are about content rights, worker impacts, environmental effects, epistemological threats, or media manipulation. But that’s all predicated on the idea that it *does* work, often too well for people to manage…
The NYT Magazine asked me and @caseynewton.bsky.social to open their AI issue by talking about how we use AI, why it's not going away, and how you can't be a serious critic if you're in denial about how useful it is. Bluesky's gonna love this one!
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/06/16/m...
June 19, 2025 at 4:56 PM
"AI is useful" is just "AI is a tool" in a different coat. It's exactly as facile and tautological.
TNT and asbestos and sarin gas and rocks and particle accelerators and sporks are "useful," too.
Can't tell if AI has switched people's brains off or if it's grifters all the way down. Or both.
TNT and asbestos and sarin gas and rocks and particle accelerators and sporks are "useful," too.
Can't tell if AI has switched people's brains off or if it's grifters all the way down. Or both.
Saw @pattonoswalt.bsky.social at the Natural History Museum like 4 years ago or so with his adorable family and I let them enjoy in peace instead of geeking out about the filibuster I let them enjoy their time.
You can all praise me for my restraint.
You can all praise me for my restraint.
Right folks. Feeling rather down at the moment so bringing back an oldie
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
Please Quote this with your most minor celebrity interaction
June 14, 2025 at 1:24 AM
Saw @pattonoswalt.bsky.social at the Natural History Museum like 4 years ago or so with his adorable family and I let them enjoy in peace instead of geeking out about the filibuster I let them enjoy their time.
You can all praise me for my restraint.
You can all praise me for my restraint.
Wait, what?
For those who do not have access or care to go to Twitter for the video, here is the video of the U.S. Secretary of the Army stating that there is currently a soldier on the moon:
June 13, 2025 at 4:08 AM
Wait, what?
QUAKE! One jolt here in Culver City.
June 10, 2025 at 7:17 PM
QUAKE! One jolt here in Culver City.
Sad to see too many bluesky users continuing the ridiculous Twitter habit of scolding us on WHAT REALLY Matters. Maybe YOU can't, but most of us can hold multiple thoughts and track multiple issues at once.
We watched eight season of Game of Thrones. We have the bandwidth.
We watched eight season of Game of Thrones. We have the bandwidth.
June 6, 2025 at 2:56 PM
Sad to see too many bluesky users continuing the ridiculous Twitter habit of scolding us on WHAT REALLY Matters. Maybe YOU can't, but most of us can hold multiple thoughts and track multiple issues at once.
We watched eight season of Game of Thrones. We have the bandwidth.
We watched eight season of Game of Thrones. We have the bandwidth.
Reposted by Brian Haas
And, while we’re at it, stop using AI slop. It’s a tool of tech fascism and it’s not worth the cheap hit of dopamine.
Authoritarianism expects us to use their tools and their rhetoric and engage in discourse like them as it slides us deeper and deeper into their world that they control.
Authoritarianism expects us to use their tools and their rhetoric and engage in discourse like them as it slides us deeper and deeper into their world that they control.
June 1, 2025 at 5:15 PM
And, while we’re at it, stop using AI slop. It’s a tool of tech fascism and it’s not worth the cheap hit of dopamine.
Authoritarianism expects us to use their tools and their rhetoric and engage in discourse like them as it slides us deeper and deeper into their world that they control.
Authoritarianism expects us to use their tools and their rhetoric and engage in discourse like them as it slides us deeper and deeper into their world that they control.
Behold as we continue to treat marketing hype as fact instead of demanding proof for extraordinary claims that appear designed to drum up more financial interest in AI.
An Amazon-backed AI model tried to blackmail engineers who threatened to shut it down, a safety report revealed
In tests, Anthropic's Claude Opus 4 would resort to "extremely harmful actions" to preserve its own existence
In tests, Anthropic's Claude Opus 4 would resort to "extremely harmful actions" to preserve its own existence
Amazon-Backed AI Model Would Try To Blackmail Engineers Who Threatened To Take It Offline
In tests, Anthropic's Claude Opus 4 would resort to "extremely harmful actions" to preserve its own existence, a safety report revealed.
www.huffpost.com
May 24, 2025 at 8:47 PM
Behold as we continue to treat marketing hype as fact instead of demanding proof for extraordinary claims that appear designed to drum up more financial interest in AI.
Flashback to perhaps the best story I ever wrote: an obituary for Jennifer Garner's beloved chicken friend.
www.etonline.com/jennifer-gar...
www.etonline.com/jennifer-gar...
Jennifer Garner Says Goodbye to Her Beloved Chicken Regina George -- Watch
The chicken rests in peace after living a good life of dehydrated bugs and kale (but no carbs).
www.etonline.com
May 22, 2025 at 4:31 AM
Flashback to perhaps the best story I ever wrote: an obituary for Jennifer Garner's beloved chicken friend.
www.etonline.com/jennifer-gar...
www.etonline.com/jennifer-gar...
This is absolute insanity.
$218,000 income needed to buy a California home, up 82% since 2019
$373,200 income required to buy Orange County home, up 129% in five years
One challenge: California’s median house price jumped 40% in five years to $846,830.
www.ocregister.com
May 13, 2025 at 11:43 PM
This is absolute insanity.
Lmao. Never bet on journalism.
May 3, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Lmao. Never bet on journalism.