davidpham5
@davidpham5.bsky.social
Self taught in many things. Slightly above average software engineer. Work for the local paper. Privacy and data protection is my racket. Studied history. Gen 1 American. 99.99.99hrs+ on FF7 on PS1. My new years' resolution is to eat more homemade carbs.
Pinned
davidpham5
@davidpham5.bsky.social
· Sep 25
We dream in the dark. Darkness everywhere we see. Blind to what is to come next. Fear and dread make our bed. Gentle heads slumber in the dead of night.
Do not wake me. I need to sleep deeply. I want to see what could be — dreams of democracy.
Do not wake me. I need to sleep deeply. I want to see what could be — dreams of democracy.
Reposted by davidpham5
I was struck by how Gen AI is the villain multiple times.
1. On Krypton, Kal-El gets bad grades in school for writing original essays instead of using AI to generate them.
2. The evil corporation’s police talk to an AI when writing police reports and it rewrites them to sanitize police brutality.
1. On Krypton, Kal-El gets bad grades in school for writing original essays instead of using AI to generate them.
2. The evil corporation’s police talk to an AI when writing police reports and it rewrites them to sanitize police brutality.
January 2, 2026 at 6:00 PM
I was struck by how Gen AI is the villain multiple times.
1. On Krypton, Kal-El gets bad grades in school for writing original essays instead of using AI to generate them.
2. The evil corporation’s police talk to an AI when writing police reports and it rewrites them to sanitize police brutality.
1. On Krypton, Kal-El gets bad grades in school for writing original essays instead of using AI to generate them.
2. The evil corporation’s police talk to an AI when writing police reports and it rewrites them to sanitize police brutality.
Reposted by davidpham5
Former NYT Editor: "I think [AG Sulzberger] saw [anti-trans coverage] as a political project—that he could take a stance that the hard right would like, that the Trump campaign might like."
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 2, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Former NYT Editor: "I think [AG Sulzberger] saw [anti-trans coverage] as a political project—that he could take a stance that the hard right would like, that the Trump campaign might like."
Reposted by davidpham5
A must-read:
'A directive from above': Former NYT editor lays out how the paper pushes anti-trans bigotry
In this in-depth interview, former New York Times editor Billie Jean Sweeney details how the paper shifted towards openly promoting anti-trans hatred, how some staff tried to stop it, how it's directe...
transnews.network
January 2, 2026 at 6:12 PM
A must-read:
Reposted by davidpham5
It's rare for a company to sign a contract with the US military AND get caught generating CSAM in the same two-week period. Grok is just built different
@caseynewton.bsky.social welp the people who said they wanted you to cover Grok on Hard Fork look like they’re gonna get their wish… it’s been an insane few days over there
January 2, 2026 at 6:24 PM
It's rare for a company to sign a contract with the US military AND get caught generating CSAM in the same two-week period. Grok is just built different
Reposted by davidpham5
We must protect the children by age-gating all online dictionaries and weather apps www.techdirt.com/2025/12/31/j...
Judge To Texas: You Can’t Age-Gate The Entire Internet Without Evidence
Over the summer, the Supreme Court’s conservative majority upended decades of traditional First Amendment standards to say that Texas could put in place an age verification law if that law was inte…
www.techdirt.com
January 2, 2026 at 6:30 PM
We must protect the children by age-gating all online dictionaries and weather apps www.techdirt.com/2025/12/31/j...
Reposted by davidpham5
This thing is (justly) blowing up in Grok's stupid face
India orders X to fix Grok to block the generation of obscene content, giving it 72 hours to submit an action-taken report or risk losing "safe harbor" immunity (Jagmeet Singh/TechCrunch)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
January 2, 2026 at 6:47 PM
This thing is (justly) blowing up in Grok's stupid face
Reposted by davidpham5
While the idea of an AI device that’s less cumbersome than your smartphone to use in a pinch sounds compelling, I think pulling out a pen to speak into it instead of your phone isn’t much better.
Hanging it around your neck or in your pocket will be awkward as we saw with the Humane AI Pin.
Hanging it around your neck or in your pocket will be awkward as we saw with the Humane AI Pin.
Perplexity
Perplexity is a free AI-powered answer engine that provides accurate, trusted, and real-time answers to any question.
www.perplexity.ai
January 2, 2026 at 6:48 PM
While the idea of an AI device that’s less cumbersome than your smartphone to use in a pinch sounds compelling, I think pulling out a pen to speak into it instead of your phone isn’t much better.
Hanging it around your neck or in your pocket will be awkward as we saw with the Humane AI Pin.
Hanging it around your neck or in your pocket will be awkward as we saw with the Humane AI Pin.
Reposted by davidpham5
omg he's drinking iced coffee in the dead of winter. one of us! one of us!
Mayor Mamdani hasn't moved into Gracie Mansion yet and remains in his Astoria apartment for now, his team says. He expects to move at some point before his lease is up Jan. 30.
His team also shares this pic of him taking the W train to City Hall this morning from Astoria.
His team also shares this pic of him taking the W train to City Hall this morning from Astoria.
January 2, 2026 at 6:40 PM
omg he's drinking iced coffee in the dead of winter. one of us! one of us!
Reposted by davidpham5
yeah, the public discourse does not exactly reward rigor for its own sake, setting aside the extent to which people associate “rigor” with “flatters my biases/ideological prejudices”
January 2, 2026 at 1:08 PM
yeah, the public discourse does not exactly reward rigor for its own sake, setting aside the extent to which people associate “rigor” with “flatters my biases/ideological prejudices”
Reposted by davidpham5
Zohran Mamdani creating task forces to fast track building more housing is 🤌 😚.
I see his candidacy as the anti-Trump. With Trump we’ve seen a model of leadership that is completely self centered, corrupt and incompetent.
With Mamdani we get to see inclusive, progressive and competent leadership
I see his candidacy as the anti-Trump. With Trump we’ve seen a model of leadership that is completely self centered, corrupt and incompetent.
With Mamdani we get to see inclusive, progressive and competent leadership
January 2, 2026 at 1:24 PM
Zohran Mamdani creating task forces to fast track building more housing is 🤌 😚.
I see his candidacy as the anti-Trump. With Trump we’ve seen a model of leadership that is completely self centered, corrupt and incompetent.
With Mamdani we get to see inclusive, progressive and competent leadership
I see his candidacy as the anti-Trump. With Trump we’ve seen a model of leadership that is completely self centered, corrupt and incompetent.
With Mamdani we get to see inclusive, progressive and competent leadership
Reposted by davidpham5
“America is no longer a democracy. That doesn’t mean authoritarianism has won. But merely restoring the pre-Trump status quo won’t work. The country needs a democratic transformation.” [steady.page]
Where Are You Going, America?
America is no longer a democracy. Authoritarianism has not won. But merely restoring the pre-Trump status quo won’t work. The country needs a democratic transformation.
steady.page
January 2, 2026 at 3:22 PM
“America is no longer a democracy. That doesn’t mean authoritarianism has won. But merely restoring the pre-Trump status quo won’t work. The country needs a democratic transformation.” [steady.page]
Reposted by davidpham5
I wrote recently about how there are now AI generators for every life event, from wedding vows to eulogies. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
The rise of AI tools that write about you when you die
Families and funeral directors are using AI obituary generators to more efficiently memorialize the dead. What happens when they get it wrong?
www.washingtonpost.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:30 PM
I wrote recently about how there are now AI generators for every life event, from wedding vows to eulogies. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Reposted by davidpham5
What about Ghost? It has a lot of data from working in the open, it is in the midst of a big product transformation and repositioning as it goes from pure blogging to Substack competitor, and it has a wide variaty of features these days.
January 2, 2026 at 3:58 PM
What about Ghost? It has a lot of data from working in the open, it is in the midst of a big product transformation and repositioning as it goes from pure blogging to Substack competitor, and it has a wide variaty of features these days.
Reposted by davidpham5
this is a fascinating statistic. i would assume this is to a great degree simply the obvious fact that green energy is by definition a growth sector. fossil fuels is not, notwithstanding the big run up in production in FF in the last 20 years.
Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business
Banks Notch Higher Fees From Green Bonds Than Fossil Fuel Debt
Wall Street’s biggest banks made more money financing green projects than they did from working with fossil fuel companies for a fourth straight year, even as they faced ongoing pressure to pull back from the business.
bloom.bg
January 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
this is a fascinating statistic. i would assume this is to a great degree simply the obvious fact that green energy is by definition a growth sector. fossil fuels is not, notwithstanding the big run up in production in FF in the last 20 years.
Reposted by davidpham5
In an alternate reality I just took a Tesla robotaxi to the spaceport for my annual trip to Mars.
In this reality, we are watching performance art of how the world’s richest man is also its biggest grifter
In this reality, we are watching performance art of how the world’s richest man is also its biggest grifter
January 2, 2026 at 4:36 PM
In an alternate reality I just took a Tesla robotaxi to the spaceport for my annual trip to Mars.
In this reality, we are watching performance art of how the world’s richest man is also its biggest grifter
In this reality, we are watching performance art of how the world’s richest man is also its biggest grifter
Reposted by davidpham5
The Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence are two recent instances of the company’s hype outrunning the product.
It seems like they need an infusion of new product leadership. There’s been too much confidence in products that simply weren’t all there.
It seems like they need an infusion of new product leadership. There’s been too much confidence in products that simply weren’t all there.
Apple reportedly cuts production of Vision Pro headset after poor sales
Company had hoped the virtual reality device would herald a new era in ‘spatial computing’
www.theguardian.com
January 2, 2026 at 4:43 PM
The Vision Pro and Apple Intelligence are two recent instances of the company’s hype outrunning the product.
It seems like they need an infusion of new product leadership. There’s been too much confidence in products that simply weren’t all there.
It seems like they need an infusion of new product leadership. There’s been too much confidence in products that simply weren’t all there.
Reposted by davidpham5
I just want to note, to be clear, this is *the actual comment xAI gave* in response to accusations that the company is intentionally allowing the generation of pornography of minors, a total refusal of responsibility:
"Legacy media lies"
"Legacy media lies"
January 2, 2026 at 4:52 PM
I just want to note, to be clear, this is *the actual comment xAI gave* in response to accusations that the company is intentionally allowing the generation of pornography of minors, a total refusal of responsibility:
"Legacy media lies"
"Legacy media lies"
Reposted by davidpham5
I really think this is the most important basic journalistic error we need to stamp out right now. If you know why Grok can’t comment on anything and also know any journalists, please check in with them and help them understand it too.
I hate this phrasing and how it buys into what is essentially a falsehood about the autonomy of chatbots that is RIGHT NOW deforming our entire law and society. Grok doesn't say anything. That's like saying 'Microsoft Word apologized for losing everyone's files'
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
January 2, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Reposted by davidpham5
Stop doing this hed in 2026 journalism challenge bsky.app/profile/chro...
ChatGPT no more named this baby than a baby name book named a baby jfc it has no agency. Parents used software to generate baby name is not actually a story I'm sorry to say.
The parents of the first baby born in 2026 in this county outside Baltimore got their name ideas from ChatGPT. Hudson Oakley Winkler.
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
www.baltimoresun.com/2026/01/01/c...
January 2, 2026 at 4:35 PM
Stop doing this hed in 2026 journalism challenge bsky.app/profile/chro...
Reposted by davidpham5
Software *cannot give a comment*.
January 2, 2026 at 4:05 PM
Software *cannot give a comment*.
Reposted by davidpham5
I hate this phrasing and how it buys into what is essentially a falsehood about the autonomy of chatbots that is RIGHT NOW deforming our entire law and society. Grok doesn't say anything. That's like saying 'Microsoft Word apologized for losing everyone's files'
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of 'minors in minimal clothing' on X
Elon Musk's xAI artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said on Friday lapses in safeguards had resulted in "images depicting minors in minimal clothing" on social media platform X and that improvements ...
www.reuters.com
January 2, 2026 at 3:53 PM
I hate this phrasing and how it buys into what is essentially a falsehood about the autonomy of chatbots that is RIGHT NOW deforming our entire law and society. Grok doesn't say anything. That's like saying 'Microsoft Word apologized for losing everyone's files'
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
www.reuters.com/legal/litiga...
Reposted by davidpham5
You can make LLMs say almost anything. A news organization reporting "what grok said" is engaging in journalistic malpractice. It doesn't know. It just creates plausible sounding words in response to a prompt.
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of 'minors in minimal clothing' on X reut.rs/498SoUk
Grok says safeguard lapses led to images of 'minors in minimal clothing' on X
Elon Musk's xAI artificial intelligence chatbot Grok said on Friday lapses in safeguards had resulted in "images depicting minors in minimal clothing" on social media platform X and that improvements were being made to prevent this.
reut.rs
January 2, 2026 at 4:55 PM
You can make LLMs say almost anything. A news organization reporting "what grok said" is engaging in journalistic malpractice. It doesn't know. It just creates plausible sounding words in response to a prompt.
Reposted by davidpham5
Would like to say this was my most prescient piece of 2025, but turns out I wrote it in 2024 😇 www.offmessage.net/p/the-new-gi...
January 2, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Would like to say this was my most prescient piece of 2025, but turns out I wrote it in 2024 😇 www.offmessage.net/p/the-new-gi...
Reposted by davidpham5
Interesting tactic to have the AI post to X to apologize instead of any actual accountability by the CEO or any human at the company.
January 2, 2026 at 5:16 PM
Interesting tactic to have the AI post to X to apologize instead of any actual accountability by the CEO or any human at the company.
Reposted by davidpham5
Retired immigration judge to @radleybalko.bsky.social: "It always starts with the minorities. It always starts with the immigrants. If we don’t stop them, it will be American citizens. We need to be screaming that this isn’t America—that this isn’t who we are" newrepublic.com/article/2042...
Trump’s Immigration Nightmare: It Is Happening Here
With astonishing speed, the administration has toppled the most cherished pillars of a free society. And the experts agree: It’s all going to get much, much worse.
newrepublic.com
January 2, 2026 at 5:59 PM
Retired immigration judge to @radleybalko.bsky.social: "It always starts with the minorities. It always starts with the immigrants. If we don’t stop them, it will be American citizens. We need to be screaming that this isn’t America—that this isn’t who we are" newrepublic.com/article/2042...