Jason MacArthur
@jasonmac404.bsky.social
Spreading kindness, curiosity, and a little bit of love, all around the world. Based in Sydney, Australia.
In 2015, Elizabeth Holmes had a $9-billion valuation for her fake-it-till-you-make-it company Theranos. In 2022 she was sent to jail for fraud. AI companies like OpenAI have learned the wrong lesson from this. They're just faking harder and hoping nobody will notice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
Elizabeth Holmes - Wikipedia
en.wikipedia.org
January 29, 2026 at 10:37 AM
In 2015, Elizabeth Holmes had a $9-billion valuation for her fake-it-till-you-make-it company Theranos. In 2022 she was sent to jail for fraud. AI companies like OpenAI have learned the wrong lesson from this. They're just faking harder and hoping nobody will notice
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
January 28, 2026 at 5:36 AM
Traditional media wasn't reaching young people anymore. Nobody under 65 watches TV or reads newspapers. TikTok was the only platform not controlled by the Tech Bro Oligarchy. That *had* to change. And now it has.
www.independent.co.uk/tech/tiktok-...
www.independent.co.uk/tech/tiktok-...
TikTok users in the US can’t write ‘Epstein’ or see anti-Trump videos
Alleged censorship comes after investors loyal to Trump take over social media platform
www.independent.co.uk
January 28, 2026 at 4:36 AM
Traditional media wasn't reaching young people anymore. Nobody under 65 watches TV or reads newspapers. TikTok was the only platform not controlled by the Tech Bro Oligarchy. That *had* to change. And now it has.
www.independent.co.uk/tech/tiktok-...
www.independent.co.uk/tech/tiktok-...
The impact of this will be felt in 10-20yrs when the world leading innovations dry up by then it will be too late to catch up.
We lost over 10,000 scientists from the U.S. government. Most pushed out via threatened terminations, harassments, and via decimating reductions in force. Dark times ahead.
January 27, 2026 at 11:13 PM
The impact of this will be felt in 10-20yrs when the world leading innovations dry up by then it will be too late to catch up.
If my market value is $150k and a startup hires at $100k, I'm losing $50k/yr. In 4 years, I’m down $200k. With a generous 10% chance of profitable exit, it means that I need to make $2M *just to break even*, 90% of the time, I leave this game with NOTHING. open.substack.com/pub/shablag/...
Why many engineers value startup equity at $0
Information asymmetry, liquidity constraints, and incentive shifts in startups
open.substack.com
January 27, 2026 at 10:34 PM
If my market value is $150k and a startup hires at $100k, I'm losing $50k/yr. In 4 years, I’m down $200k. With a generous 10% chance of profitable exit, it means that I need to make $2M *just to break even*, 90% of the time, I leave this game with NOTHING. open.substack.com/pub/shablag/...
As a skilled developer I can use AI tools to improve my productivity. But it’s the Dunning Kruger effect in action. The skills you need to evaluate if the code is good are the same skills you need to write good code.
www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/c...
www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/c...
Cursor is better at marketing than coding
Opinion: Autonomous agents may generate millions of lines of code, but shipping software is another matter
www.theregister.com
January 27, 2026 at 5:05 AM
As a skilled developer I can use AI tools to improve my productivity. But it’s the Dunning Kruger effect in action. The skills you need to evaluate if the code is good are the same skills you need to write good code.
www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/c...
www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/c...
I’m no Margaret Atwood fan, but I think on this phrase from ‘The Handmaids Tale’ often: “Freedom to, or freedom from”. Most all political debate comes down to those 5 words.
January 26, 2026 at 5:33 AM
I’m no Margaret Atwood fan, but I think on this phrase from ‘The Handmaids Tale’ often: “Freedom to, or freedom from”. Most all political debate comes down to those 5 words.
Reposted by Jason MacArthur
This morning, I recorded a video on TikTok about why DHS’s arguments for the power to enter homes without judicial warrants in immigration cases are bunk.
Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared.
Well, here’s a link:
georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...
Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared.
Well, here’s a link:
georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...
January 26, 2026 at 2:00 AM
This morning, I recorded a video on TikTok about why DHS’s arguments for the power to enter homes without judicial warrants in immigration cases are bunk.
Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared.
Well, here’s a link:
georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...
Nine hours later, TikTok still says my video is “under review,” and can’t be shared.
Well, here’s a link:
georgetown.box.com/v/Vladeck-IC...
The purpose is to incite unrest, the goal is martial law and suspension of the democratic process. This is not an accident. It is a carefully designed plan. Have no doubt about it at all. It’s the same playbook that’s been used time and time again.
January 26, 2026 at 1:25 AM
The purpose is to incite unrest, the goal is martial law and suspension of the democratic process. This is not an accident. It is a carefully designed plan. Have no doubt about it at all. It’s the same playbook that’s been used time and time again.
Most AI users just want a sympathetic voice, which we could all easily do by getting our noses out of our screens and being nicer to each other.
January 25, 2026 at 4:35 AM
Most AI users just want a sympathetic voice, which we could all easily do by getting our noses out of our screens and being nicer to each other.
“My actual opinions are not within the TOS of this platform” - I won’t attribute this quote, but I thought it was an insightful comment on nature of free speech on commercially owned and controlled platforms.
January 24, 2026 at 11:32 PM
“My actual opinions are not within the TOS of this platform” - I won’t attribute this quote, but I thought it was an insightful comment on nature of free speech on commercially owned and controlled platforms.
Court orders and the constitution are irrelevant until they start to be enforced with weight. One could be forgiven for thinking that this might be the whole point of this exercise. To test how far they can go. And it’s a lot further already than anyone imagined.
January 24, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Court orders and the constitution are irrelevant until they start to be enforced with weight. One could be forgiven for thinking that this might be the whole point of this exercise. To test how far they can go. And it’s a lot further already than anyone imagined.
Ohh. I get it now. It’s “Bored of Peace”. It’s been my dyslexia the whole time.
January 24, 2026 at 9:09 AM
Ohh. I get it now. It’s “Bored of Peace”. It’s been my dyslexia the whole time.
“AI is quietly poisoning itself and pushing models toward collapse - but there's a cure”
Never have I started reading a title and so hopeful, yet finished the title with so much disappointment. Wild ride.
www.zdnet.com/article/ai-i...
Never have I started reading a title and so hopeful, yet finished the title with so much disappointment. Wild ride.
www.zdnet.com/article/ai-i...
AI is quietly poisoning itself and pushing models toward collapse - but there's a cure
When models are trained on unverified AI slop, results drift from reality fast. Here's how to stop the spread, according to Gartner.
www.zdnet.com
January 23, 2026 at 10:23 PM
“AI is quietly poisoning itself and pushing models toward collapse - but there's a cure”
Never have I started reading a title and so hopeful, yet finished the title with so much disappointment. Wild ride.
www.zdnet.com/article/ai-i...
Never have I started reading a title and so hopeful, yet finished the title with so much disappointment. Wild ride.
www.zdnet.com/article/ai-i...
Long distance running: It’s the most efficient way we’ve come up with to hate yourself and love doing it.
January 23, 2026 at 8:10 AM
Long distance running: It’s the most efficient way we’ve come up with to hate yourself and love doing it.
I just for the first time understood the name Flo Rida … Florida. I’m so dense some (most) times.
January 23, 2026 at 1:48 AM
I just for the first time understood the name Flo Rida … Florida. I’m so dense some (most) times.
This is a nice follow up: “What you eat can change the world”.
January 22, 2026 at 6:31 AM
This is a nice follow up: “What you eat can change the world”.
@madeline-layne.bsky.social interesting..l check socials to see if you’re real and I think we’d be broadly compatible. For example, posting about current political topics on which we agree is good. Posting about expensive clothes or travel, bad. Next stop Google for a website. No website bad sign.
I have noticed that people are getting to my website via Google search 100x more than last year. Just wondering, are clients on here googling me? Are clients doing more research these days due to all the AI and OF-only girls on Tryst? I’m getting like 1/2 the traffic from Tryst vs last yr due 1/2
January 20, 2026 at 6:50 AM
@madeline-layne.bsky.social interesting..l check socials to see if you’re real and I think we’d be broadly compatible. For example, posting about current political topics on which we agree is good. Posting about expensive clothes or travel, bad. Next stop Google for a website. No website bad sign.
“Everyone wants to change the world, but not too much”
January 20, 2026 at 4:44 AM
“Everyone wants to change the world, but not too much”
Me too 😊
If we've met and you want some of Alice's surplus lingerie, let me know. I would be happy to facilitate paying Alice to make my friends happy 😉
January 17, 2026 at 12:43 PM
Me too 😊
Do you ever stop to wonder “are we the bad guys”? This may sound shocking but I’ve been thinking this more and more lately.
a man in a military uniform is asking are we the baddies .
ALT: a man in a military uniform is asking are we the baddies .
media.tenor.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:40 AM
Do you ever stop to wonder “are we the bad guys”? This may sound shocking but I’ve been thinking this more and more lately.
Truly incredible. I have no other words. www.reuters.com/world/americ...
Trump accepts Nobel medal from Venezuelan opposition leader Machado
Machado, who described their meeting as "excellent," said the gift was in recognition of what she called Trump's commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
www.reuters.com
January 16, 2026 at 7:11 AM
Truly incredible. I have no other words. www.reuters.com/world/americ...