Justin Mason
@jmason.org
Dublin-based software engineer; still linkblogging at https://jmason.ie/ .
Nerdy stuff on https://mastodon.ie/@jmason . Been on the internet far too long at this stage.
Works at NewsWhip, used to work at Swrve, Amazon and on SpamAssassin. Opinions my own.
Nerdy stuff on https://mastodon.ie/@jmason . Been on the internet far too long at this stage.
Works at NewsWhip, used to work at Swrve, Amazon and on SpamAssassin. Opinions my own.
Reposted by Justin Mason
you could not under penalty of torture get me to admit the level of ignorance about my own country and its history and culture that Irish conservatives are proudly displaying about Imbolc right now
February 2, 2026 at 1:49 PM
you could not under penalty of torture get me to admit the level of ignorance about my own country and its history and culture that Irish conservatives are proudly displaying about Imbolc right now
Reposted by Justin Mason
I do think CS Lewis was on to something when he wrote about the lure of being in the Inner Ring. (“Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things”)
www.lewissociety.org/innerring/
www.lewissociety.org/innerring/
The Inner Ring - CS Lewis Society of California
www.lewissociety.org
February 2, 2026 at 11:39 AM
I do think CS Lewis was on to something when he wrote about the lure of being in the Inner Ring. (“Of all the passions, the passion for the Inner Ring is most skillful in making a man who is not yet a very bad man do very bad things”)
www.lewissociety.org/innerring/
www.lewissociety.org/innerring/
Reposted by Justin Mason
It's hard to keep up, but did we already know Bjorn Lomborg was hanging out with Epstein?
January 31, 2026 at 8:19 PM
It's hard to keep up, but did we already know Bjorn Lomborg was hanging out with Epstein?
Reposted by Justin Mason
Astonishing how every major figure in New Atheism turned out to be an arsehole linked to racism, anti-feminism, transphobia, or Epstein.
Bought that book before it became clear who Pinker was, never got around to it, sold it when it became obvious who he was. Steven Pinker, Richard Dawkins, Lawrence Krauss, and Sam Harris, among several others, taught me to never have heroes.
February 1, 2026 at 1:25 PM
Astonishing how every major figure in New Atheism turned out to be an arsehole linked to racism, anti-feminism, transphobia, or Epstein.
Reposted by Justin Mason
“And then everything goes into this markdown file” is the computer programming version of “and I don’t even need a real toilet because I have all these empty mountain dew bottles already”
February 1, 2026 at 3:12 AM
“And then everything goes into this markdown file” is the computer programming version of “and I don’t even need a real toilet because I have all these empty mountain dew bottles already”
Reposted by Justin Mason
I’m starting to think the people who are excited about “AI agents” have literally never used a computer in their lives
February 1, 2026 at 2:56 AM
I’m starting to think the people who are excited about “AI agents” have literally never used a computer in their lives
Reposted by Justin Mason
Data protection, as a concept, grew out of post-war legal scholarship in Germany which reflected on the use of data about people by the Nazi Govt, and formulated a set of limits on data use which recognised that to collect and use data about people was to impact the people’s lives.
If anyone doubts how prescient and important the German Constitutional Court‘s 1983 decision on self-determination regarding information was - the US offers a powerful example of how things can go wrong
A manual for ICE's immigrant-targeting computer system, Palantir ELITE, was leaked today.
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
Let's look at it, then step back to evaluate how far we've come along a dangerous road and where that road might take us. 🧵
February 1, 2026 at 8:45 AM
Data protection, as a concept, grew out of post-war legal scholarship in Germany which reflected on the use of data about people by the Nazi Govt, and formulated a set of limits on data use which recognised that to collect and use data about people was to impact the people’s lives.
Reposted by Justin Mason
Just gonna sit here with the knowledge that everything we suffer right now is legitimately downstream of a lack of adequate forum moderation
January 31, 2026 at 4:12 PM
Just gonna sit here with the knowledge that everything we suffer right now is legitimately downstream of a lack of adequate forum moderation
Reposted by Justin Mason
GAIUS QUINTUS DONT STEP ON THE CLAY BY JUPITER
A child’s footprint frozen in time - pressed into a #Roman tile as it dried before firing nearly 1,800 years ago.
A tiny, timeless reminder of everyday life in the ancient world.
📷 online.landessammlungen-noe.at/objects/1306...
🏺
A tiny, timeless reminder of everyday life in the ancient world.
📷 online.landessammlungen-noe.at/objects/1306...
🏺
January 31, 2026 at 1:14 PM
GAIUS QUINTUS DONT STEP ON THE CLAY BY JUPITER
Reposted by Justin Mason
I have, for years, talked about how I spent the late aughts on 4chan, and I've been watching the worst people from there take over the world.
And.
He's.
He relaunched /pol/ after meeting with Epstein.
It's been fucking /pol/ this entire fucking time fucking fuck.
And.
He's.
He relaunched /pol/ after meeting with Epstein.
It's been fucking /pol/ this entire fucking time fucking fuck.
January 31, 2026 at 3:27 AM
I have, for years, talked about how I spent the late aughts on 4chan, and I've been watching the worst people from there take over the world.
And.
He's.
He relaunched /pol/ after meeting with Epstein.
It's been fucking /pol/ this entire fucking time fucking fuck.
And.
He's.
He relaunched /pol/ after meeting with Epstein.
It's been fucking /pol/ this entire fucking time fucking fuck.
Reposted by Justin Mason
That feeling when you, a terrorism and extremism scholar, see documentary evidence that shows moot met with Jeffery Epstein on the same day /pol was launched:
January 31, 2026 at 3:43 AM
That feeling when you, a terrorism and extremism scholar, see documentary evidence that shows moot met with Jeffery Epstein on the same day /pol was launched:
Reposted by Justin Mason
Interesting story from Eavan Murray in @Independent_ie today on infighting within Met Éireann and the response to this week’s events.
January 31, 2026 at 9:45 AM
Interesting story from Eavan Murray in @Independent_ie today on infighting within Met Éireann and the response to this week’s events.
Reposted by Justin Mason
feel like “moltbook” is effectively “sydney 2,” insofar as:
(1) it’s genuinely cool and spooky, but
(2) most of the posts are the bots "performing" implictly for the approval of human readers, including a lot of confabulation, which we should expect because
(1) it’s genuinely cool and spooky, but
(2) most of the posts are the bots "performing" implictly for the approval of human readers, including a lot of confabulation, which we should expect because
I wrote about Clawdbot/Moltbot/OpenClaw and Moltbook, the fascinating, weird and sometimes even useful social network for digital assistants to swap tips and gossip with each other simonwillison.net/2026/Jan/30/...
Moltbook is the most interesting place on the internet right now
The hottest project in AI right now is Clawdbot, renamed to Moltbot, renamed to OpenClaw. It’s an open source implementation of the digital personal assistant pattern, built by Peter Steinberger …
simonwillison.net
January 30, 2026 at 11:04 PM
feel like “moltbook” is effectively “sydney 2,” insofar as:
(1) it’s genuinely cool and spooky, but
(2) most of the posts are the bots "performing" implictly for the approval of human readers, including a lot of confabulation, which we should expect because
(1) it’s genuinely cool and spooky, but
(2) most of the posts are the bots "performing" implictly for the approval of human readers, including a lot of confabulation, which we should expect because
Reposted by Justin Mason
OpenClaw (which was Moltbot, which was ClawdBot, all in the course of a week) is the new `sudo curl | bash`
January 30, 2026 at 7:19 PM
OpenClaw (which was Moltbot, which was ClawdBot, all in the course of a week) is the new `sudo curl | bash`
Reposted by Justin Mason
Increasingly think UBI is what tech bros say because they can’t face saying tax and welfare/benefits
as.ft.com/r/da40da05-4... Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister
as.ft.com/r/da40da05-4... Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister
Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister
[FREE TO READ] Lord Jason Stockwood had previously suggested that tech companies could pay a windfall levy to fund the payments
as.ft.com
January 29, 2026 at 7:55 AM
Increasingly think UBI is what tech bros say because they can’t face saying tax and welfare/benefits
as.ft.com/r/da40da05-4... Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister
as.ft.com/r/da40da05-4... Universal basic income needed to cushion blow from AI job losses, says UK minister
Reposted by Justin Mason
The largest randomized trial of medical A.I.
—Over 100,000 women in Sweden
—radiologist + AI vs 2 radiologists, in follow-up
—AI added led to 29% more cancer detected, 44% reduced workload, and
—Less cancer dx in subsequent 2 years, and, when found, less aggressive
thelancet.com/journals/lan...
—Over 100,000 women in Sweden
—radiologist + AI vs 2 radiologists, in follow-up
—AI added led to 29% more cancer detected, 44% reduced workload, and
—Less cancer dx in subsequent 2 years, and, when found, less aggressive
thelancet.com/journals/lan...
January 29, 2026 at 11:47 PM
The largest randomized trial of medical A.I.
—Over 100,000 women in Sweden
—radiologist + AI vs 2 radiologists, in follow-up
—AI added led to 29% more cancer detected, 44% reduced workload, and
—Less cancer dx in subsequent 2 years, and, when found, less aggressive
thelancet.com/journals/lan...
—Over 100,000 women in Sweden
—radiologist + AI vs 2 radiologists, in follow-up
—AI added led to 29% more cancer detected, 44% reduced workload, and
—Less cancer dx in subsequent 2 years, and, when found, less aggressive
thelancet.com/journals/lan...
@griffski.bsky.social this is possibly not news to you but it seems Sesame Street have been uploading more old episodes! kottke.org/26/01/watch-...
Watch Classic Episodes of Sesame Street for Free on YouTube
Sesame Street has uploaded a bunch of classic episodes to YouTube that are free to watch, including the very first episode fro
kottke.org
January 28, 2026 at 9:02 AM
@griffski.bsky.social this is possibly not news to you but it seems Sesame Street have been uploading more old episodes! kottke.org/26/01/watch-...
Reposted by Justin Mason
recently learned about “dek bass”, a sound system culture in rural West Bengal, using cassette decks and homemade systems, and it’s remarkable because 1) the music and equipment are sick and 2) the DJ always looks like he’s being briefed on a national security issue
January 26, 2026 at 3:56 AM
recently learned about “dek bass”, a sound system culture in rural West Bengal, using cassette decks and homemade systems, and it’s remarkable because 1) the music and equipment are sick and 2) the DJ always looks like he’s being briefed on a national security issue
Reposted by Justin Mason
clawdbot/moltbot is going to help someone lose a LOT of money when they merrily wire everything up to the Internet. People are already tradng Shodan scans of clawdbot installs running on cloud servers!
Moltbot (Formerly Clawdbot) Showed Me What the Future of Personal AI Assistants Looks Like
Update, January 27, 2026: Clawdbot has been renamed to Moltbot following a trademark-related request by Anthropic. For the past week or so, I’ve been working with a digital assistant that knows my nam...
www.macstories.net
January 27, 2026 at 11:19 PM
clawdbot/moltbot is going to help someone lose a LOT of money when they merrily wire everything up to the Internet. People are already tradng Shodan scans of clawdbot installs running on cloud servers!
Reposted by Justin Mason
The only public operational data we have about the operation of our city bus network (as opposed to the slack-jawing of certain local councillors) is in the pre-BusConnects Choices Report . The data pointed to lower levels of service at weekends suppressing passenger traffic.
January 27, 2026 at 10:10 PM
The only public operational data we have about the operation of our city bus network (as opposed to the slack-jawing of certain local councillors) is in the pre-BusConnects Choices Report . The data pointed to lower levels of service at weekends suppressing passenger traffic.
Reposted by Justin Mason
Twitter died a long time ago and X isn't worth it. Before I made the jump, my ego was holding me back. I was too concerned with vanity metrics. I finally realized if you're posting stuff people want to follow, then they'll follow you, even when you leave. www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/k...
Open-source champion Kelsey Hightower on the promise of Bluesky
Ann O’Dea spoke to US software engineer and open-source champion Kelsey Hightower about the promise of the AT protocol.
www.siliconrepublic.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Twitter died a long time ago and X isn't worth it. Before I made the jump, my ego was holding me back. I was too concerned with vanity metrics. I finally realized if you're posting stuff people want to follow, then they'll follow you, even when you leave. www.siliconrepublic.com/enterprise/k...
Reposted by Justin Mason
UpScrolled is blowing up due to the Tiktok ban - #2 in the US right now. It's ethical social media: no shadowbans, no algorithmic bullshit, no controls on your feed, not designed for addiction, doesn't sell your data
January 26, 2026 at 11:29 AM
UpScrolled is blowing up due to the Tiktok ban - #2 in the US right now. It's ethical social media: no shadowbans, no algorithmic bullshit, no controls on your feed, not designed for addiction, doesn't sell your data
Reposted by Justin Mason
From the genre "I never thought the suppression of the Malayan National Liberation Army / Mau Mau would come to Derry".
January 25, 2026 at 1:46 PM
From the genre "I never thought the suppression of the Malayan National Liberation Army / Mau Mau would come to Derry".
Reposted by Justin Mason
"immigration crisis"
"federal accounts challenged"
The IT has no idea how to meet the moment
"federal accounts challenged"
The IT has no idea how to meet the moment
Minneapolis shooting deepens US immigration crisis as federal accounts are challenged
Minneapolis shooting deepens US immigration crisis as federal accounts are challenged
Video evidence, political rhetoric and competing narratives collide after the death of Alex Pretti
www.irishtimes.com
January 25, 2026 at 11:16 AM
"immigration crisis"
"federal accounts challenged"
The IT has no idea how to meet the moment
"federal accounts challenged"
The IT has no idea how to meet the moment
Reposted by Justin Mason
the whole D&D movie is such a delightful surprise and really captures the feeling of your classic party: constantly egging each other on to ridiculous shenanigans that totally derail whatever the DM is trying to do
poor, poor Jarnathan
poor, poor Jarnathan
Chris Pine is a really good actor when used well
he's fantastic in the D&D movie www.youtube.com/shorts/3_3CL...
he's fantastic in the D&D movie www.youtube.com/shorts/3_3CL...
Distraction Scene - Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves (2023)
YouTube video by Bits by Jerome
www.youtube.com
January 23, 2026 at 11:53 PM
the whole D&D movie is such a delightful surprise and really captures the feeling of your classic party: constantly egging each other on to ridiculous shenanigans that totally derail whatever the DM is trying to do
poor, poor Jarnathan
poor, poor Jarnathan