John Stanley Hunter
@johnalist.de
Pinned
John Stanley Hunter
@johnalist.de
· Feb 27
John Stanley Hunter | Newsletter
www.johnstanleyhunter.com
After years of Insta stories, Linkedin posts, and fleeting Clubhouse talks, I’ve taken my commentary cravings off the algorithmic hamster wheel.
“Odds & Sods”: politics meets tech, business meets society, and outrage meets nuance. No fluff, no single topic—just the bigger picture behind the chaos.
“Odds & Sods”: politics meets tech, business meets society, and outrage meets nuance. No fluff, no single topic—just the bigger picture behind the chaos.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
"In this media environment, the government doesn’t even have to produce its own propaganda; it simply needs to direct the public to someone who is already doing the job for them"
wrote about Nick Shirley, Michael Moore, local TV news investigations and the future of both propaganda and investigative journalism. www.newyorker.com/news/fault-l...
What a Viral YouTube Video Says About the Future of Journalism
A streamer’s investigation of fraud in Minnesota garnered millions of views. His content was questionable, but his methods will likely inspire scores of imitators.
www.newyorker.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:16 PM
"In this media environment, the government doesn’t even have to produce its own propaganda; it simply needs to direct the public to someone who is already doing the job for them"
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
"A left future worth the name doesn’t need to promise perfection; it needs to promise more control over the conditions of life than we have now. That control will be messy, uneven, often boring."
Starkes Essay, @johnalist.de!
odds-and-sods.ghost.io/new/
Starkes Essay, @johnalist.de!
odds-and-sods.ghost.io/new/
Notes from the Left’s Waiting Room
There was a time when “the future” meant something specific: fully automated luxury communism, or the withering away of the state, or at least a council meeting where the people who actually cleaned t...
odds-and-sods.ghost.io
January 5, 2026 at 8:38 PM
"A left future worth the name doesn’t need to promise perfection; it needs to promise more control over the conditions of life than we have now. That control will be messy, uneven, often boring."
Starkes Essay, @johnalist.de!
odds-and-sods.ghost.io/new/
Starkes Essay, @johnalist.de!
odds-and-sods.ghost.io/new/
This is precisely why I'm hosting my newsletter "Odds & Sods" on @ghost.org:
January 4, 2026 at 12:38 PM
This is precisely why I'm hosting my newsletter "Odds & Sods" on @ghost.org:
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Small nit-pick but especially if your argument is about the unreliability of US tech in light of the US' (and its tech sector's) turn towards fascism publishing on motherfucking Substack, a service actively platforming and supporting literal Nazis, defeats the point.
January 4, 2026 at 10:26 AM
Small nit-pick but especially if your argument is about the unreliability of US tech in light of the US' (and its tech sector's) turn towards fascism publishing on motherfucking Substack, a service actively platforming and supporting literal Nazis, defeats the point.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
December 12, 2025 at 4:00 AM
I guess it's fitting that it's a reimagined, worse version of someone else's artwork
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
"Die Militärexperten (in der Schweiz) kommen zu dem Schluss, dass ein Abfluss von Daten aus den Palantir-Systemen technisch nicht verhindert werden könne."
Hmm. Das ist ja komisch. Denn die polizeilichen Palantir-Nutzer in Deutschland behaupten steif & fest das sei technisch ja gar nicht möglich. 🤔
Hmm. Das ist ja komisch. Denn die polizeilichen Palantir-Nutzer in Deutschland behaupten steif & fest das sei technisch ja gar nicht möglich. 🤔
Schweiz: Palantir-Software hat verheerende Risiken
Nach Risikoprüfung des Einsatzes von Palantir-Software in der Schweiz bekam der US-Konzern eine Absage, trotz jahrelanger Hofierung von Behörden und Armee. Den Eidgenossen sind die Risiken zu groß. Da...
netzpolitik.org
December 8, 2025 at 7:37 PM
"Die Militärexperten (in der Schweiz) kommen zu dem Schluss, dass ein Abfluss von Daten aus den Palantir-Systemen technisch nicht verhindert werden könne."
Hmm. Das ist ja komisch. Denn die polizeilichen Palantir-Nutzer in Deutschland behaupten steif & fest das sei technisch ja gar nicht möglich. 🤔
Hmm. Das ist ja komisch. Denn die polizeilichen Palantir-Nutzer in Deutschland behaupten steif & fest das sei technisch ja gar nicht möglich. 🤔
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Regret to report that there has been another good linkedin post
November 22, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Regret to report that there has been another good linkedin post
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
We have arrived at the stage of the GenAI grift where we pay to outsource pleasure. It will be quantified and reported back to us on a scale from meh to mind-blowing.
Just what I’ve always wanted: a bot to watch a season for me and tell me what happened.
Prime Video launches AI-powered Video Recaps to help viewers catch up between seasons
Video Recaps, a first-of-its-kind application of generative AI, provides Prime Video customers with compelling, comprehensive season recaps to bring viewers up to speed on their favorite stories.
www.aboutamazon.com
November 19, 2025 at 6:54 PM
We have arrived at the stage of the GenAI grift where we pay to outsource pleasure. It will be quantified and reported back to us on a scale from meh to mind-blowing.
„draft documents obtained by POLITICO show officials are planning far-reaching changes to the General Data Protection Regulation to the benefit of artificial intelligence developers.“
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...
How to gut a privacy law
Presented by European Commission on Education and Skills By ELLEN O’REGAN PRESENTED BY Tips, tales, traumas to influence@politico.eu | View in your browser Hey there! It’s Ellen O’Regan at th…
www.politico.eu
November 13, 2025 at 5:06 PM
„draft documents obtained by POLITICO show officials are planning far-reaching changes to the General Data Protection Regulation to the benefit of artificial intelligence developers.“
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...
www.politico.eu/newsletter/p...
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
The Authoritarian Stack
How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next
www.authoritarian-stack.info
November 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
The ability to convince capital markets to hand you a trillion dollars on the strength of obvious bullshit paired with the inability to get a single human to sincerely and spontaneously say they love you is some real punishment of the gods shit.
Elon has never experienced this and neither have his biggest fans but now they can create these visuals with the help of a computermachine
November 8, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The ability to convince capital markets to hand you a trillion dollars on the strength of obvious bullshit paired with the inability to get a single human to sincerely and spontaneously say they love you is some real punishment of the gods shit.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
"This long-running war on knowledge and expertise has sown the ground for the narratives widely used by AI companies and the CEOs adopting it. Human labor, inquiry, creativity, and expertise is spurned in the name of “efficiency.” With AI, there is no need for human expertise"
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"This long-running war on knowledge and expertise has sown the ground for the narratives widely used by AI companies and the CEOs adopting it. Human labor, inquiry, creativity, and expertise is spurned in the name of “efficiency.” With AI, there is no need for human expertise"
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
I'm excited to share my piece in Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, which examines OpenAI's claims about ChatGPT's creative writing skills, Big Tech's weaponisation of grief and nostalgia, and the collapse of the academic humanities. lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
lareviewofbooks.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I'm excited to share my piece in Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, which examines OpenAI's claims about ChatGPT's creative writing skills, Big Tech's weaponisation of grief and nostalgia, and the collapse of the academic humanities. lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Answer: no. ChatGPT has no understanding of what words mean. Collocation frequencies of words can’t bring you understanding of what those words mean, even though it might help you predict which words go together.
See:
See:
November 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Answer: no. ChatGPT has no understanding of what words mean. Collocation frequencies of words can’t bring you understanding of what those words mean, even though it might help you predict which words go together.
See:
See:
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It’s Not a Total Surprise.
An armed man at a gathering of the website’s volunteers is just the latest reminder: Editing the internet’s encyclopedia has never been riskier.
slate.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
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 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
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
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
this is the telling thing about all the billionaire hysteria
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
MAMDANI, on Bill Ackman:
“.. He's spending more money against me than I would even tax him!"
@casestudyqb.bsky.social #NYC
“.. He's spending more money against me than I would even tax him!"
@casestudyqb.bsky.social #NYC
October 23, 2025 at 2:48 PM
this is the telling thing about all the billionaire hysteria
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
jfc
October 23, 2025 at 9:22 AM
jfc
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
from my lunch today; "the trouble is not so much AI making you more productive, but that it's tripling the output of the biggest f***ing idiot where you work"
October 21, 2025 at 9:21 PM
from my lunch today; "the trouble is not so much AI making you more productive, but that it's tripling the output of the biggest f***ing idiot where you work"
Es gibt fast 500 Journalistenpreise in Deutschland. Diese Branche ist so kaputt.
October 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Es gibt fast 500 Journalistenpreise in Deutschland. Diese Branche ist so kaputt.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
media thinks we are computers spitting out data
Wow. Just wow.
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 AM
media thinks we are computers spitting out data