Kate Irwin
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kateirwin.bsky.social
Kate Irwin
@kateirwin.bsky.social
570 followers 650 following 140 posts
Writer & journalist | Bylines @ PCMag, Blockworks, Decrypt, other places
kateirwin.ca
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kateirwin.bsky.social
The thing is generative AI is never gonna be able to physically go to the restaurant eat the food and then write about it

So much short-sighted thinking in media right now
voxmediaunion.bsky.social Vox Media Union @voxmediaunion.bsky.social · Aug 7
Vox Media Union statement on today's devastating round of layoffs at Eater. We stand with all of our wonderful colleagues. #solidarityforever #unionstrong #1u
Eater layoffs statement Today, 15 members of the Vox Media Union working at Eater were notified without warning that their jobs were being eliminated as part of a major restructuring of the 20-year-old brand. This was especially shocking considering that Vox Media CEO Jim Bankoff told Puck’s Dylan Byers just last week that he did not anticipate any impending layoffs at the company. But, of course, we’ve learned that we cannot trust Jim Bankoff’s word when it comes to layoffs. This is the second major round of layoffs at Eater this year, following a round earlier this year that decimated Eater’s award-winning cities network. To be abundantly clear: these layoffs are a gut-job, one that eliminates roughly a third of Eater’s union jobs. It is also a cowardly capitulation to the fallacious insistence that generative AI is the future of search and publishing. We are devastated that our colleagues have lost their jobs, and we are deeply worried about the future sustainability of Eater without them. Eater is currently in the midst of celebrating its 20th anniversary, and right now, there is not much to celebrate. We will have more information forthcoming about ways to support our laid-off colleagues in the coming days. Solidarity forever, The Vox Media Union Committees
August 14, 2025 at 7:35 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
SCOOP: Neon Machine is in the red. Neon Machine, the company behind Shrapnel, has a slew of unpaid debts, owing millions to external vendors, multiple sources tell Blockworks.

blockworks.co/news/neon-ma...
Neon Machine’s Shrapnel is in the red: Sources
Documents and sources suggest Neon Machine is running out of cash and has laid off nearly all its employees — and struck a deal with the Chinese government to stay afloat.
blockworks.co
April 4, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
kattenbarge.bsky.social
Microsoft found in its own AI research that it encourages less critical thinking. Unfortunately, this isn't poised to stop the mass AI integration into all levels of schooling, including early childhood education, where critical thinking skills should be formed.
www.404media.co/email/9d5175...
Microsoft Study Finds AI Makes Human Cognition “Atrophied and Unprepared”
Researchers find that the more people use AI at their job, the less critical thinking they use.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2025 at 6:46 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
talkingbiznews.bsky.social
@kateirwin.bsky.social hired by @blockworks.bsky.social for its The Drop newsletter: talkingbiznews.com/media-news/b...
Blockworks hires Irwin for The Drop newsletter - Talking Biz News
Cryptocurrency news site Blockworks has hired Kate Irwin to be the lead writer for its The Drop newsletter. She has been at PCMag as a reporter. She previously worked as a reporter and producer for De...
talkingbiznews.com
February 3, 2025 at 9:22 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
kevinmcshane.org
"Masculine Energy"
Panel 1: Mark Zuckerberg stands on the stage at a Meta all-hands meeting, wearing a little chain and a shirt that says "Cool Dude." "I think our company could use more Masculine Energy," he says into a mic. In the crowd, an employee raises their hand. "Excuse me, Mr. Zuckerberg," the person asks. Panel 2: The person stands up, asking, "By "Masculine Energy," do you mean a mature definition where men in power use their relative strength to protect and uplift those less privileged?" Panel 3: The person continues, "…or a more childish definition where men in power are free to be aggressive and harm others without being held accountable?" Panel 4: Zuck stands silent for a beat. Panel 5: "You're all fired," he says.
January 20, 2025 at 4:43 AM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
shakespeare.lol
Hell is empty,
And all the devils are here.
January 20, 2025 at 2:38 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
If you haven’t seen the David Lynch cooking video yet you should
January 20, 2025 at 8:44 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
sheeraf.bsky.social
As a reporter who covered the Facebook apology tour circa 2016, and spent HOURS on the phone with FB flak and executives earnestly telling me Zuckerberg was torn up over Russian election interference and was making it a top priority to fix misinfo on FB, this week’s developments are 🙃
January 10, 2025 at 8:30 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
kathryncramer.bsky.social
On my home white board, April 27, 2020, Dovercourt Park, Toronto.
facile optimism will kill people
January 10, 2025 at 8:53 AM
kateirwin.bsky.social
UPDATE: Great to see Airbnb stepping up and offering temporary free housing for evacuees and first responders through its nonprofit arm, airbnb.org
January 10, 2025 at 12:40 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
My heart goes out to everyone in the Los Angeles area who has lost their homes or is watching from nearby as the region burns right now. 😢
January 8, 2025 at 6:49 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
All these devastating fires and people sharing their experiences just reminds me that Airbnb and insurance companies really need to overhaul their "ethics."
January 8, 2025 at 5:49 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
bencollins.bsky.social
Please be safe, LA friends.
January 8, 2025 at 3:23 AM
kateirwin.bsky.social
It's like people in the Tristate area suddenly forgot what the subway and train are

Hilarious
January 6, 2025 at 12:15 PM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
gaycannibalism.bsky.social
I don't think writers and artists were supposed to be constantly reachable online
January 2, 2025 at 10:51 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Hours after I got in touch with AT&T about this crazy bill, the customer said the issue was resolved.
www.pcmag.com/news/att-hit...
AT&T Hits Texas Man With $6,000 Bill for Using 3GB of Data
AT&T charged the customer $2 per MB of data used, but ultimately reversed the charges after the customer spent days trying to resolve the issue.
www.pcmag.com
December 18, 2024 at 1:18 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Sometimes the “smart” home tech turns out to be pretty stupid

Like my dishwasher app which I will never use
dprzygoda.bsky.social Dan Przygoda @dprzygoda.bsky.social · Dec 17
Laundry app: “Would you like to turn on notifications to get additional alerts?”

Me: “You mean besides when the washer and dryer are done?”

Laundry app: “Yes!”

Me: “…what else could you possibly notify me about?”

Laundry app: “Did you know—“

Me, furiously pressing the “no”
button: “No! No! No!”
December 18, 2024 at 2:29 AM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Idk why this level of bribery is legal
mollyjongfast.bsky.social Molly Jong-Fast @mollyjongfast.bsky.social · Dec 13
This is exactly what not to do
December 13, 2024 at 1:47 AM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
pcmag.com
Google's quantum computing division unveiled a new chip, dubbed Willow, that the tech giant says makes it infinitely faster and better than existing supercomputers.
www.pcmag.com/news/google-...
December 10, 2024 at 5:16 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Honestly I’m just on here for a good laugh.

The dark place used to have those
December 10, 2024 at 2:07 AM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Peanut butter and pickles is actually not bad
rowan.monster rowan kaiser @rowan.monster · Dec 9
If you were a world famous assassin whose name and social media just got revealed, what take of yours would people find to declare you ideologically incoherent?
December 10, 2024 at 1:59 AM
kateirwin.bsky.social
December 9, 2024 at 1:52 AM
Reposted by Kate Irwin
therichcampbell.bsky.social
We pay for our current health care system with our lives.
December 5, 2024 at 2:45 PM
kateirwin.bsky.social
Over on Xitter, people (mostly men) are very mad because a woman got a PhD in English Literature while writing about a niche topic (as most academics do) while being attractive.

In case you're wondering how things are going over there.
December 3, 2024 at 3:14 PM