Mark Hurst
@markhurst.bsky.social
Writer and radio host in NYC.
- Host, Techtonic on WFMU: https://techtonic.fm
- Tech criticism: https://creativegood.com/blog
- Newsletter: https://creativegood.com/newsletter
Encouraging better tech, and resisting Big Tech.
- Host, Techtonic on WFMU: https://techtonic.fm
- Tech criticism: https://creativegood.com/blog
- Newsletter: https://creativegood.com/newsletter
Encouraging better tech, and resisting Big Tech.
Pinned
Mark Hurst
@markhurst.bsky.social
· Feb 21
If you like Severance, I hope you'll listen to Techtonic, my podcast/radio show.
I'm questioning tech & its promises, w/help from brilliant guests like @hypervisible.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @tamigraph.bsky.social & more.
Podcast:
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
More:
techtonic.fm
I'm questioning tech & its promises, w/help from brilliant guests like @hypervisible.bsky.social @randomwalker.bsky.social @tamigraph.bsky.social & more.
Podcast:
itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/t...
More:
techtonic.fm
Reposted by Mark Hurst
everyone with an IQ above paste could have predicted this would happen: anyway; these Meta glasses are ontologically evil and anyone who wears them is a creeping blood-worm who should be chased from society with stones and sharp sticks
Social media is awash with videos of men filming themselves approaching women in public spaces and attempting to flirt. In many cases, the videos are filmed and uploaded without the women’s consent. https://cnn.it/4qtIsvB
February 11, 2026 at 1:01 AM
everyone with an IQ above paste could have predicted this would happen: anyway; these Meta glasses are ontologically evil and anyone who wears them is a creeping blood-worm who should be chased from society with stones and sharp sticks
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Kinda Fucked Up that in our lifetimes we've gone from "never share personal info on the internet" to "hand over your identity to the most incompetent corporations imaginable".
February 9, 2026 at 6:25 PM
Kinda Fucked Up that in our lifetimes we've gone from "never share personal info on the internet" to "hand over your identity to the most incompetent corporations imaginable".
New on Techtonic: I speak w/Peter Dear about the history of science - then explain that *how we interpret AI* is in the balance right now.
Full episode:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
More Techtonic:
techtonic.fm
Full episode:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
More Techtonic:
techtonic.fm
February 10, 2026 at 7:31 PM
New on Techtonic: I speak w/Peter Dear about the history of science - then explain that *how we interpret AI* is in the balance right now.
Full episode:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
More Techtonic:
techtonic.fm
Full episode:
techtonic.fm/episodes/202...
More Techtonic:
techtonic.fm
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Tell me more about how school surveillance is about safety.
Local police aid ICE by tapping school cameras amid Trump’s immigration crackdown
Local police assisted federal immigration agents by repeatedly searching school cameras that record license plate numbers, data show
www.theguardian.com
February 10, 2026 at 3:31 PM
Tell me more about how school surveillance is about safety.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Can't wait for people to realize this tech works on them, too, and the government has access to all of it.
have never seen popular public opinion shift so fast about a surveillance product than the fallout from ring's super bowl "search party" ad. they'll teach this in advertising courses one day. chef's kiss baby www.404media.co/with-ring-am...
With Ring, American Consumers Built a Surveillance Dragnet
Ring's 'Search Party' is dystopian surveillance accelerationism.
www.404media.co
February 10, 2026 at 4:44 PM
Can't wait for people to realize this tech works on them, too, and the government has access to all of it.
Case in point: musician falsely accused by Google's AI.
It became *his* responsibility to contest Google's error.
bsky.app/profile/josh...
It became *his* responsibility to contest Google's error.
bsky.app/profile/josh...
New from me: The storied fiddler Ashley MacIsaac wanted to play a show at a Nova Scotia First Nation. It got cancelled because Google's AI search summary incorrectly called him a sex offender. Now he's worried for his safety www.theglobeandmail.com/culture/arti...
Fiddler Ashley MacIsaac has show cancelled over Google AI-generated misinformation
Cape Breton musician was set to perform in Nova Scotia before a search summary incorrectly described him as a sex offender
www.theglobeandmail.com
February 10, 2026 at 4:30 PM
Case in point: musician falsely accused by Google's AI.
It became *his* responsibility to contest Google's error.
bsky.app/profile/josh...
It became *his* responsibility to contest Google's error.
bsky.app/profile/josh...
Reposted by Mark Hurst
This is because a statistical model of word frequency is not a useful tool for modeling the complex interactions of the human body
⚠️ Despite all the hype, chatbots still make terrible doctors. Out today is the largest user study of language models for medical self-diagnosis. We found that chatbots provide inaccurate and inconsistent answers, and that people are better off using online searches or their own judgment.
February 10, 2026 at 2:27 PM
This is because a statistical model of word frequency is not a useful tool for modeling the complex interactions of the human body
Reposted by Mark Hurst
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
February 10, 2026 at 10:09 AM
"A modern-day concentration camp ... People have been killed by the staff here." Irish citizen Seamus Culleton has been in ICE detention since September, despite having a valid work permit and his own business in the US.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
This NYT post is a good example of misunderstanding the Chatbot as just an interface to more specialized tools, but language is not the interface. Language is the whole thing!
This is a framing error, NYT. It's different technologies. Chatbots are not the same as the machine learning involved in reading scans (better defined inputs, clearer evaluation of outputs). Calling both AI is like conflating bombs dropped from planes with cars, because they both involve explosions.
February 10, 2026 at 8:55 AM
This NYT post is a good example of misunderstanding the Chatbot as just an interface to more specialized tools, but language is not the interface. Language is the whole thing!
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Remember last week how Dr. Oz called AI the best solution for rural healthcare shortages?
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Health Advice From A.I. Chatbots Is Frequently Wrong, Study Shows
www.nytimes.com
February 10, 2026 at 12:16 AM
Remember last week how Dr. Oz called AI the best solution for rural healthcare shortages?
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Well, a new study finds that when patients turn to chatbots for health advice, they end up taking the wrong steps and getting the wrong diagnosis more than half the time.
www.nytimes.com/2026/02/09/w...
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Pls destroy them, NM. We’re all rooting for you.
New Mexico goes to trial to accuse Meta of facilitating child predators
New Mexico goes to trial to accuse Meta of facilitating child predators
A New Mexico jury will decide: did Meta lie?
buff.ly
February 10, 2026 at 1:20 AM
Pls destroy them, NM. We’re all rooting for you.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Privacy is patriotic!
Use a VPN. Install an ad blocker. Quit Google and Meta, use privacy-forward alternatives like Proton, Duck Duck Go, and the fediverse instead. Throw out your “smart” devices. Use Permission Slip to request data deletion from corporations.
If not for yourself, then for America
Use a VPN. Install an ad blocker. Quit Google and Meta, use privacy-forward alternatives like Proton, Duck Duck Go, and the fediverse instead. Throw out your “smart” devices. Use Permission Slip to request data deletion from corporations.
If not for yourself, then for America
ICE takes aim at data held by advertising and tech firms
: Agency looks to understand the extent of identifying information available to its masked agents
www.theregister.com
February 9, 2026 at 4:03 PM
Privacy is patriotic!
Use a VPN. Install an ad blocker. Quit Google and Meta, use privacy-forward alternatives like Proton, Duck Duck Go, and the fediverse instead. Throw out your “smart” devices. Use Permission Slip to request data deletion from corporations.
If not for yourself, then for America
Use a VPN. Install an ad blocker. Quit Google and Meta, use privacy-forward alternatives like Proton, Duck Duck Go, and the fediverse instead. Throw out your “smart” devices. Use Permission Slip to request data deletion from corporations.
If not for yourself, then for America
Reposted by Mark Hurst
If they can do this to find a dog, they can do this to find anyone. That’s terrifying.
February 9, 2026 at 3:47 PM
If they can do this to find a dog, they can do this to find anyone. That’s terrifying.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
chatgpt is much like an improv comedy group
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
This is fascinating: www.reddit.com/r/OpenAI/s/I...
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
Someone “worked on a book with ChatGPT” for weeks and then sought help on Reddit when they couldn’t download the file. Redditors helped them realized ChatGPT had just been roleplaying/lying and there was no file/book…
From the OpenAI community on Reddit
Explore this post and more from the OpenAI community
www.reddit.com
July 16, 2025 at 9:21 PM
chatgpt is much like an improv comedy group
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
1) you are the audience, giving it prompts
2) it produces things roughly shaped like your prompt
3) it is trained to respond with Yes, And
4) it has the factual accuracy of improv
5) it does not understand comedy
As though the Good is computable. Socrates weeps.
“She compares her work to the efforts of a parent raising a child. She’s training Claude to detect the difference between right and wrong while imbuing it with unique personality traits.”
This Philosopher Is Teaching AI to Have Morals
The tech company has entrusted the philosopher to endow its chatbot with a sense of right and wrong.
www.wsj.com
February 9, 2026 at 1:29 PM
As though the Good is computable. Socrates weeps.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
For much more on this, check out Techtonic tomorrow and every Monday at 6 pm ET on wfmu.org. Host @markhurst.bsky.social has been spot the hell on re: Ring, Amazon, and the creep of surveillance capitalism for YEARS now.
February 9, 2026 at 2:46 AM
For much more on this, check out Techtonic tomorrow and every Monday at 6 pm ET on wfmu.org. Host @markhurst.bsky.social has been spot the hell on re: Ring, Amazon, and the creep of surveillance capitalism for YEARS now.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
So, has the staffer who posted that racist meme been fired, or is he still the President of the United States?
February 7, 2026 at 10:55 PM
So, has the staffer who posted that racist meme been fired, or is he still the President of the United States?
Reposted by Mark Hurst
In less than a week the Kennedy Center has effectively closed and our local DC paper has been gutted, both by billionaires.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
February 4, 2026 at 5:38 PM
In less than a week the Kennedy Center has effectively closed and our local DC paper has been gutted, both by billionaires.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
I don’t think immigrants are our problem in this country.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
As @jesgilbert.bsky.social & I argued in "The Secret Life of Data," a Chinese-style Social Credit System exists in the U.S. as well, it's just partially privatized.
ICE mobile app scans protester's face, revokes her TSA PreCheck status
www.sfgate.com/travel/artic...
www.sfgate.com/travel/artic...
ICE mobile app scans protester's face, revokes her TSA PreCheck status
If you're protesting ICE, it might be a good idea to wear a mask.
www.sfgate.com
February 8, 2026 at 2:22 PM
As @jesgilbert.bsky.social & I argued in "The Secret Life of Data," a Chinese-style Social Credit System exists in the U.S. as well, it's just partially privatized.
Every day it becomes a little clearer what caused the Butlerian Jihad.
February 7, 2026 at 6:29 PM
Every day it becomes a little clearer what caused the Butlerian Jihad.
Reposted by Mark Hurst
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
It Turns Out Waymos Are Being Controlled by Workers in the Philippines
During a Congressional hearing, Waymo's chief safety officer, Mauricio Peña, was grilled over the company's reliance on overseas workers.
futurism.com
February 6, 2026 at 3:37 PM
Once again, it turns out “fully autonomous” means “a guy in the Philippines.”
Reposted by Mark Hurst
On 1/25/15, Peter Thiel wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, “I do hope you’re holding up well, & that the cycle won’t go much further…” (At the time, Epstein was dealing with renewed media scrutiny of his child sex crimes & plea deal, as shown below). 1/
February 6, 2026 at 4:55 AM
On 1/25/15, Peter Thiel wrote to Jeffrey Epstein, “I do hope you’re holding up well, & that the cycle won’t go much further…” (At the time, Epstein was dealing with renewed media scrutiny of his child sex crimes & plea deal, as shown below). 1/
If only someone had warned them against inflating the AI bubble!
February 6, 2026 at 2:40 PM
If only someone had warned them against inflating the AI bubble!
Yep. And then there's the problem of space junk raining down on planes in flight, and back yards...
buttondown.com/creativegood...
buttondown.com/creativegood...
Musk's space junk is a threat to us all
Pieces of space junk are falling to earth on a regular basis. On Techtonic this week I spoke with astronomer Samantha Lawler, who has been raising the alarm...
buttondown.com
February 6, 2026 at 2:39 PM
Yep. And then there's the problem of space junk raining down on planes in flight, and back yards...
buttondown.com/creativegood...
buttondown.com/creativegood...