Paul Rietschka
@prietschka.bsky.social
Data science/machine learning in the Pacific Northwest. In Minneapolis through early 2025.
AI codegen is, in a way, here to stay, but its efficacy is very much overblown.
We need a more critical appraisal of how we plan to integrate these models into processes, and we’re just not getting that at present.
We need a more critical appraisal of how we plan to integrate these models into processes, and we’re just not getting that at present.
Newer AI Coding Assistants Are Failing in Insidious Ways
Newer AI Coding Assistants Are Failing in Insidious Ways
One AI coding assistant power user says the tools are hitting a plateau, and some are even declining. What's causing this unexpected twist in tech?
spectrum.ieee.org
January 8, 2026 at 2:07 PM
AI codegen is, in a way, here to stay, but its efficacy is very much overblown.
We need a more critical appraisal of how we plan to integrate these models into processes, and we’re just not getting that at present.
We need a more critical appraisal of how we plan to integrate these models into processes, and we’re just not getting that at present.
“[A] decentralized protocol to facilitate money laundering, wait, I mean to turn bitcoin into collateral.”
This will primarily serve to enable money laundering, nothing more.
This will primarily serve to enable money laundering, nothing more.
Stanford professor raises $15 million for Babylon, a decentralized protocol to turn Bitcoin into collateral | Fortune
The startup aims to provide an alternative to platforms like Coinbase and Tether for those seeking to put their Bitcoin to work.
fortune.com
January 8, 2026 at 1:50 PM
“[A] decentralized protocol to facilitate money laundering, wait, I mean to turn bitcoin into collateral.”
This will primarily serve to enable money laundering, nothing more.
This will primarily serve to enable money laundering, nothing more.
Current ML/AI research is such a buzzword-laden joke; I love that this paper is posted on Huggingface and written by some nonentity at Scale.
Paper page - Agentic Rubrics as Contextual Verifiers for SWE Agents
Join the discussion on this paper page
huggingface.co
January 8, 2026 at 1:34 PM
Current ML/AI research is such a buzzword-laden joke; I love that this paper is posted on Huggingface and written by some nonentity at Scale.
“AI generated shopping experiences.”
January 8, 2026 at 1:16 PM
“AI generated shopping experiences.”
It’s a choice Musk made to allow this.
All text-to-image/video models can make pornography and CSAM, as it’s all in their training data. But others have guardrails to prevent this from happening, i.e., the models have system prompts preventing these outputs.
Musk has removed them on Grok.
All text-to-image/video models can make pornography and CSAM, as it’s all in their training data. But others have guardrails to prevent this from happening, i.e., the models have system prompts preventing these outputs.
Musk has removed them on Grok.
Grok's website and app are being used to produce extremely graphic, sometimes violent, sexual imagery of adults that is far more explicit than images on X (Wired)
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
Main Link | Techmeme Permalink
January 8, 2026 at 6:03 AM
It’s a choice Musk made to allow this.
All text-to-image/video models can make pornography and CSAM, as it’s all in their training data. But others have guardrails to prevent this from happening, i.e., the models have system prompts preventing these outputs.
Musk has removed them on Grok.
All text-to-image/video models can make pornography and CSAM, as it’s all in their training data. But others have guardrails to prevent this from happening, i.e., the models have system prompts preventing these outputs.
Musk has removed them on Grok.
The "could" there is load-bearing.
The Year of Pretending Robo-Slave Tech Exists.™️
The Year of Pretending Robo-Slave Tech Exists.™️
Boston Dynamics is leaning on Hyundai's manufacturing scale to help produce these robots, which could report for factory duty in 2028. Here's what we know.
insideevs.com/features/783...
insideevs.com/features/783...
Hyundai's Atlas Robot From Boston Dynamics: What Is It, Exactly?
Hyundai has announced that it plans to add 30,000 robots to its production lines, and some of them will be the humanoid Atlas robot from Boston Dynamics.
insideevs.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:34 AM
The "could" there is load-bearing.
The Year of Pretending Robo-Slave Tech Exists.™️
The Year of Pretending Robo-Slave Tech Exists.™️
Every little piggy is back at the trough. www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/01/...
Anthropic signs term sheet for $10 billion funding round at $350 billion valuation
Coatue and Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC are leading the financing
www.cnbc.com
January 8, 2026 at 5:01 AM
Every little piggy is back at the trough. www.cnbc.com/amp/2026/01/...
Again, sorry for all the posts but it’s been a busy day and I’m full of goulash, bile, and inchoate rage.
Anyway, the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning, and we have this scummy little startup I’d forgotten about.
Jfc these people, that they still have runway is a marvel.
Anyway, the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning, and we have this scummy little startup I’d forgotten about.
Jfc these people, that they still have runway is a marvel.
Yes, LinkedIn banned AI agent startup Artisan, but now it's back | TechCrunch
Several viral posts noticed that Artisan was banned. But the CEO tells us it wasn't for the reasons many thought.
techcrunch.com
January 8, 2026 at 3:15 AM
Again, sorry for all the posts but it’s been a busy day and I’m full of goulash, bile, and inchoate rage.
Anyway, the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning, and we have this scummy little startup I’d forgotten about.
Jfc these people, that they still have runway is a marvel.
Anyway, the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning, and we have this scummy little startup I’d forgotten about.
Jfc these people, that they still have runway is a marvel.
Feels like the worm is turning on this admin., it’s too bad America’s piece-of-garbage constitution makes it impossible to push a government out of power once inaugurated.
Maybe, a bear with me, we should think about throwing our rickety constitution in the garbage, and write something better?
Maybe, a bear with me, we should think about throwing our rickety constitution in the garbage, and write something better?
Hundreds of people in Minneapolis are protesting against ICE after a woman was fatally shot by an agent.
January 8, 2026 at 3:05 AM
Feels like the worm is turning on this admin., it’s too bad America’s piece-of-garbage constitution makes it impossible to push a government out of power once inaugurated.
Maybe, a bear with me, we should think about throwing our rickety constitution in the garbage, and write something better?
Maybe, a bear with me, we should think about throwing our rickety constitution in the garbage, and write something better?
The Auxiliary Niece and her boyfriend are there, I made goulash and was ditched for a good cause…sigh.
I’d have gone as well but my latent agoraphobia was kicking in….
I’d have gone as well but my latent agoraphobia was kicking in….
A friend in Minneapolis just sent me this video. Looks like thousands have come together for a vigil after an ICE agent shot and killed 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good. This was my neighborhood for several years before coming to Portland.
January 8, 2026 at 2:36 AM
The Auxiliary Niece and her boyfriend are there, I made goulash and was ditched for a good cause…sigh.
I’d have gone as well but my latent agoraphobia was kicking in….
I’d have gone as well but my latent agoraphobia was kicking in….
Oh, look, Jamelle Bouie, a writer with none of the power Tina “I‘m Likely the Most Useless Fool on Planet Earth” Smith has as a US senator, gets it right!
But don’t look to Tina Smith for anything, because she’s as useful as a rotten head of lettuce.
But don’t look to Tina Smith for anything, because she’s as useful as a rotten head of lettuce.
January 8, 2026 at 1:49 AM
Oh, look, Jamelle Bouie, a writer with none of the power Tina “I‘m Likely the Most Useless Fool on Planet Earth” Smith has as a US senator, gets it right!
But don’t look to Tina Smith for anything, because she’s as useful as a rotten head of lettuce.
But don’t look to Tina Smith for anything, because she’s as useful as a rotten head of lettuce.
ICE and DHS must be abolished. Eliminated. Gone.
@chrislhayes.bsky.social: “A 37-year-old American citizen, the mother of a young child is dead tonight. She was shot in the face by an agent of the federal government, and that government has spent the day telling despicable lies about her.”
January 8, 2026 at 1:21 AM
ICE and DHS must be abolished. Eliminated. Gone.
I’m sorry for so much posting but the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning.
Here we have OpenAI harvesting your medical records so its chatbot can misinform you as to their contents.
I’m sure this is all just fine. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Here we have OpenAI harvesting your medical records so its chatbot can misinform you as to their contents.
I’m sure this is all just fine. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
OpenAI launches ChatGPT Health, encouraging users to connect their medical records
But it’s ‘not intended for diagnosis or treatment.’
www.theverge.com
January 7, 2026 at 10:55 PM
I’m sorry for so much posting but the kaleidoscope of perversions keeps turning.
Here we have OpenAI harvesting your medical records so its chatbot can misinform you as to their contents.
I’m sure this is all just fine. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
Here we have OpenAI harvesting your medical records so its chatbot can misinform you as to their contents.
I’m sure this is all just fine. www.theverge.com/ai-artificia...
This company loses $1.2B per month and just announced an additional $20B in funding today.
VC now funds a CSAM generator, and the businessman behind this is treated as totally normal.
VC now funds a CSAM generator, and the businessman behind this is treated as totally normal.
Grok is producing ~6,700 sexually suggestive or nudified images per hour
• Twitter (X) is now the top deepfaking site in the world
• Women who speak out become targets by users
(via business)
• Twitter (X) is now the top deepfaking site in the world
• Women who speak out become targets by users
(via business)
January 7, 2026 at 10:47 PM
This company loses $1.2B per month and just announced an additional $20B in funding today.
VC now funds a CSAM generator, and the businessman behind this is treated as totally normal.
VC now funds a CSAM generator, and the businessman behind this is treated as totally normal.
Publicly-owned groceries are such great policy.
Just such good progressive policy: a "cost plus" model to ensure positive cash flow, reduces the ability of corporate owned stores to gouge.
Such a great policy, also a great wedge to show that, yes, government can be a force for good.
Just such good progressive policy: a "cost plus" model to ensure positive cash flow, reduces the ability of corporate owned stores to gouge.
Such a great policy, also a great wedge to show that, yes, government can be a force for good.
A bill from 46th LD representative Darya Farivar (NE Seattle) would specifically create a path for opening publicly-owned grocery stores in state law, and includes a tax increment financing component for funding.
app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...
app.leg.wa.gov/billsummary/...
HB 2313 Washington State Legislature
app.leg.wa.gov
January 7, 2026 at 10:23 PM
Publicly-owned groceries are such great policy.
Just such good progressive policy: a "cost plus" model to ensure positive cash flow, reduces the ability of corporate owned stores to gouge.
Such a great policy, also a great wedge to show that, yes, government can be a force for good.
Just such good progressive policy: a "cost plus" model to ensure positive cash flow, reduces the ability of corporate owned stores to gouge.
Such a great policy, also a great wedge to show that, yes, government can be a force for good.
We are so spending 2026 pretending robo-slave tech is a thing.
Just like we spent 2025 pretending "agents" were a thing.
The Year of Robo-Slave Tech™️ is upon us; get ready for some serious gaslighting.
Just like we spent 2025 pretending "agents" were a thing.
The Year of Robo-Slave Tech™️ is upon us; get ready for some serious gaslighting.
January 7, 2026 at 9:54 PM
We are so spending 2026 pretending robo-slave tech is a thing.
Just like we spent 2025 pretending "agents" were a thing.
The Year of Robo-Slave Tech™️ is upon us; get ready for some serious gaslighting.
Just like we spent 2025 pretending "agents" were a thing.
The Year of Robo-Slave Tech™️ is upon us; get ready for some serious gaslighting.
Any politician that doesn't take a maximalist stance of full abolition of this agency + zealous prosecution of its criminal thug employees needs to lose their office.
Tear. It. Down.
Tear. It. Down.
NEWS: In a heartbreaking video, after ICE shot and killed a woman in Minneapolis, a woman who was in the same SUV cries out: “They killed my wife. I don’t know what to do."
“We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the distraught woman sobs.
www.advocate.com/news/minneso...
“We stopped to videotape, and they shot her in the head,” the distraught woman sobs.
www.advocate.com/news/minneso...
Distraught woman says ICE killed her wife in video after deadly Minneapolis shooting
“They killed my wife,” the distraught woman says, adding, “They shot her in the head.”
www.advocate.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:40 PM
Any politician that doesn't take a maximalist stance of full abolition of this agency + zealous prosecution of its criminal thug employees needs to lose their office.
Tear. It. Down.
Tear. It. Down.
Blogging culture in tech is a pox.
It's like an entire sector has smallpox, or maybe something more tawdry, like pubic lice.
It's like an entire sector has smallpox, or maybe something more tawdry, like pubic lice.
Getting started with Claude for software development
Blog post: Getting started with Claude for software development by Steve Klabnik
steveklabnik.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:37 PM
Blogging culture in tech is a pox.
It's like an entire sector has smallpox, or maybe something more tawdry, like pubic lice.
It's like an entire sector has smallpox, or maybe something more tawdry, like pubic lice.
VC in the US desperately needs to be reformed and geographically disaggregated, too much money in too few hands and all of it on Sand Hill Road.
As an aside, is Gerard still on this platform or did he leave?
As an aside, is Gerard still on this platform or did he leave?
Most venture capital deals are now AI
YouTube video by Pivot to AI
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 9:12 PM
VC in the US desperately needs to be reformed and geographically disaggregated, too much money in too few hands and all of it on Sand Hill Road.
As an aside, is Gerard still on this platform or did he leave?
As an aside, is Gerard still on this platform or did he leave?
This American Gestapo must be fully abolished.
Tear it down to the foundations, salt the earth after.
Tear it down to the foundations, salt the earth after.
ICE agent kills woman, DHS tells obvious, insane lies about it: defector.com/ice-agent-ki...
ICE Agent Kills Woman, DHS Tells Obvious, Insane Lies About It | Defector
On Wednesday in Minneapolis, masked government agents apparently representing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) surrounded a stationary vehicle stopped in the middle of a residential street.…
defector.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:55 PM
This American Gestapo must be fully abolished.
Tear it down to the foundations, salt the earth after.
Tear it down to the foundations, salt the earth after.
"The Catch: Costs and Safety"
You think?
Tech is in such a weird space right now where we have a multitude of Ralph Wiggums running around pretending LLMs are some sort of revolution, but they're utterly naive, often racist/eugenicist, and are causing so many problems.
Really, truly weird.
You think?
Tech is in such a weird space right now where we have a multitude of Ralph Wiggums running around pretending LLMs are some sort of revolution, but they're utterly naive, often racist/eugenicist, and are causing so many problems.
Really, truly weird.
How Ralph Wiggum went from 'The Simpsons' to the biggest name in AI right now
Credit: VentureBeat made with Nano Banana Pro on Fal.ai
venturebeat.com
January 7, 2026 at 8:19 PM
"The Catch: Costs and Safety"
You think?
Tech is in such a weird space right now where we have a multitude of Ralph Wiggums running around pretending LLMs are some sort of revolution, but they're utterly naive, often racist/eugenicist, and are causing so many problems.
Really, truly weird.
You think?
Tech is in such a weird space right now where we have a multitude of Ralph Wiggums running around pretending LLMs are some sort of revolution, but they're utterly naive, often racist/eugenicist, and are causing so many problems.
Really, truly weird.
Luminar is the absolute archetype of the modern sh*tco.
Just a perfect example of a born-to-die, Thiel-backed sh*tstorm of a company + a very typical Thiel founder, i.e., young (30), tall (6ft 4in), caucasian (of course), f*ckable (tho not in evidence here).
Modern VC-backed cos. are such a joke.
Just a perfect example of a born-to-die, Thiel-backed sh*tstorm of a company + a very typical Thiel founder, i.e., young (30), tall (6ft 4in), caucasian (of course), f*ckable (tho not in evidence here).
Modern VC-backed cos. are such a joke.
Luminar claims founder Austin Russell is dodging a subpoena in the bankruptcy case | TechCrunch
The Luminar founder claims he has been cooperative.
techcrunch.com
January 7, 2026 at 7:54 PM
Luminar is the absolute archetype of the modern sh*tco.
Just a perfect example of a born-to-die, Thiel-backed sh*tstorm of a company + a very typical Thiel founder, i.e., young (30), tall (6ft 4in), caucasian (of course), f*ckable (tho not in evidence here).
Modern VC-backed cos. are such a joke.
Just a perfect example of a born-to-die, Thiel-backed sh*tstorm of a company + a very typical Thiel founder, i.e., young (30), tall (6ft 4in), caucasian (of course), f*ckable (tho not in evidence here).
Modern VC-backed cos. are such a joke.
This article goes out of its way to avoid talk of robot slaves, but this really is the year of pretending that robot slave tech is here, and, additionally, pretending that robotic automation is, somehow, new to manufacturing.
It's very weird.
It's very weird.
Artificial intelligence promises to transform how and where things are made
The “ChatGPT moment” has arrived for manufacturing
Artificial intelligence promises to transform how and where things are made
econ.st
January 7, 2026 at 7:42 PM
This article goes out of its way to avoid talk of robot slaves, but this really is the year of pretending that robot slave tech is here, and, additionally, pretending that robotic automation is, somehow, new to manufacturing.
It's very weird.
It's very weird.
LeCun is seeking a $3B valuation for his startup, which will continue work on the JEPA nonsense he started at Meta.
January 7, 2026 at 7:39 PM
LeCun is seeking a $3B valuation for his startup, which will continue work on the JEPA nonsense he started at Meta.
It's clear 2025 was the year we pretended, or were told to pretend, that "agents" were the next revolution.
They're not, as the technology is a fantasy.
It's also clear, if you saw CES coverage yesterday, that 2026 is year the pretending moves to imaginary robot slaves.
This will also fail.
They're not, as the technology is a fantasy.
It's also clear, if you saw CES coverage yesterday, that 2026 is year the pretending moves to imaginary robot slaves.
This will also fail.
January 7, 2026 at 4:54 PM
It's clear 2025 was the year we pretended, or were told to pretend, that "agents" were the next revolution.
They're not, as the technology is a fantasy.
It's also clear, if you saw CES coverage yesterday, that 2026 is year the pretending moves to imaginary robot slaves.
This will also fail.
They're not, as the technology is a fantasy.
It's also clear, if you saw CES coverage yesterday, that 2026 is year the pretending moves to imaginary robot slaves.
This will also fail.