A. Das
@rohandas.bsky.social
Writer, editor, digital programmer, sometimes movie critic. CMS@MIT, CRC@NYU. Editorial/programming: @TEDTalks, @io9, @slant_magazine, @livemint, @SundayGuardian. NYC/Kolkata.
Reposted by A. Das
Altman has been quite clear about his strategy.
From the 2008 crash he learned that if you bind enough of the economy to your business you can do whatever you like; government will decide the rules no longer apply.
What he's selling is unaccountabilty.
From the 2008 crash he learned that if you bind enough of the economy to your business you can do whatever you like; government will decide the rules no longer apply.
What he's selling is unaccountabilty.
I honestly don’t get the value of this company. They hoover up energy and water. Their product constantly gets things wrong and, in extreme cases, coaches people into suicide.
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
And it’s all built on what seems to be malicious and vast intellectual property theft.
What does OpenAI offer the world?
“authors & publishers who filed a lawsuit against the Sam Altman-led firm have secured access to internal Slack messages… discussing the mass deletion of a pirated books dataset… A NY district court ordered OpenAI to hand over the communications regarding data deletion”
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
November 9, 2025 at 9:03 AM
Altman has been quite clear about his strategy.
From the 2008 crash he learned that if you bind enough of the economy to your business you can do whatever you like; government will decide the rules no longer apply.
What he's selling is unaccountabilty.
From the 2008 crash he learned that if you bind enough of the economy to your business you can do whatever you like; government will decide the rules no longer apply.
What he's selling is unaccountabilty.
Reposted by A. Das
Fucking close down Schools of Management
"Kelly Shue of Yale School of Management, one of the paper’s authors, says they are now looking at whether AI facial analysis can give lenders useful clues about a person’s propensity to repay loans. For people without access to credit, that could be a blessing."
Or, stay with me, IT COULD NOT.
Or, stay with me, IT COULD NOT.
November 6, 2025 at 8:07 PM
Fucking close down Schools of Management
Reposted by A. Das
increasingly toying with the idea that this is the root of all "rule of law" issues. A democratic theory of the rule of law should begin with the idea that the rule of law emerges from the average citizen's lived experience. And that experience today is being ruthlessly ripped off at all times.
I can’t say it enough: U.S. culture is scam culture. It pervades everything we do. We don’t notice it because it’s the water we swim in. A party would do well to remind everybody how awful this is and propose to fix it.
I think Democrats should offer voters a broadly defined anti-fraud platform. Yes, obviously, start with Trump’s influence peddling, but don’t stop there. Online fraud is massive, almost every phone call you get is a scam, and the solution has to be federal or it just won’t work.
August 7, 2025 at 5:49 PM
increasingly toying with the idea that this is the root of all "rule of law" issues. A democratic theory of the rule of law should begin with the idea that the rule of law emerges from the average citizen's lived experience. And that experience today is being ruthlessly ripped off at all times.
Reposted by A. Das
Firstly, billionaires are not physically made of stocks, if a billionaire falls down a hole and expires his stock portfolio persists and continues to have value, secondarily, this is why one diversifies one's investment portfolio outside of the stock market, thirdly, okay, let's test this hypothesis
November 1, 2025 at 3:47 PM
Firstly, billionaires are not physically made of stocks, if a billionaire falls down a hole and expires his stock portfolio persists and continues to have value, secondarily, this is why one diversifies one's investment portfolio outside of the stock market, thirdly, okay, let's test this hypothesis
Reposted by A. Das
As the single most important news story this year, I can't wait to see the detailed and central coverage this will get in every media outlet we have
‘Change course now’: humanity has missed 1.5C climate target, says UN head
Exclusive: ‘Devastating consequences’ now inevitable but emissions cuts still vital, says António Guterres in sole interview before Cop30
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:00 AM
As the single most important news story this year, I can't wait to see the detailed and central coverage this will get in every media outlet we have
Reposted by A. Das
OpenAI put out a press release today addressing mental health concerns. I have many issues with it, but something super troubling:
They estimate a WEEKLY prevalence of 560,000 users displaying signs of psychosis or mania and 1.2 MILLION users indicating suicidal plan/intent.
They estimate a WEEKLY prevalence of 560,000 users displaying signs of psychosis or mania and 1.2 MILLION users indicating suicidal plan/intent.
Strengthening ChatGPT’s responses in sensitive conversations
We worked with more than 170 mental health experts to help ChatGPT more reliably recognize signs of distress, respond with care, and guide people toward real-world support–reducing responses that fall...
openai.com
October 27, 2025 at 8:45 PM
OpenAI put out a press release today addressing mental health concerns. I have many issues with it, but something super troubling:
They estimate a WEEKLY prevalence of 560,000 users displaying signs of psychosis or mania and 1.2 MILLION users indicating suicidal plan/intent.
They estimate a WEEKLY prevalence of 560,000 users displaying signs of psychosis or mania and 1.2 MILLION users indicating suicidal plan/intent.
Reposted by A. Das
The only truly ethical response that a self-described artist can make. Anything else is a betrayal of one's colleagues.
“I am not interested, nor will I ever be interested. I'm 61, and I hope to be able to remain uninterested in using it at all until I croak. ... The other day, somebody wrote me an email, said, ‘What is your stance on AI?’ And my answer was very short. I said, ‘I'd rather die.’” 🫡
Filmmaker Guillermo del Toro says 'I'd rather die' than use generative AI
Del Toro's new Frankenstein adaption reimagines Mary Shelley's 1818 Gothic novel. Frankenstein was like a tech bro: "creating something without considering the consequences," he explains.
www.npr.org
October 23, 2025 at 11:00 PM
The only truly ethical response that a self-described artist can make. Anything else is a betrayal of one's colleagues.
Reposted by A. Das
The blast radius of how much this is going to suck is going to be huge. Best practice for creatives in Hollywood, for crude self interested reasons alone, is to stay as far away from whatever the fuck is going on at Paramount as possible
David and Larry Ellisons’ sloptastic vision for Hollywood is coming into focus:
“Paramount has reportedly signed a $200M+ multiyear deal for Higgsfield AI to use mass-use Popcorn AI model that ingests dailies and script notes, then outputs regional cuts: new leads, alternate jokes, revised endings”
“Paramount has reportedly signed a $200M+ multiyear deal for Higgsfield AI to use mass-use Popcorn AI model that ingests dailies and script notes, then outputs regional cuts: new leads, alternate jokes, revised endings”
October 23, 2025 at 5:54 PM
The blast radius of how much this is going to suck is going to be huge. Best practice for creatives in Hollywood, for crude self interested reasons alone, is to stay as far away from whatever the fuck is going on at Paramount as possible
Reposted by A. Das
You can tell people who’ve never created anything themselves by how important they think ideas are in and of themselves. Creation isn’t just some fiddly impediment between conception and execution. It’s what makes the thing what it is.
It’s tiresome at this point, but again, their entire pitch is “wouldn’t it be great if there were no such things as talent, craft, and skill,” and what that means is a bland, slop-filled world. www.businessinsider.com/marc-andrees...
October 17, 2025 at 9:22 PM
You can tell people who’ve never created anything themselves by how important they think ideas are in and of themselves. Creation isn’t just some fiddly impediment between conception and execution. It’s what makes the thing what it is.
Reposted by A. Das
J. D. VANCE: We need to end DEI.
MONKEY’S PAW: (raises one finger)
MONKEY’S PAW: (raises one finger)
BREAKING: Pope Leo XIV is set to effectively disband Opus Dei in the coming weeks.
This would be the most sweeping internal reform of his pontificate — and a dramatic continuation of Pope Francis’s legacy.
This would be the most sweeping internal reform of his pontificate — and a dramatic continuation of Pope Francis’s legacy.
NEW: Pope Leo Set To Break Up Opus Dei
If Pope Leo does indeed approves a plan that effectively dissolves Opus Dei’s structure, it would be the most significant internal action of his short pontificate to date.
open.substack.com
October 17, 2025 at 2:48 AM
J. D. VANCE: We need to end DEI.
MONKEY’S PAW: (raises one finger)
MONKEY’S PAW: (raises one finger)
Reposted by A. Das
Bari Weiss launched her own path to stardom with the argument "it is oppression to dislike me for being bad" and now we will get to see what an entire media ecosystem built with that philosophy looks like
"disliking me is persecution" describes so incredibly many people's entire outlook these days defector.com/free-press-r...
Free Press Reporter Discovers That Being An Amoral Dickhead Can Cost You Friends | Defector
It can be hard to maintain friendships as an adult. People move to new cities, start families, and experience all sorts of other life events that make it difficult to keep in touch. Sometimes, you end...
defector.com
October 15, 2025 at 3:54 PM
Bari Weiss launched her own path to stardom with the argument "it is oppression to dislike me for being bad" and now we will get to see what an entire media ecosystem built with that philosophy looks like
My favorite interviews are inevitably with guys like Tighe who put in the work for decades outside the spotlight and make everything better. And with a loved one who has Parkinson's, this was extra affecting. Lovely.
If you’re like me, you sat up on your chair when S-tier character actor Kevin Tighe turned up in ONE BATTLE AFTER ANOTHER. I had a wonderful conversation with him about it for The Reveal: thereveal.film/interview-ke...
Interview: Kevin Tighe on ‘One Battle After Another’ and a great career on stage and screen
The great character actor talks about his return to the screen in 'One Battle After Another' and a half-century journey in the business.
thereveal.film
October 15, 2025 at 3:20 PM
My favorite interviews are inevitably with guys like Tighe who put in the work for decades outside the spotlight and make everything better. And with a loved one who has Parkinson's, this was extra affecting. Lovely.
Reposted by A. Das
RIP Drew Struzan - a man whose talent and imagination etched onto so many minds throughout the last 40+ years.
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
October 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
RIP Drew Struzan - a man whose talent and imagination etched onto so many minds throughout the last 40+ years.
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
His art & posters are some of the first visuals I think of when I think about cinema - an invitation to watch these stories and worlds.
A massive loss 💔
Reposted by A. Das
postmodern finance theory
October 13, 2025 at 7:02 PM
postmodern finance theory
Reposted by A. Das
don't worry, Sam Altman is confident that his efforts to eliminate vast numbers of jobs will all just sort of work out for the unemployed, eventually, possibly after they starve to death, which is technically a form of having it work out
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Sam Altman Says If Jobs Gets Wiped Out, Maybe They Weren't Even "Real Work" to Start With
Worried that AI will destroy work? Well, Sam Altman asks if you've considered what a farmer from half a century ago thinks of your job, first.
futurism.com
October 13, 2025 at 1:55 PM
don't worry, Sam Altman is confident that his efforts to eliminate vast numbers of jobs will all just sort of work out for the unemployed, eventually, possibly after they starve to death, which is technically a form of having it work out
futurism.com/artificial-i...
futurism.com/artificial-i...
Reposted by A. Das
One of the signature actresses of her or any era, and a woman who paved a path most Hollywood actresses -haven't- followed: dressing to express joy and a sense of self. On Diane Keaton: time.com/7325208/dian...
The Astonishing Versatility of Diane Keaton
Keaton, who died at 79, is often remembered for her comedic performance in Annie Hall, but she did so much more throughout her career.
time.com
October 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
One of the signature actresses of her or any era, and a woman who paved a path most Hollywood actresses -haven't- followed: dressing to express joy and a sense of self. On Diane Keaton: time.com/7325208/dian...
Reposted by A. Das
There are so many Diane Keaton performances to remember, but a lot of people haven't seen Reds, and A) my God, see it, it is a masterpiece and B) her performance as Louise Bryant is one of the bravest, toughest, least sympathy-courting pieces of work by an American actress in the last 50 years.
October 11, 2025 at 7:20 PM
There are so many Diane Keaton performances to remember, but a lot of people haven't seen Reds, and A) my God, see it, it is a masterpiece and B) her performance as Louise Bryant is one of the bravest, toughest, least sympathy-courting pieces of work by an American actress in the last 50 years.
Reposted by A. Das
Reposted by A. Das
imagine getting an email from your boss, Bari Weiss, asking you to justify *your* job
News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."
One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."
One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."
October 10, 2025 at 3:08 PM
imagine getting an email from your boss, Bari Weiss, asking you to justify *your* job
Reposted by A. Das
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Nick Clegg says asking artists for use permission would ‘kill’ the AI industry
Paul McCartne, Elton John and others signed an open letter.
buff.ly
October 8, 2025 at 10:29 AM
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
The most genuinely punk rock movie ever made. By, ironically, someone who didn't much like the culture. Broke my brain when I first saw it as a teenager.
JUBILEE (Jarman, 1978)
"This is the generation who grew up and forgot to lead their lives... They were so busy watching my endless movie..."
"This is the generation who grew up and forgot to lead their lives... They were so busy watching my endless movie..."
October 7, 2025 at 4:03 PM
The most genuinely punk rock movie ever made. By, ironically, someone who didn't much like the culture. Broke my brain when I first saw it as a teenager.
Reposted by A. Das
I think it probably varies from person to person how much money it takes to drive you completely insane but everybody’s got a number and it’s never as high as you’d like to believe
I kind of can’t believe this Bari Weiss quote is even real, and yet www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/b...
October 7, 2025 at 1:39 AM
I think it probably varies from person to person how much money it takes to drive you completely insane but everybody’s got a number and it’s never as high as you’d like to believe
Reposted by A. Das
Thank you @gonebabygone.bsky.social for making me aware of this extended version of Connor O'Malley and Tim Robinson riffing in FRIENDSHIP. I get why they cut most of this, but I honestly think they should have left it in. Lifted my anhedonically foul mental state for 12 minutes.
October 6, 2025 at 10:23 PM
Thank you @gonebabygone.bsky.social for making me aware of this extended version of Connor O'Malley and Tim Robinson riffing in FRIENDSHIP. I get why they cut most of this, but I honestly think they should have left it in. Lifted my anhedonically foul mental state for 12 minutes.
Reposted by A. Das
This was, ultimately, the point of substack: throw money at reactionary bloggers, claim that this is a new media and not just fissioning off the clicky bits from legacy publications, then let the price of media giants drop enough for all the worst people to buy them up and install their media pets.
lol substack's cofounder has a new post claiming the sale of weiss' grievance blog—which substack heavily promoted & shares an investor w (technofash goob marc andreessen)—proves the platform offers "an immense opportunity for ambitious new media founders to build a new generation of institutions."
The home for media startups
There has never been a better time to start a media business
post.substack.com
October 6, 2025 at 7:32 PM
This was, ultimately, the point of substack: throw money at reactionary bloggers, claim that this is a new media and not just fissioning off the clicky bits from legacy publications, then let the price of media giants drop enough for all the worst people to buy them up and install their media pets.