James Vincent
@jjvincent.bsky.social
journalist and writer. author of BEYOND MEASURE, a history of measurement; a New Yorker, Economist, Times book of the year. former senior editor / AI reporter at The Verge. you can buy my book here: https://linktr.ee/BeyondMeasureBook
www.thebrewpuff.com/earlyaccess yeah it's AI - though they're apparently trying to make it into a real thing
November 7, 2025 at 7:19 PM
www.thebrewpuff.com/earlyaccess yeah it's AI - though they're apparently trying to make it into a real thing
Karp's talk of "national purpose" and "shared mythology" are, like the subject of his Adorno-inspired PhD, examples of jargon that obscure reactionary politics. His true guiding mantra is the fusion of state and private enterprise for the organization and direction of violence.
November 7, 2025 at 3:49 PM
Karp's talk of "national purpose" and "shared mythology" are, like the subject of his Adorno-inspired PhD, examples of jargon that obscure reactionary politics. His true guiding mantra is the fusion of state and private enterprise for the organization and direction of violence.
lovely frontispiece from william gilbert's de magnete (1600). not sure of the symbology, but it looks like a caduceus representing hermes/mecury and knowledge, and the clasped hands perhaps refer to sympathy/affinity - fitting for a book on magnetism
November 4, 2025 at 5:06 PM
lovely frontispiece from william gilbert's de magnete (1600). not sure of the symbology, but it looks like a caduceus representing hermes/mecury and knowledge, and the clasped hands perhaps refer to sympathy/affinity - fitting for a book on magnetism
a lawsuit against an AI chatbot maker now turns on the question of whether or not AI produces legally-protected speech — a fantastic and important report here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/m...
October 27, 2025 at 12:47 PM
a lawsuit against an AI chatbot maker now turns on the question of whether or not AI produces legally-protected speech — a fantastic and important report here:
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/m...
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/24/m...
i feel this stuff speaks for itself
October 23, 2025 at 7:09 AM
i feel this stuff speaks for itself
still thinking about this adam phillips piece on resistance. "Psychoanalysis begins when conversation breaks down, where the conversation becomes impossible, where there is a reluctance to go on speaking, a pause, a hesitation, a wilful changing of the subject." www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
October 22, 2025 at 7:28 PM
still thinking about this adam phillips piece on resistance. "Psychoanalysis begins when conversation breaks down, where the conversation becomes impossible, where there is a reluctance to go on speaking, a pause, a hesitation, a wilful changing of the subject." www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
i'm always saying this
October 22, 2025 at 3:49 PM
i'm always saying this
I’m sharing this because I saw the original clip a few days ago and had no idea it was AI… the channel identifying these is great (showtoolsAI) but we’re clearly past the point where there are going to be any easy tells for this stuff going forward
October 14, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I’m sharing this because I saw the original clip a few days ago and had no idea it was AI… the channel identifying these is great (showtoolsAI) but we’re clearly past the point where there are going to be any easy tells for this stuff going forward
extremely charmed by all the photos of sumo wrestlers out and about in london today (for the grand sumo tournament at the albert hall)
October 14, 2025 at 5:36 PM
extremely charmed by all the photos of sumo wrestlers out and about in london today (for the grand sumo tournament at the albert hall)
on a different tangent, it made me think of Jan Švankmajer's work. in Švankmajer's films, faces are malleable rather than sources of stable identity. this is uncomfortable, but also offers opportunity for connection as we smushed the sacred into one other youtu.be/EbbNuGkHO_0?...
October 4, 2025 at 11:49 AM
on a different tangent, it made me think of Jan Švankmajer's work. in Švankmajer's films, faces are malleable rather than sources of stable identity. this is uncomfortable, but also offers opportunity for connection as we smushed the sacred into one other youtu.be/EbbNuGkHO_0?...
interesting: doordash plans to put its new autonomous delivery robots (pictured) in US bike lanes. could this be good for cycling infrastructure? it could create pressure to expand lanes to manage more traffic (or they might just be clogged up) www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
October 2, 2025 at 10:28 AM
interesting: doordash plans to put its new autonomous delivery robots (pictured) in US bike lanes. could this be good for cycling infrastructure? it could create pressure to expand lanes to manage more traffic (or they might just be clogged up) www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
looking at Dürer's pillow studies this morning. on the recto, a self-portrait, hand, and pillow; the verso, six more pillows. these are, i think, just sketches - drapery studies - but the juxtaposition of self and pillow seems symbolic. the ruffled pillows as the imprint of the dreaming imagination.
October 1, 2025 at 12:44 PM
looking at Dürer's pillow studies this morning. on the recto, a self-portrait, hand, and pillow; the verso, six more pillows. these are, i think, just sketches - drapery studies - but the juxtaposition of self and pillow seems symbolic. the ruffled pillows as the imprint of the dreaming imagination.
RIP tony harrison - "I believe life ends with death, and that is all. / You haven't both gone shopping; just the same, / in my new black leather phone book there's your name /and the disconnected number I still call."
September 27, 2025 at 10:30 AM
RIP tony harrison - "I believe life ends with death, and that is all. / You haven't both gone shopping; just the same, / in my new black leather phone book there's your name /and the disconnected number I still call."
missed this: the Met promising to put its facial recognition tech onto officers' phones to be used on the spot. how long until every conversation with the police involves getting your face scanned? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/t...
September 18, 2025 at 12:28 PM
missed this: the Met promising to put its facial recognition tech onto officers' phones to be used on the spot. how long until every conversation with the police involves getting your face scanned? www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/t...
alessandro allori's ceiling fresco (1589) of women washing their hair and drying laundry on the terrace
September 18, 2025 at 7:22 AM
alessandro allori's ceiling fresco (1589) of women washing their hair and drying laundry on the terrace
lovely video of Irish writer Bryan MacMahon talking about the poetry of the vernacular and his habit of asking people “what way are you?” and the diverse responses they gave (I like “pass on friend, I’m slightly oiled”)
September 15, 2025 at 9:07 AM
lovely video of Irish writer Bryan MacMahon talking about the poetry of the vernacular and his habit of asking people “what way are you?” and the diverse responses they gave (I like “pass on friend, I’m slightly oiled”)
they didn't fuck around with fonts in the 1600s
September 13, 2025 at 8:54 PM
they didn't fuck around with fonts in the 1600s
One of Britain's most senior police officers has launched an angry tirade against protestors who are "too floppy"
September 6, 2025 at 8:46 AM
One of Britain's most senior police officers has launched an angry tirade against protestors who are "too floppy"
man, AI used to be so good
August 28, 2025 at 10:26 AM
man, AI used to be so good
Olafur Eliasson's Kaleidoscope (2001); from Baroque Baroque, at the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Vienna.
August 27, 2025 at 7:42 PM
Olafur Eliasson's Kaleidoscope (2001); from Baroque Baroque, at the Winter Palace of Prince Eugene of Savoy, Vienna.
i saw Jacob Epstein’s Jacob and the Angel in person at the Tate Britain and was just blown away. quite impossible to convey its presence through pictures or words; just mesmerising physicality. the weight, the poses, the alabaster like deep space telescope imagery…
August 25, 2025 at 8:16 AM
i saw Jacob Epstein’s Jacob and the Angel in person at the Tate Britain and was just blown away. quite impossible to convey its presence through pictures or words; just mesmerising physicality. the weight, the poses, the alabaster like deep space telescope imagery…
hard luck for some of you
August 20, 2025 at 3:42 PM
hard luck for some of you
many benchmarks used to measure AI capabilities are, I think, contrived and lenient. here's a good real-life study, on whether AI can do your (US) tax returns; a domain with plentiful training data and documentation. the result: the best model only got 33% of returns correct arxiv.org/pdf/2507.16126
August 19, 2025 at 4:02 PM
many benchmarks used to measure AI capabilities are, I think, contrived and lenient. here's a good real-life study, on whether AI can do your (US) tax returns; a domain with plentiful training data and documentation. the result: the best model only got 33% of returns correct arxiv.org/pdf/2507.16126