John Stanley Hunter
@johnalist.de
Pinned
John Stanley Hunter
@johnalist.de
· Feb 27
John Stanley Hunter | Newsletter
www.johnstanleyhunter.com
After years of Insta stories, Linkedin posts, and fleeting Clubhouse talks, I’ve taken my commentary cravings off the algorithmic hamster wheel.
“Odds & Sods”: politics meets tech, business meets society, and outrage meets nuance. No fluff, no single topic—just the bigger picture behind the chaos.
“Odds & Sods”: politics meets tech, business meets society, and outrage meets nuance. No fluff, no single topic—just the bigger picture behind the chaos.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
The Authoritarian Stack
How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic America — And Why Europe Is Next
www.authoritarian-stack.info
November 5, 2025 at 11:36 PM
Please take a minute to scroll through this—and share it.
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
It's the story of our time.
The Authoritarian Stack: How Tech Billionaires Are Building a Post-Democratic American—And Why Europe Is Next.
www.authoritarian-stack.info
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
The ability to convince capital markets to hand you a trillion dollars on the strength of obvious bullshit paired with the inability to get a single human to sincerely and spontaneously say they love you is some real punishment of the gods shit.
Elon has never experienced this and neither have his biggest fans but now they can create these visuals with the help of a computermachine
November 8, 2025 at 4:13 PM
The ability to convince capital markets to hand you a trillion dollars on the strength of obvious bullshit paired with the inability to get a single human to sincerely and spontaneously say they love you is some real punishment of the gods shit.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
"This long-running war on knowledge and expertise has sown the ground for the narratives widely used by AI companies and the CEOs adopting it. Human labor, inquiry, creativity, and expertise is spurned in the name of “efficiency.” With AI, there is no need for human expertise"
AI Is Supercharging the War on Libraries, Education, and Human Knowledge
"Fascism and AI, whether or not they have the same goals, they sure are working to accelerate one another."
www.404media.co
November 7, 2025 at 4:20 PM
"This long-running war on knowledge and expertise has sown the ground for the narratives widely used by AI companies and the CEOs adopting it. Human labor, inquiry, creativity, and expertise is spurned in the name of “efficiency.” With AI, there is no need for human expertise"
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
I'm excited to share my piece in Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, which examines OpenAI's claims about ChatGPT's creative writing skills, Big Tech's weaponisation of grief and nostalgia, and the collapse of the academic humanities. lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Literature Is Not a Vibe: On ChatGPT and the Humanities | Los Angeles Review of Books
Rachele Dini discusses OpenAI’s “A Machine-Shaped Hand” and an academic sector in crisis.
lareviewofbooks.org
October 31, 2025 at 5:11 PM
I'm excited to share my piece in Los Angeles Review of Books @lareviewofbooks.bsky.social, which examines OpenAI's claims about ChatGPT's creative writing skills, Big Tech's weaponisation of grief and nostalgia, and the collapse of the academic humanities. lareviewofbooks.org/article/lite...
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Answer: no. ChatGPT has no understanding of what words mean. Collocation frequencies of words can’t bring you understanding of what those words mean, even though it might help you predict which words go together.
See:
See:
November 3, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Answer: no. ChatGPT has no understanding of what words mean. Collocation frequencies of words can’t bring you understanding of what those words mean, even though it might help you predict which words go together.
See:
See:
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
June 19, 2025 at 11:21 AM
Chatbots — LLMs — do not know facts and are not designed to be able to accurately answer factual questions. They are designed to find and mimic patterns of words, probabilistically. When they’re “right” it’s because correct things are often written down, so those patterns are frequent. That’s all.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
A Wikipedia Conference Took a Dark Turn. Unfortunately, It’s Not a Total Surprise.
An armed man at a gathering of the website’s volunteers is just the latest reminder: Editing the internet’s encyclopedia has never been riskier.
slate.com
October 23, 2025 at 6:06 PM
Felt this was important to write for @slate.com to capture the experience of Wikipedia editors who were there in the room as the armed man took the stage at last weekend's Wikipedia conference.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Pharos and Fuzheado showed courage & quick thinking by taking down the gunman and averting tragedy.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
September 24, 2025 at 6:36 PM
1/ A longtime Wired editor just wrote a mush-brained essay about how he totally missed the political rot of Silicon Valley (& still doesn't get it).
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
But in the late 1990s, a Wired journalist warned of a toxic ideology bubbling up from tech. Paulina Borsook has largely been erased. Let's change that
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
this is the telling thing about all the billionaire hysteria
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
MAMDANI, on Bill Ackman:
“.. He's spending more money against me than I would even tax him!"
@casestudyqb.bsky.social #NYC
“.. He's spending more money against me than I would even tax him!"
@casestudyqb.bsky.social #NYC
October 23, 2025 at 2:48 PM
this is the telling thing about all the billionaire hysteria
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
they would literally rather set more money on fire propping up the most uncharismatic sex pest who ever lived than they’d pay in additional taxes
these are not serious people
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
„Die US-Tochter der Deutschen Telekom wird Geld für Donald Trumps umstrittenen neuen Ballsaal im Weißen Haus spenden. ‚Mit dieser Investition unterstützen wir die Modernisierung des Weißen Hauses‘, teilte T-Mobile dem Handelsblatt mit. Die Spende sei eine ‚Ehre‘.“
Handelsblatt
www.handelsblatt.com
October 23, 2025 at 8:28 PM
„Die US-Tochter der Deutschen Telekom wird Geld für Donald Trumps umstrittenen neuen Ballsaal im Weißen Haus spenden. ‚Mit dieser Investition unterstützen wir die Modernisierung des Weißen Hauses‘, teilte T-Mobile dem Handelsblatt mit. Die Spende sei eine ‚Ehre‘.“
jfc
October 23, 2025 at 9:22 AM
jfc
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
from my lunch today; "the trouble is not so much AI making you more productive, but that it's tripling the output of the biggest f***ing idiot where you work"
October 21, 2025 at 9:21 PM
from my lunch today; "the trouble is not so much AI making you more productive, but that it's tripling the output of the biggest f***ing idiot where you work"
Es gibt fast 500 Journalistenpreise in Deutschland. Diese Branche ist so kaputt.
October 16, 2025 at 2:38 PM
Es gibt fast 500 Journalistenpreise in Deutschland. Diese Branche ist so kaputt.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
media thinks we are computers spitting out data
Wow. Just wow.
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
"Students pay premium prices for information that AI now delivers instantly and for free. A business student can ask ChatGPT to explain supply chain optimization or generate market analysis in seconds. The traditional lecture-and-test model faces its Blockbuster moment."
When Knowledge is Free, What are Professors For?
Higher Education Must Stop Competing with AI on Information and Start Teaching What Machines Can’t Do
www.forbes.com
October 16, 2025 at 7:01 AM
media thinks we are computers spitting out data
The best way to get featured in tech media is by pretending you do not want to be mentioned by tech media.
October 16, 2025 at 7:08 AM
The best way to get featured in tech media is by pretending you do not want to be mentioned by tech media.
They just invented PR.
October 15, 2025 at 8:45 PM
They just invented PR.
kill it, then.
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 2:13 PM
kill it, then.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Altman claims the company didn’t anticipate people not wanting their deepfakes to say “offensive things or things that they find deeply problematic,” which sounds like a lie but is also indicative of how they recklessly release tech into the world.
OpenAI wasn’t expecting Sora’s copyright drama
It felt “more different to images than people expected.”
www.theverge.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:16 PM
Altman claims the company didn’t anticipate people not wanting their deepfakes to say “offensive things or things that they find deeply problematic,” which sounds like a lie but is also indicative of how they recklessly release tech into the world.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Für eine besondere Folge unseren Dlf Podcast "KI verstehen" habe ich ein langes Gespräch mit @meredithmeredith.bsky.social geführt, am Rande einer UN-Konferenz in Genf. Es geht um AI-Greenwashing, um die gehypten KI-Agenten und die Chancen Europas.
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ki-agenten-m...
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ki-agenten-m...
US-Tech-Expertin Meredith Whittaker warnt: KI-Agenten sind ein Sicherheitsrisiko
Hotels buchen, Freunden schreiben, mit Kreditkarte zahlen: KI-Agenten sollen uns Alltagsaufgaben abnehmen. Doch sie gefährden Datensicherheit und Privatsphäre.
www.deutschlandfunk.de
September 25, 2025 at 3:31 PM
Für eine besondere Folge unseren Dlf Podcast "KI verstehen" habe ich ein langes Gespräch mit @meredithmeredith.bsky.social geführt, am Rande einer UN-Konferenz in Genf. Es geht um AI-Greenwashing, um die gehypten KI-Agenten und die Chancen Europas.
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ki-agenten-m...
www.deutschlandfunk.de/ki-agenten-m...
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Expertise matters. I strongly believe that one of the problems with the media has been the tendency to treat everything as just a branch of politics, and to (wrongly) assume that fundamentally politics-focused reporters can 'get across' any topic. It's not just wrong - it's enormously damaging.
September 23, 2025 at 7:24 AM
Expertise matters. I strongly believe that one of the problems with the media has been the tendency to treat everything as just a branch of politics, and to (wrongly) assume that fundamentally politics-focused reporters can 'get across' any topic. It's not just wrong - it's enormously damaging.
Das ist ja interessant:
Petromaskulinität – Wikipedia
de.wikipedia.org
September 21, 2025 at 9:07 AM
Das ist ja interessant:
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
The Department of Justice has removed a study showing that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the United States.
🔗 www.404media.co/doj-deletes-...
🔗 www.404media.co/doj-deletes-...
DOJ Deletes Study Showing Domestic Terrorists Are Most Often Right Wing
Following Charlie Kirk’s assassination and the Trump administration’s promise to go after the “radical left” a study showing most domestic terrosim is far-right was disappeared.
www.404media.co
September 16, 2025 at 4:40 PM
The Department of Justice has removed a study showing that white supremacist and far-right violence “continues to outpace all other types of terrorism and domestic violent extremism” in the United States.
🔗 www.404media.co/doj-deletes-...
🔗 www.404media.co/doj-deletes-...
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
They're openly saying they want to sacrifice LGBTQ people and the planet to appease fascists. This is not only a losing strategy, this is morally repugnant.
Every single one of these people should be ashamed, but we know they won't because they are amoral sociopaths.
Every single one of these people should be ashamed, but we know they won't because they are amoral sociopaths.
September 17, 2025 at 1:50 PM
They're openly saying they want to sacrifice LGBTQ people and the planet to appease fascists. This is not only a losing strategy, this is morally repugnant.
Every single one of these people should be ashamed, but we know they won't because they are amoral sociopaths.
Every single one of these people should be ashamed, but we know they won't because they are amoral sociopaths.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
I feel really bad for the responsible journalists still at Business Insider (some of whose reporting I've really apprecaited) whose work will now be looked on with suspicion -- and rightly so, because now nothing from BI is trustworthy.
Scoop: Business Insider informed its staff this week that they are allowed to use ChatGPT to generate first drafts of their stories, while also indicating the newsroom will not disclose such A.I. use to readers.
Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...
Details in @status.news: www.status.news/p/business-i...
Business Insider and the Bots
The Axel Springer-owned newsroom is buzzing over new ChatGPT writing guidelines—part of an aggressive A.I. strategy pushed by its German parentco and detailed in a memo obtained by Status.
www.status.news
September 17, 2025 at 4:41 AM
I feel really bad for the responsible journalists still at Business Insider (some of whose reporting I've really apprecaited) whose work will now be looked on with suspicion -- and rightly so, because now nothing from BI is trustworthy.
Reposted by John Stanley Hunter
Some personal news:
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...
The Washington Post Fired Me — But My Voice Will Not Be Silenced.
I spoke out against hatred and violence in America — and it cost me my job.
substack.com
September 15, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Some personal news:
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...
I've been fired from the Washington Post in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk shooting.
Thread incoming.
substack.com/@karenattiah...