Michael K. Ingram
@michaelkingram.bsky.social
Intel analyst and writer.
Political, economic, and social analysis of these interesting times.
Defend the Republic
www.michaelkingram.com
Political, economic, and social analysis of these interesting times.
Defend the Republic
www.michaelkingram.com
We live in a golden age of negation.
It is far easier to take down a burgeoning line of thought with a few googled facts than it is to formulate it. Social media promotes herd orthodoxy by brigading anyone who steps out of existence. Earnest belief is easily mocked.
It is far easier to take down a burgeoning line of thought with a few googled facts than it is to formulate it. Social media promotes herd orthodoxy by brigading anyone who steps out of existence. Earnest belief is easily mocked.
August 27, 2025 at 11:53 AM
We live in a golden age of negation.
It is far easier to take down a burgeoning line of thought with a few googled facts than it is to formulate it. Social media promotes herd orthodoxy by brigading anyone who steps out of existence. Earnest belief is easily mocked.
It is far easier to take down a burgeoning line of thought with a few googled facts than it is to formulate it. Social media promotes herd orthodoxy by brigading anyone who steps out of existence. Earnest belief is easily mocked.
When it's all said and done, the consumer launch of AI is going to be seen as one of the most awful flops in history.
The technology will certainly end up making a very big impact, but it's crazy how fast these people turned everyone against the idea of AI by shoehorning it into the dumbest places.
The technology will certainly end up making a very big impact, but it's crazy how fast these people turned everyone against the idea of AI by shoehorning it into the dumbest places.
August 21, 2025 at 6:19 PM
When it's all said and done, the consumer launch of AI is going to be seen as one of the most awful flops in history.
The technology will certainly end up making a very big impact, but it's crazy how fast these people turned everyone against the idea of AI by shoehorning it into the dumbest places.
The technology will certainly end up making a very big impact, but it's crazy how fast these people turned everyone against the idea of AI by shoehorning it into the dumbest places.
Can't get the idea from @jamellebouie.net that Trump is the white Idi Amin out of my head.
I mean, big, menacing, book dumb but with a dangerous cunning. Both have an unrequited pathological need to be loved by Scotland.
I mean, big, menacing, book dumb but with a dangerous cunning. Both have an unrequited pathological need to be loved by Scotland.
August 20, 2025 at 3:33 PM
Can't get the idea from @jamellebouie.net that Trump is the white Idi Amin out of my head.
I mean, big, menacing, book dumb but with a dangerous cunning. Both have an unrequited pathological need to be loved by Scotland.
I mean, big, menacing, book dumb but with a dangerous cunning. Both have an unrequited pathological need to be loved by Scotland.
Not complaining too hard because I want it to stay on and have time to grow, but 1.5 episodes in... how tf does Alien Earth have "universal acclaim"?
There's enough there to see it rounding into something good, but wow are these two episodes unfocused.
There's enough there to see it rounding into something good, but wow are these two episodes unfocused.
August 16, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Not complaining too hard because I want it to stay on and have time to grow, but 1.5 episodes in... how tf does Alien Earth have "universal acclaim"?
There's enough there to see it rounding into something good, but wow are these two episodes unfocused.
There's enough there to see it rounding into something good, but wow are these two episodes unfocused.
Outside of self interest, there's another reason Trump might want interest rates lower. There are a lot of "zombie corporations" that are perennially unprofitable and survive on new funding and/or low rate loans.
If the economy slows, they're in rough shape. If rates also go up, they're toast.
If the economy slows, they're in rough shape. If rates also go up, they're toast.
August 15, 2025 at 3:30 PM
Outside of self interest, there's another reason Trump might want interest rates lower. There are a lot of "zombie corporations" that are perennially unprofitable and survive on new funding and/or low rate loans.
If the economy slows, they're in rough shape. If rates also go up, they're toast.
If the economy slows, they're in rough shape. If rates also go up, they're toast.
Tagging this thread about a career in domain-specific writing and communications in case it can be of use to anyone looking at these tags. Feel free to suggest more.
#writing #writingq #career #careeradvice #writer #careerdevelopment
#writing #writingq #career #careeradvice #writer #careerdevelopment
Random piece of career advice that I like to share every once in a while:
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
August 15, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Tagging this thread about a career in domain-specific writing and communications in case it can be of use to anyone looking at these tags. Feel free to suggest more.
#writing #writingq #career #careeradvice #writer #careerdevelopment
#writing #writingq #career #careeradvice #writer #careerdevelopment
Often, these careers pay more than the jobs they are writing about. It's kind of hard to get doctors to stop being doctors if you don't pay them comparably.
August 15, 2025 at 1:46 PM
Often, these careers pay more than the jobs they are writing about. It's kind of hard to get doctors to stop being doctors if you don't pay them comparably.
Random piece of career advice that I like to share every once in a while:
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
August 15, 2025 at 1:44 PM
Random piece of career advice that I like to share every once in a while:
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
If you are a good writer and have some domain-specific knowledge that applies to almost any job that makes money, hybrid careers from technical writing to trade-media journalism are real options.
Systems of systems of systems.
It's impossible to know which (or even how many) fuses have been lit in such a massive interconnected machine like the global economic-political order.
But we are going to see things "randomly" explode for decades as causality loops its way through the world.
It's impossible to know which (or even how many) fuses have been lit in such a massive interconnected machine like the global economic-political order.
But we are going to see things "randomly" explode for decades as causality loops its way through the world.
August 12, 2025 at 2:34 PM
Systems of systems of systems.
It's impossible to know which (or even how many) fuses have been lit in such a massive interconnected machine like the global economic-political order.
But we are going to see things "randomly" explode for decades as causality loops its way through the world.
It's impossible to know which (or even how many) fuses have been lit in such a massive interconnected machine like the global economic-political order.
But we are going to see things "randomly" explode for decades as causality loops its way through the world.
A disturbingly rare, well-balanced take on the state of AI.
It's increasingly clear that the people pushing LLMs don't understand the technology, and they're setting the terms for the discussion.
Hence, it's usually a fucking stupid discussion.
It's increasingly clear that the people pushing LLMs don't understand the technology, and they're setting the terms for the discussion.
Hence, it's usually a fucking stupid discussion.
August 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
A disturbingly rare, well-balanced take on the state of AI.
It's increasingly clear that the people pushing LLMs don't understand the technology, and they're setting the terms for the discussion.
Hence, it's usually a fucking stupid discussion.
It's increasingly clear that the people pushing LLMs don't understand the technology, and they're setting the terms for the discussion.
Hence, it's usually a fucking stupid discussion.
TIL that the "batman" was the unit of mass used in the Ottoman Empire.
I humbly suggest we only measure punching power in batmans form here on out.
I humbly suggest we only measure punching power in batmans form here on out.
robin and batman are running together on a green background
Alt: Bruce Wayne and Dick Grayson demonstrate the usage of the batman to measure striking power.
media.tenor.com
August 8, 2025 at 4:29 PM
TIL that the "batman" was the unit of mass used in the Ottoman Empire.
I humbly suggest we only measure punching power in batmans form here on out.
I humbly suggest we only measure punching power in batmans form here on out.
Slightly different domain, but all of these companies pushing customer-facing AI will eventually realize that it's going to be seen as digital polyester--perhaps functional, but cheap and tacky.
Mark my words, "written/spoken by real people," will be mid-upper tier selling point very soon.
Mark my words, "written/spoken by real people," will be mid-upper tier selling point very soon.
Someone on here compared AI produced material as "digital asbestos " which in a few decades' time we will have to work out how to eradicate from the fabric of research.
From my own academic research, even pre LLMs there was a huge danger of zombie factoids that begin in a respectable publication by mistake and then get reprinted for decades because no one is backtracing to the original source. Once bad info gets into the system it can take years to clear it out.
July 30, 2025 at 11:44 AM
Slightly different domain, but all of these companies pushing customer-facing AI will eventually realize that it's going to be seen as digital polyester--perhaps functional, but cheap and tacky.
Mark my words, "written/spoken by real people," will be mid-upper tier selling point very soon.
Mark my words, "written/spoken by real people," will be mid-upper tier selling point very soon.
Wealthy Democratic-aligned groups and individuals want people to turn away from the fascist cheerleading ecosystem, but I'm not seeing them put their money where their mouth is.
Start writing checks for:
-pro-democracy media outlets
-online communities
-meatspace clubs and organizations
Start writing checks for:
-pro-democracy media outlets
-online communities
-meatspace clubs and organizations
July 28, 2025 at 1:45 PM
Wealthy Democratic-aligned groups and individuals want people to turn away from the fascist cheerleading ecosystem, but I'm not seeing them put their money where their mouth is.
Start writing checks for:
-pro-democracy media outlets
-online communities
-meatspace clubs and organizations
Start writing checks for:
-pro-democracy media outlets
-online communities
-meatspace clubs and organizations
Rewatching The Hunt for Red October for the 150th time and something that never occurred to me because the plot is humming along so quickly at that point...
July 28, 2025 at 2:51 AM
Rewatching The Hunt for Red October for the 150th time and something that never occurred to me because the plot is humming along so quickly at that point...
Our shared story goes on and on, but it takes familiar shapes along the way.
In this moment, our own little section of that story, we haven't even hit the low point, the "dark night of the soul."
But we will, and we will endure it.
In this moment, our own little section of that story, we haven't even hit the low point, the "dark night of the soul."
But we will, and we will endure it.
July 25, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Our shared story goes on and on, but it takes familiar shapes along the way.
In this moment, our own little section of that story, we haven't even hit the low point, the "dark night of the soul."
But we will, and we will endure it.
In this moment, our own little section of that story, we haven't even hit the low point, the "dark night of the soul."
But we will, and we will endure it.
It's going to take trillions of dollars of wealth vaporized before the people writing the checks for this nonsense put an end to it. And even then, I wouldn't expect any personal accountability.
They're elite geniuses, you see. If they did it, it wasn't wrong.
They're elite geniuses, you see. If they did it, it wasn't wrong.
July 24, 2025 at 9:22 PM
It's going to take trillions of dollars of wealth vaporized before the people writing the checks for this nonsense put an end to it. And even then, I wouldn't expect any personal accountability.
They're elite geniuses, you see. If they did it, it wasn't wrong.
They're elite geniuses, you see. If they did it, it wasn't wrong.
Elite power is entering into a feeding frenzy, grasping for direct control over that which they've on previously only been able to indirectly influence.
That type of maximalist approach can result in real short-term gains, but it risks giving up the whole system of control for a few bites more.
That type of maximalist approach can result in real short-term gains, but it risks giving up the whole system of control for a few bites more.
July 24, 2025 at 11:56 AM
Elite power is entering into a feeding frenzy, grasping for direct control over that which they've on previously only been able to indirectly influence.
That type of maximalist approach can result in real short-term gains, but it risks giving up the whole system of control for a few bites more.
That type of maximalist approach can result in real short-term gains, but it risks giving up the whole system of control for a few bites more.
This.
The discussion of LLMs, pro and con, is stuck in this absurd dichotomy of "they are god machines and therefore good" vs. "No they agent, hence they are bad."
An LLM is a natural language interface! It's very good at that job!
The discussion of LLMs, pro and con, is stuck in this absurd dichotomy of "they are god machines and therefore good" vs. "No they agent, hence they are bad."
An LLM is a natural language interface! It's very good at that job!
Being in tech and having a single modicum of critical thinking is just screaming "this isn't what LLMs are designed for" over and over as people shove a bunch of word predictors into critical decision making processes because some glorified used car salesmen told them it would fix all their problems
Reporter: The FDA has a new AI tool that's intended to speed up drug approvals. But several FDA employees say the new AI helper is making up studies that do not exist. One FDA employee telling us, 'Anything that you don't have time to double check is unreliable. It hallucinates confidently'
July 23, 2025 at 6:44 PM
This.
The discussion of LLMs, pro and con, is stuck in this absurd dichotomy of "they are god machines and therefore good" vs. "No they agent, hence they are bad."
An LLM is a natural language interface! It's very good at that job!
The discussion of LLMs, pro and con, is stuck in this absurd dichotomy of "they are god machines and therefore good" vs. "No they agent, hence they are bad."
An LLM is a natural language interface! It's very good at that job!
Rubio is like a fashion model who never really wanted the gig, but the money was good and people said they should do it and now it's all they know how to do.
This poor, sad, man-shaped gelatinous entity had the misfortune of being born looking like what people think a leader should look like.
This poor, sad, man-shaped gelatinous entity had the misfortune of being born looking like what people think a leader should look like.
Critics accuse Marco Rubio of opportunism, saying the US secretary of state has cynically jettisoned his core beliefs to advance his career https://on.ft.com/4kPUbl1
July 23, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Rubio is like a fashion model who never really wanted the gig, but the money was good and people said they should do it and now it's all they know how to do.
This poor, sad, man-shaped gelatinous entity had the misfortune of being born looking like what people think a leader should look like.
This poor, sad, man-shaped gelatinous entity had the misfortune of being born looking like what people think a leader should look like.
Colbert speaking truth plainly, knowing he could pay the price for it, invokes such a sharp contrast with the sock puppet "leaders" across all aspects of American society.
Business, politics, academia, journalism... We've developed a class of people who lead by surviving to take the credit.
Business, politics, academia, journalism... We've developed a class of people who lead by surviving to take the credit.
July 18, 2025 at 12:04 PM
Colbert speaking truth plainly, knowing he could pay the price for it, invokes such a sharp contrast with the sock puppet "leaders" across all aspects of American society.
Business, politics, academia, journalism... We've developed a class of people who lead by surviving to take the credit.
Business, politics, academia, journalism... We've developed a class of people who lead by surviving to take the credit.
The biggest obstacle to creating useful analysis right now can be summed up by the old adage, "professionals are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs."
To which I'll add, "and right now they're in charge of fucking *everything*"
To which I'll add, "and right now they're in charge of fucking *everything*"
July 16, 2025 at 2:57 PM
The biggest obstacle to creating useful analysis right now can be summed up by the old adage, "professionals are predictable, but the world is full of amateurs."
To which I'll add, "and right now they're in charge of fucking *everything*"
To which I'll add, "and right now they're in charge of fucking *everything*"
Turns out, all you had to do to defeat the Deep State was to give them a raging case of Bystander Syndrome.
July 15, 2025 at 1:31 PM
Turns out, all you had to do to defeat the Deep State was to give them a raging case of Bystander Syndrome.
The moment everything will change is when "our" side-- the people who value democracy, rule of law, and empirical reality-- stop trying to hold onto a world that is over and embrace what can be built from the ashes of the late 20th century world.
July 13, 2025 at 2:10 PM
The moment everything will change is when "our" side-- the people who value democracy, rule of law, and empirical reality-- stop trying to hold onto a world that is over and embrace what can be built from the ashes of the late 20th century world.
These assholes really can't fathom that people don't bow down to them because they wrote a check for "Hotdog or Not?" or an app that allows you to finance handjobs at 26%.
"The investor described a 'counterattack' against universities in his messages and called for the National Science Foundation, a federal research funding agency, to receive 'the bureaucratic death penalty.'" www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Tech billionaire Trump adviser Marc Andreesen says universities will ‘pay the price’ for DEI
Tech investor and Trump adviser Marc Andreessen in a private group chat attacked colleges for promoting diversity, saying they had discriminated against “native born kids.”
www.washingtonpost.com
July 12, 2025 at 2:42 PM
These assholes really can't fathom that people don't bow down to them because they wrote a check for "Hotdog or Not?" or an app that allows you to finance handjobs at 26%.
It's worth considering how hard it is to create an agent that is both "anti-woke" and *not* Nazi.
I have thoughts.
CW: suggestions that LLMs are an actual technology.
I have thoughts.
CW: suggestions that LLMs are an actual technology.
beginning to suspect that "grok is trying to mimic elon musk's opinions" and "grok is calling itself mechahitler" are in fact the same exact problem maxread.substack.com/p/will-the-r...
July 11, 2025 at 6:42 PM
It's worth considering how hard it is to create an agent that is both "anti-woke" and *not* Nazi.
I have thoughts.
CW: suggestions that LLMs are an actual technology.
I have thoughts.
CW: suggestions that LLMs are an actual technology.