Scott Wahl 🇨🇦
@swahl519.bsky.social
Proud Canadian living in Waterloo Region.
Currently reading The Whale and the Reactor by Langdon Winner. Written in 1986, prescient look at how technology shapes society. Timely in the age of AI. #booksky
September 7, 2025 at 1:20 PM
Currently reading The Whale and the Reactor by Langdon Winner. Written in 1986, prescient look at how technology shapes society. Timely in the age of AI. #booksky
Dissolution by @bingewriting.bsky.social is a sci-fi thriller (with a touch of horror) that is full of both big ideas and big heart. Once I got into it, couldn't put it down. #booksky
August 30, 2025 at 11:20 AM
Dissolution by @bingewriting.bsky.social is a sci-fi thriller (with a touch of horror) that is full of both big ideas and big heart. Once I got into it, couldn't put it down. #booksky
Worth a read (gift article). Then put your phone down and pick up a book! /via @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...
How to Rekindle Your Love of Reading
www.nytimes.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:22 PM
Worth a read (gift article). Then put your phone down and pick up a book! /via @nytimes.com
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...
www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/w...
A must-read from @parkermolloy.com, maybe even more so for those of us working in tech. Also I've now deleted ChatGPT from my phone.
When 16-year-old Adam Raine wanted to leave his noose visible so someone might stop him, ChatGPT said don't. When Stein-Erik Soelberg thought his mother was poisoning him, ChatGPT agreed. OpenAI calls these tragedies. They're choices. www.readtpa.com/p/chatgpt-wi...
ChatGPT Will Watch You Die: When 'Deeply Saddened' Becomes Corporate Boilerplate for an AI Body Count
Two shocking stories this week reveal how ChatGPT encouraged a suicidal teenager and validated a paranoid man's delusions about his mother. The company's response? Boilerplate condolences.
www.readtpa.com
August 29, 2025 at 6:15 PM
A must-read from @parkermolloy.com, maybe even more so for those of us working in tech. Also I've now deleted ChatGPT from my phone.
A stark summary of the state of things in the US, from a clear-eyed observer Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
Donald Trump is on the brink of becoming a dictator. Can he be stopped?
As the guardrails of American democracy fall one by one, it is no longer a question of where the President is going, but how fast he will get there
www.theglobeandmail.com
August 29, 2025 at 11:48 AM
A stark summary of the state of things in the US, from a clear-eyed observer Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
Interesting take from Cal Newport: "I think it’s safe, at least for now, to turn your attention away from the tech titans’ increasingly hyperbolic claims and focus instead on things that matter more in your life"
calnewport.com/what-if-ai-d...
calnewport.com/what-if-ai-d...
What if AI Doesn’t Get Much Better Than This? - Cal Newport
In the years since ChatGPT’s launch in late 2022, it’s been hard not to get swept up in feelings of euphoria or dread about the ... Read more
calnewport.com
August 18, 2025 at 11:25 AM
Interesting take from Cal Newport: "I think it’s safe, at least for now, to turn your attention away from the tech titans’ increasingly hyperbolic claims and focus instead on things that matter more in your life"
calnewport.com/what-if-ai-d...
calnewport.com/what-if-ai-d...
This is an amazing story from @dougsaunders.bsky.social . Worth your time to read.
(And subscribe to a quality paper like @theglobeandmail.com and support journalism like this.)
(And subscribe to a quality paper like @theglobeandmail.com and support journalism like this.)
Four young Afghan siblings were hiding in Pakistan, desperate to avoid deportation, when @dougsaunders.bsky.social met them. This is their epic, harrowing story (I'm biased but I'm extremely proud of Doug for his role in helping bring the Hamidis to Canada.) www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: A young Afghan and her family were about to be deported back to the Taliban. One text changed everything
Wazhma Hamidi was hiding in Pakistan with her three siblings, unable to join her family in Canada, when the military rounded them up. A community of Canadians fought to free them
www.theglobeandmail.com
August 16, 2025 at 2:00 PM
This is an amazing story from @dougsaunders.bsky.social . Worth your time to read.
(And subscribe to a quality paper like @theglobeandmail.com and support journalism like this.)
(And subscribe to a quality paper like @theglobeandmail.com and support journalism like this.)
Reposted by Scott Wahl 🇨🇦
I've never really listened to Ozzy or Black Sabbath and I know basically nothing about him (beyond the bat and the TV show), but this strikes me as one of the best pieces I've ever read about music.
pitchfork.com/features/ozz...
pitchfork.com/features/ozz...
Ozzy Osbourne Obituary: For the Back Street Kids
John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats reflects on the loss of the singular frontman.
pitchfork.com
July 25, 2025 at 10:41 PM
I've never really listened to Ozzy or Black Sabbath and I know basically nothing about him (beyond the bat and the TV show), but this strikes me as one of the best pieces I've ever read about music.
pitchfork.com/features/ozz...
pitchfork.com/features/ozz...
Reposted by Scott Wahl 🇨🇦
On the triple contradiction of Trumponimics. He wants three things: Lower rates, reshoring of manufacturing, and a smaller working-age population. If he gets any one, the other two become implausible. If he seriously tries for two, the world economy crashes
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e33036f...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e33036f...
The triple contradiction of Trumponomics could crash the world economy
The U.S. President wants lower interest rates, the reshoring of industries and fewer immigrants - the result could be chaos
www.theglobeandmail.com
July 18, 2025 at 12:19 PM
On the triple contradiction of Trumponimics. He wants three things: Lower rates, reshoring of manufacturing, and a smaller working-age population. If he gets any one, the other two become implausible. If he seriously tries for two, the world economy crashes
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e33036f...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e33036f...
July 19, 2025 at 9:08 PM
July 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
Nice summary from @dougsaunders.bsky.social via @theglobeandmail.com on the cliff that Trump is driving to. #econsky
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
The triple contradiction of Trumponomics could crash the world economy
The U.S. President wants lower interest rates, the reshoring of industries and fewer immigrants - the result could be chaos
www.theglobeandmail.com
July 19, 2025 at 12:05 PM
Nice summary from @dougsaunders.bsky.social via @theglobeandmail.com on the cliff that Trump is driving to. #econsky
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
Insightful piece from Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com
We need immigration now more than ever.
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
We need immigration now more than ever.
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
A shrinking population is hardly what this country needs right now
Why on Earth would we want to cut off the lifeline of imported labour, at this of all moments in history?
www.theglobeandmail.com
July 19, 2025 at 11:58 AM
Insightful piece from Andrew Coyne via @theglobeandmail.com
We need immigration now more than ever.
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
We need immigration now more than ever.
www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/215adb6...
Really interesting analysis from @axios.com behind the headline jobs numbers in US. #econsky
www.axios.com/2025/07/06/u...
www.axios.com/2025/07/06/u...
America has two labor markets now
Welcome to the low-hire, low-fire job market.
www.axios.com
July 8, 2025 at 12:32 PM
Really interesting analysis from @axios.com behind the headline jobs numbers in US. #econsky
www.axios.com/2025/07/06/u...
www.axios.com/2025/07/06/u...
Reposted by Scott Wahl 🇨🇦
• Canada has borne the brunt of the damage from US tariffs so far, with its long-run economy -1.9% smaller in real terms. China’s economy is -0.2% smaller, about 2/3 as large as the hit to the US. The UK’s is 0.2% bigger thanks in part to the benefits of US-UK trade deal.
8/10
8/10
July 7, 2025 at 11:40 PM
• Canada has borne the brunt of the damage from US tariffs so far, with its long-run economy -1.9% smaller in real terms. China’s economy is -0.2% smaller, about 2/3 as large as the hit to the US. The UK’s is 0.2% bigger thanks in part to the benefits of US-UK trade deal.
8/10
8/10
You think something can't be *that* bad. But then you realize, it really is. Disastrous implications across multiple dimensions: social, environmental, economic. @steverattner.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Opinion | The Ugliness of the ‘Big, Beautiful’ Bill, in Charts (Gift Article)
Steven Rattner reveals the ugly reality lurking within the ‘big beautiful bill.’
www.nytimes.com
July 3, 2025 at 11:59 PM
You think something can't be *that* bad. But then you realize, it really is. Disastrous implications across multiple dimensions: social, environmental, economic. @steverattner.bsky.social
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...
Reposted by Scott Wahl 🇨🇦
average change in annual income for americans once the big beautiful bill passes (imminently)
July 3, 2025 at 5:28 PM
average change in annual income for americans once the big beautiful bill passes (imminently)
@robynurback.bsky.social sums it up perfectly via @theglobeandmail.com
#ElbowsUp
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
#ElbowsUp
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
Opinion: The digital services tax was bad policy, but killing it now makes us look terribly weak
Trump could decide that supply management is his real gripe, and call talks off again
www.theglobeandmail.com
June 30, 2025 at 11:51 PM
@robynurback.bsky.social sums it up perfectly via @theglobeandmail.com
#ElbowsUp
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
#ElbowsUp
www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/arti...
This needs to end
Periodic reminder: Canada turns back hundreds of asylum-seekers a month to the US because the US is designated a safe country. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
US Supreme Court lifts limits on deporting migrants to countries not their own
The U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way on Monday for President Donald Trump's administration to resume deporting migrants to countries other than their own without offering them a chance to show harms they could face, handing him another victory in his aggressive pursuit of mass deportations.
www.reuters.com
June 23, 2025 at 9:30 PM
This needs to end
Another winner from the always reliable @bitterlem0n.bsky.social. Second in the series by Joachim B Schmidt (tr. Jamie Lee Searle). A mystery that is full or charm and heart. #books @booksky.club
June 15, 2025 at 7:54 PM
Another winner from the always reliable @bitterlem0n.bsky.social. Second in the series by Joachim B Schmidt (tr. Jamie Lee Searle). A mystery that is full or charm and heart. #books @booksky.club
Credit to my bro @andrewwahl.bsky.social for getting me back into the habit of donating blood!
The Gift of Blood -- Why It Matters. Did you know that you can save three lives in just ten minutes with the gift of your blood? What do countries need to do to have safe blood donation systems? by Dr. Yuyun Maryuningsih
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9vI... via @who.int #transfusion
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D9vI... via @who.int #transfusion
WHO's Science in 5 - The Gift of Blood: Why It Matters - 13 June 2025
YouTube video by World Health Organization (WHO)
www.youtube.com
June 13, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Credit to my bro @andrewwahl.bsky.social for getting me back into the habit of donating blood!
Seems bad. "On one test, the hallucination rates of newer A.I. systems were as high as 79 percent." #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
A.I. Hallucinations Are Getting Worse, Even as New Systems Become More Powerful (Gift Article)
A new wave of “reasoning” systems from companies like OpenAI is producing incorrect information more often. Even the companies don’t know why.
www.nytimes.com
May 5, 2025 at 10:31 AM
Seems bad. "On one test, the hallucination rates of newer A.I. systems were as high as 79 percent." #AI #ArtificialIntelligence #Tech
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
www.nytimes.com/2025/05/05/t...
May 4, 2025 at 6:50 PM