Tim Newman
banner
tnewmsblues.bsky.social
Tim Newman
@tnewmsblues.bsky.social
Labor + Tech | Currently @techequity.bsky.social | Formerly Coworker(.)org, Coworker Solidarity Fund, Change(.)org, International Labor Rights Forum
Pinned
Let’s honor the breakthrough Tim’s in popular culture of late. We are doing great!
Reposted by Tim Newman
Just after becoming billionaires, the cofounders of Mercor slashed the contract positions of the people who helped them achieve that monumental feat.

Only to allegedly try to hire them back for less money. www.forbes.com/sites/iainma...

@forbes.com @iainmartin.bsky.social
Mercor Contractors Allege The AI Company Slashed Their Wages
Mercor allegedly canned an AI training project with thousands of contractors just weeks after hitting a $10 billion valuation.
www.forbes.com
November 24, 2025 at 5:09 PM
"Trump faces an unexpected rift in the MAGA movement as Republican officials from statehouses to Capitol Hill warn his full-throated embrace of the tech industry’s AI boom risks undermining Americans’ economic security and exposing their children to new harms." www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
The surprising issue driving a wedge between Trump and his MAGA base
President Donald Trump’s attempt to block states from regulating AI sparked pushback from Republicans concerned the tech will displace workers and harm kids.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 23, 2025 at 4:54 PM
Reposted by Tim Newman
November 23, 2025 at 7:13 AM
Karly Hartzman of Wednesday: ideal rock star 🔥
🎂Played last show of tour on her birthday
🍉Spoke eloquently about solidarity w Palestine as a Jewish person
✊Supported 9:30 staff unionizing w @unitehere.org @iatse.bsky.social
🏛️Went to the punk rock flea and shouted out @freedcproject.bsky.social 🤘
November 23, 2025 at 7:11 AM
Reposted by Tim Newman
Our very own @brookh.bsky.social and @kristap.bsky.social shared with Varsha Bansal the concerns they have with AI from the perspective of workers who are fine-tuning it.

www.theguardian.com/technology/2...
Meet the AI workers who tell their friends and family to stay away from AI
When the people making AI seem trustworthy are the ones who trust it the least, it shows that incentives for speed are overtaking safety, experts say
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 8:03 PM
Based on our research (although this not mentioned cwa-union.org/ghost-worker...) and featuring data workers you should follow here including @kristap.bsky.social & @brookh.bsky.social!!
November 22, 2025 at 5:16 PM
“When people who make AI seem trustworthy are those who trust it the least, experts believe it signals a larger issue”

For more, check out @techequity.bsky.social @alphabetworkersunion.org @cwaunion.bsky.social report based on research w workers featured in the article cwa-union.org/ghost-worker...
November 22, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Here’s the thing folks: if AI were to actually deliver in any of the productivity gains touted by executives, that probably just means you are busier.
November 22, 2025 at 3:00 PM
Reposted by Tim Newman
Our data, analyzed by @washingtonpost.com, shows giving from the 100 wealthiest Americans has risen 140x since 2000. In 2024 they accounted for 7.5% of federal election spending - $1 of every $13. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/int... @bethreinhard.bsky.social @ence.bsky.social @aaronschaffer.com
How billionaires took over American politics
The current concentration of wealth is unlike anything in history. So is billionaires’ involvement in politics.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 21, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Reposted by Tim Newman
Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania said that "if you should care about something else, and if you want something else, you should just not be here."
Sam Altman's eye-scanning Orb startup told workers not to care about anything outside work
Tools for Humanity CEO Alex Blania said that "if you should care about something else, and if you want something else, you should just not be here."
www.businessinsider.com
November 20, 2025 at 10:41 AM
Reposted by Tim Newman
Secretary of Commerce "Lutnick has twisted the arms of American allies, dangling policy favors in exchange for investments in U.S. industrial projects. At times, these tactics have created opportunities for his family’s clients to gain access to much-needed foreign capital, The Times found."
Family Affair: Commerce Secretary’s Sons Cash In on A.I. Frenzy
www.nytimes.com
November 20, 2025 at 3:53 PM
Reposted by Tim Newman
🚨 Big tech billionaire attempts to ban state regulation of AI are unpopular, dangerous, and not in the public interest.

These bans will make it easier for employers to discriminate, lower worker pay, steal creative work, spy on workers, retaliate and union bust. It doesn’t have to be this way →
How Banning State Regulation of AI Harms Workers — We Build Progress
webuildprogress.org
November 20, 2025 at 6:16 PM
Loved this fantastic article!

“Union organizing, however, makes power relations clear to cultural workers and helps them recognize their status as such. As a museum worker put it, ‘I think what unionizing does is make visible that your job is actually work. You are a worker.’”
November 20, 2025 at 3:44 PM
“Every company would be affected if the AI bubble were to burst, the CEO of Google's parent firm Alphabet told the BBC.
Sundar Pichai said while the growth of a AI investment had been an ‘extraordinary moment’, there was some ‘irrationality’ in the current AI boom.”
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Google boss says trillion-dollar AI investment boom has 'elements of irrationality'
In an exclusive BBC interview, Sundar Pichai hailed artificial intelligence as an "extraordinary moment" but said no company would be immune if bubble burst.
www.bbc.com
November 20, 2025 at 2:31 PM
“The White House is preparing to issue an executive order as soon as Friday that enlists the power of the federal government to block states from regulating AI”
www.politico.com/news/2025/11...
White House prepares executive order to block state AI laws
Draft document obtained by POLITICO calls for task force and multi-agency approach.
www.politico.com
November 20, 2025 at 1:27 AM
New paper! Let’s not overemphasize AI “upskilling” as a response to CEOs saying AI is gonna replace us.
November 19, 2025 at 7:07 PM
Reposted by Tim Newman
A super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI and other tech leaders has targeted New York Assembly member Alex Bores' congressional campaign, marking its first attack against a lawmaker supporting AI regulation.
A16z-backed super PAC is targeting Alex Bores, sponsor of New York’s AI safety bill. He says bring it on. | TechCrunch
A super PAC backed by Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI and other tech leaders has targeted New York Assembly member Alex Bores' congressional campaign, marking its first attack against a lawmaker supporting AI regulation.
techcrunch.com
November 18, 2025 at 12:37 AM
Right back here again - this time Cloudflare.

“More than a technical fault, the episode underscores the risks of infrastructural concentration. Cloudflare’s failure—even briefly—illustrates how a small misstep by one provider can cascade across global systems.” circleid.com/posts/cloudf...
November 18, 2025 at 11:04 PM
“It could be a signal of how AI is going to impinge on other sectors,” he said.

www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...
November 18, 2025 at 2:59 PM
"Private equity is reshaping life insurance shifting liabilities to offshore affiliates subject to less disclosure &pursuing higher returns w sophisticated &potentially less-liquid investment such as exotic asset-backed securities &bets tied to private credit or PE” www.bloomberg.com/graphics/202...
How Apollo Turned Americans’ Nest Eggs Into Wall Street’s Hottest Trade
Apollo’s widely copied playbook is shepherding billions to Bermuda affiliates, losing US guarantees
www.bloomberg.com
November 18, 2025 at 2:11 PM
“The industry is likely to interpret Monday's shift in emphasis as another encouraging sign.”
November 18, 2025 at 4:43 AM
“Tech billionaire Peter Thiel's hedge fund has sold off its entire stake in Nvidia during the third quarter, a regulatory filing showed, intensifying worries of an artificial intelligence bubble.” www.reuters.com/business/med...
www.reuters.com
November 18, 2025 at 4:20 AM
Odd to not acknowledge the significant effort - and actual progress - being made on the state level in terms of both policy and enforcement.
Under Trump 2.0, tech platforms have proven to be more responsive to the demands of a rising authoritarian than from pressure from workers, or users, or civil society, writes Dave Karpf. If we are going to repair democratic institutions, we are going to have to do it ourselves, he says.
The Dance with Big Tech is Different under Trump 2.0 | TechPolicy.Press
If we are going to repair democratic institutions, we are going to have to do it ourselves, writes Dave Karpf.
www.techpolicy.press
November 17, 2025 at 2:54 AM
This segment is a total mess and Anderson unfortunately was not up to the task.

Currently fantasizing about how this could have gone with Chotiner instead…
Q: “.. You've said, ‘AI could wipe out half of all entry-level white-collar jobs and spike unemployment to 10% to 20% in the next one to five years.’”

@60minutes.bsky.social
www.cbsnews.com/news/anthrop...
November 17, 2025 at 2:04 AM
Reposted by Tim Newman
Meta employee performance will be assessed by AI-driven impact starting in 2026, as the company prioritizes AI adoption across its workforce.
Meta will grade employees on their AI impact starting in 2026
Meta employee performance will be assessed by AI-driven impact starting in 2026, as the company prioritizes AI adoption across its workforce.
www.businessinsider.com
November 14, 2025 at 7:46 PM