Mark Hurst

Host of Techtonic on WFMU: https://techtonic.fm .. Projects and bio at https://creativegood.com .. anti-Big Tech, pro-everyone who's trying to make tech better.

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Last Notes

2026-08-18 13:56:38 GMT

So now if a company goes bankrupt, all the emails and internal chats - going back years - all get sucked into an AI engine in Silicon Valley.
But don't worry, the data is all "deidentified." Right.
https://news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and-practice/google-aims-to-boost-ai-with-purchase-of-spirit-airlines-data

2026-08-02 19:09:24 GMT

"A Ton of Space Junk Tumbles Unpredictably to Earth Every Week." If only someone had issued a warning almost two years ago! ("Musk's space junk is a threat to us all" - https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/ - not to mention the tireless work @nprofile…2wxk & other astronomers have been doing)
Gift link to NYT story:
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/asia/space-debris-falling-crashing-earth-risk.html?unlocked_article_code=1.2VA.OGvZ.UUZefyuNJ7tT&smid=url-share

2026-05-20 18:51:46 GMT

Spot-on satire of Sam Altman and the other AI oligarchs.
Here's my dramatic reading of "In Our Glorious AI Future, There Will Be No Such Thing as Money (For You)" - by Andrew Singleton in McSweeney's.
https://exquisite.tube/w/oDrvnukERr3VSpqqbUCtQp

2026-05-02 12:11:51 GMT

"The clam chowder in a New England diner and the clam chowder in a Florida diner come out of the same Sysco can."
On regional collapse in restaurants - h/t @nprofile…ugpy
https://www.worseonpurpose.com/p/your-dinner-got-worse-on-purpose

2026-04-22 13:30:40 GMT

From "What I Learned About Billionaires at Jeff Bezos’s Private Retreat" by Noah Hawley:
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/2026/05/billionaire-consequence-free-reality/686588/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/448/600/339/906/254/original/9a152fbe6a52a4a2.png

2026-04-07 19:20:07 GMT

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@nprofile…awd8 see also https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/good-news-in-the-fight-against-big-tech/

2026-03-24 17:44:07 GMT

Excited to share my Techtonic interview with @nprofile…0egl - aka Janet Vertesi - founder of the #optout project and #techreclaimers .
Janet explains WHY and HOW to get off of Big Tech, and onto community-minded alternatives.
Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-03-23-janet-vertesi-founder-of-the-opt-out-project/
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/285/388/350/338/019/original/46dc68679027f978.mp4

2026-03-23 13:25:20 GMT

"77% of air traffic control is understaffed, with NYC ATC staffed at 54% of the correct level."
This data point from @nprofile…ugpy today, on the dangers of understaffing, makes me think of the LaGuardia crash.
https://pluralistic.net/2026/03/22/nobodys-home/

2026-02-21 21:17:51 GMT

Now THAT's a headline.
"The U.S. spent $30 billion to ditch textbooks for laptops and tablets: The result is the first generation less cognitively capable than their parents"
#edtech #education
https://fortune.com/2026/02/21/laptops-tablets-schools-gen-z-less-cognitively-capable-parents-first-time-cellphone-bans-standardized-test-scores/

2026-02-19 20:24:18 GMT

I spoke with Chris Gilliard - aka @nprofile…pxgx - about the Ring commercial, and the problems of spreading big tech surveillance & AI, on Techtonic this week.
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-02-16-chris-gilliard-on-amazons-admission-that-ring-spies-on-us/
Make note of that image below with the blue circles, as it will come up in the next post.
3/

2026-02-19 20:22:50 GMT

New from me: It's time to get rid of networked cameras.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/its-time-to-get-rid-of-networked-cameras/
I feel strongly about this piece, so here's a thread -
1/

2026-02-10 19:31:33 GMT

New on Techtonic: I speak w/Peter Dear about the history of science - then explain that *how we interpret AI* is in the balance right now.
Full episode:
https://techtonic.fm/episodes/2026-02-09-peter-dear-the-world-as-we-know-it-and-how-we-interpret-ai/
More Techtonic:
https://techtonic.fm
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/116/047/993/889/849/251/original/8a5b7485bbf03ff2.mp4

2026-02-07 14:18:09 GMT

"Streaming" is just "downloading" with the "save file" button removed.
Well said by @nprofile…ugpy in today's essay -
https://pluralistic.net/2026/02/07/aimsters-revenge/

2026-01-29 15:26:30 GMT

The difference between surveillance pricing, dynamic pricing, AI-powered price discrimination, and algorithmic price fixing - explained by Pat Garofalo:
https://boondoggle.substack.com/p/dystopian-pricing-tactics-a-primer

2026-01-09 16:15:33 GMT

We're living in an age of extraction. On Tim Wu's book, a recent @nprofile…ugpy essay, the horrible news this past week, and feeling the weight of it all.
New from me:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/life-in-an-age-of-extraction/

2025-11-17 16:47:28 GMT

"Doctorow has performed a valuable public service with 'Enshittification,'" writes @nprofile…8za8 about @nprofile…998y's book. I agree, and would add that Dave Mandl has done a service by writing such a clear & cogent review. From the LA Review of Books:
https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/giant-platforms-of-shit/

2025-11-15 20:18:49 GMT

One of the best pieces I've read in awhile. Emily Bressler in @mcsweeneys.net writes "I Work for an Evil Company, but Outside Work, I’m Actually a Really Good Person":
https://www.mcsweeneys.net/articles/i-work-for-an-evil-company-but-outside-work-im-actually-a-really-good-person

2025-10-29 19:48:31 GMT

I'm excited to announce the launch of the new Techtonic website:
https://techtonic.fm
Each episode page has an embedded audio player followed by links & resources.
RSS of episodes:
https://techtonic.fm/index.xml
You can also get the show as a podcast:
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944

2025-10-22 15:52:25 GMT

Insane image. "Model of the distribution of space debris around Earth." Read the key: 2,000 billion objects under 0.1 mm.
(from the European Space Agency, in this report: https://www.esa.int/Space_Safety/Space_Debris/Sounding_the_alarm_ESA_introduces_space_environment_health_index )
(via @nprofile…sep3 )
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/418/609/396/734/028/original/9b5a2a28141310b9.jpg

2025-10-20 12:30:41 GMT

A few months ago I warned that falling space junk could collide with an airliner in flight:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/
Now @nprofile…kcm7 reports that a plane just got hit:
https://arstechnica.com/space/2025/10/something-from-space-may-have-just-struck-a-united-airlines-flight-over-utah/
/cc @nprofile…5l40

2025-10-16 17:45:03 GMT

Low-cost, locally running AI agent - not connected to the internet, so it doesn't leak your data. (via @nprofile…998y 's newsletter today)
https://petewarden.com/2025/10/16/why-does-a-local-ai-voice-agent-running-on-a-super-cheap-soc-matter/

2025-10-14 19:25:23 GMT

Big Tech is targeting vulnerable communities for its data centers. Residents incur a huge cost in water & power and airborne toxic chemicals. Town officials sign NDAs so citizens have no awareness of the threat.
New from me: data centers and their effects.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/dont-let-the-data-center-come-to-town/

2025-09-09 20:30:28 GMT

On the horrible Google antitrust ruling.
During the new techtonic.fm episode I read an excerpt by @nprofile…qz4x (Cory Doctorow) about the decision. See below.
Listen to the whole show (click pop-up player):
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/155884
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/115/176/224/693/545/963/original/bca5734ded3b2b0a.mp4

2025-09-04 17:42:38 GMT

On my conversation with Cory Doctorow - aka @nprofile…qz4x - reflecting on our unhinged moment:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/why-everything-suddenly-got-worse-doctorow/

2025-08-15 12:50:38 GMT

Our electricity bills are going up because of the data centers serving up AI slop.
"Electricity bills are on track to rise an average of 8 percent nationwide by 2030 and as much as 25 percent in places like Virginia because of data centers."
Gift link:
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/business/energy-environment/ai-data-centers-electricity-costs.html?unlocked_article_code=1.eU8.HOs1.c94LMYQXrrrc&smid=url-share

2025-08-12 18:10:32 GMT

Excited to see my interview about "The AI Con" w/ @nprofile…gd2c & @nprofile…mr93 featured on Sprouts, which goes out to hundreds of community radio stations on the Pacifica Network.
https://soundcloud.com/pacificanetwork/073025-ai-hype-looking-behind-the-curtain?in=pacificanetwork/sets/sprouts-3

2025-06-28 13:48:51 GMT

Words to live by, from @nprofile…qz4x -
"Monopolists corrupt our political system, maim and impoverish workers, gouge their customers on enshittified, overpriced garbage. They are an existential threat to the survival of the human species."
https://pluralistic.net/2025/06/28/mamdani/

2025-06-26 18:40:23 GMT

Google's search decay comes up in the latest This Ecommerce Life:
https://thisecommercelife.com/blogs/comics/hey-google
It's a short comic and I recommend reading the whole thing.
(via @nprofile…qz4x )

2025-06-25 21:23:05 GMT

You love to see it.
"Mexico’s president threatens to sue over SpaceX debris from rocket explosions"
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/jun/25/mexico-president-lawsuit-spacex-debris-rocket-explosions
(/cc @nprofile…kyj5 )

2025-06-16 16:16:01 GMT

To the Cybertruck owner driving down the west side of Manhattan, hope you have a great day - you seem to be excited to stare at the surveillance phone in your hand as your three-ton dumpster rolls down the avenue

2025-06-08 15:22:13 GMT

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Speaking of AI as automation, @nprofile…xrp9 puts it well:
"Automating decisions gives power away."
A helpful essay counting the costs of AI in design, even if we might (occasionally) still use it:
https://mail.cyberneticforests.com/the-decision-not-to-decide/

2025-06-08 10:09:05 GMT

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@nprofile…vn85 not yet

2025-06-07 20:00:42 GMT

New from me: Let’s call AI something else. (drawing on "The AI Con" by @nprofile…gd2c and @nprofile…ls2h )
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/lets-call-ai-something-else/

2025-05-30 15:06:10 GMT

Google Glass is coming back to spy on us, 12 years after we thought it was killed dead. The zombie has returned.
Here's my roundup of the surveillance glasses shambling toward us from Zuck, Google, Apple, and OpenAI:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/a-zombie-wave-of-surveillance-devices/

2025-05-22 15:40:18 GMT

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@nprofile…xyvy @nprofile…m3s9 the Tech Review article quotes people asking why they should pay higher rates.

2025-05-22 14:18:29 GMT

"Between 2024 and 2028, the share of US electricity going to data centers may triple, from its current 4.4% to 12%."
Astounding that we prioritize electricity for AI over *every* *other* *possible* *use*. Housing, schools, and hospitals all have to make way for Big Tech data centers.
Important article by Tech Review:
https://www.technologyreview.com/2025/05/20/1116327/ai-energy-usage-climate-footprint-big-tech/

2025-05-20 18:31:23 GMT

Such a pleasure to speak with
@nprofile…avuy on Techtonic yesterday. We covered luxury surveillance and Facebook's spy glasses, which reportedly will soon have facial recognition.
Stream the show by clicking "pop-up player" on the episode page:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/152175

2025-04-29 22:43:04 GMT

Yet another combination of AI and surveillance - in the NYC subway:
https://gothamist.com/news/mta-wants-ai-to-flag-problematic-behavior-in-nyc-subways
"MTA Chief Security Officer Michael Kemper said the agency plans to use artificial intelligence technology to detect 'potential trouble or problematic behavior on our subway platforms.'”

2025-04-17 14:14:07 GMT

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@nprofile…gd2c This would be a great fit for Techtonic - https://techtonic.fm - if you'd like to be on the show to talk about it!

2025-04-01 13:43:36 GMT

I'm outraged that my government is disappearing people for political dissent. On the new Techtonic, I speak about the Tufts PhD student – Rumeysa Ozturk – who was kidnapped, and the growing use of Big Tech AI & surveillance for authoritarianism.
LISTEN: https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=150627&archive=268232
Episode page: https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/150627
More: https://techtonic.fm

2025-03-26 14:22:32 GMT

Excited to share my interview with Liz Pelly about Spotify - a company that exploits musicians, spies on users, and pollutes the internet with muzak slop. Liz's book "Mood Machine" is fantastic. I also quote @nprofile…724p .
To listen, click "Pop-up player" on this page:
https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/150392

2025-03-18 20:41:24 GMT

The White House is now being served with Elon Musk’s Starlink. Trump officials claim it's hard to get good internet access.
At the White House.
So we're running all White House communications through the network owned by Elon Musk, who's in close touch with Vladimir Putin.
Cool cool.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/us/politics/elon-musk-starlink-white-house.html?unlocked_article_code=1.404.B0N5.hIiH4Iqy0T00&smid=url-share

2025-03-17 16:09:22 GMT

Helpful fact about Chuck Schumer from Wall Street on Parade:
"Three of Schumer's five largest campaign donors have been Wall Street megabanks – Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase":
https://wallstreetonparade.com/2025/03/four-megabanks-on-wall-street-hold-3-2-trillion-in-uninsured-deposits-which-may-explain-senator-schumers-pivot-to-the-gop-to-stop-a-government-shutdown/

2025-03-11 18:40:39 GMT

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@nprofile…fynq Lattimore! love it

2025-03-07 20:08:40 GMT

New from me: I read all of Plato. Here's what I learned.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/i-read-all-of-plato-heres-what-i-learned/

2025-03-07 16:15:06 GMT

What a perfect distillation of a certain set of values.
(Photo by me, this morning, in Manhattan. It was parked and unoccupied.)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/122/037/399/793/490/original/9216053cbbb5ad8f.jpeg

2025-03-03 14:29:49 GMT

Serious question: when the AIs start quietly editing people's social media posts to conform to the oligarchs' goals, how will we know? And if we know, how will we alert others?

2025-02-22 17:01:12 GMT

GenAI is digital plastic. All of our regret now at filling the ocean with plastics, and our bodies with microplastics, we are now doing by flooding our media and education with genAI plastic.

2025-02-21 20:03:14 GMT

If you like Severance, I hope you'll listen to Techtonic, my podcast/radio show on @nprofile…00z7 .
I'm questioning tech & its promises, with help from brilliant interview guests like @nprofile…kyj5 @nprofile…qz4x & more.
Podcast:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/techtonic-with-mark-hurst-wfmu/id1285537944?mt=2
More info:
https://techtonic.fm
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/114/043/661/030/241/456/original/061fadf5a51112d8.jpg

2025-02-14 15:07:39 GMT

I'm hosting movie night NEXT THURSDAY, Feb 20, at @nprofile…00z7 in Jersey City - we're watching the documentary "Flash Wars," about autonomous AI weapons.
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/flash-wars-autonomous-weapons-ai-and-the-future-of-warfare-documentary-tickets-1137714668199?aff=oddtdtcreator
Bonus: robots spin records now, too - see below (via @nprofile…avuy)
https://futurism.com/the-byte/military-robot-dj

2025-02-10 19:17:49 GMT

‪But do the users actually *want* AI?
Maybe they do, in some cases. But did anyone actually find out what users actually *want* before spending a trillion dollars to build it out?

2025-02-07 19:32:52 GMT

"We are witnessing a private equity-style plunder of the entire US government."
You'll want to punch the wall after you read this piece by @nprofile…qz4x -
https://pluralistic.net/2025/02/07/broccoli-hair-brownshirts/

2025-01-20 15:11:58 GMT

User experience is mostly irrelevant in our Big Tech economy. Facebook, Twitter, etc. can mistreat users without consequence.
Cory Doctorow - aka @nprofile…qz4x - puts it well today (https://pluralistic.net/2025/01/20/capitalist-unrealism/):
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/861/321/199/847/487/original/db5b24bb62607104.png

2025-01-10 21:23:18 GMT

Depends on your definition of "trusted."
I mean, by definition can spyware be "trusted"?
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/806/159/697/551/067/original/d8aa397319ed8f97.jpeg

2025-01-08 16:54:59 GMT

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@nprofile…0cc2 I like how you blurred the image so that people can't read ahead and get your picks early!

2025-01-03 23:29:26 GMT

Easing into 2025: my first column of the year, featuring -
- why Netflix sucks
- a gripping drone video
- the geekiest browser game I've seen in awhile
And more.
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/easing-into-2025-4498/

2024-12-01 21:55:53 GMT

"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can’t have both."
—Justice Louis Brandeis

2024-11-25 16:52:28 GMT

Elon Musk's space junk is a threat to us all. Starlink satellites will pollute the atmosphere, land in your backyard, and - a fresh new nightmare - could hit airliners at 35,000 feet.
My post explains:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/musks-space-junk-is-a-threat-to-us-all/
Thanks to @nprofile…kyj5 for raising the alarm. (Re-upping to get the proper thumbnail on the post.)
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/544/623/152/135/894/original/a18e7a176e4b54b7.jpg

2024-11-23 21:57:22 GMT

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@nprofile…kyj5 thanks, Sam!

2024-11-19 23:04:18 GMT

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@nprofile…5e8y c'mon, Dave, if you don't pay Apple to upgrade your hardware properly, your notes deserve to be deleted!

2024-11-19 16:22:18 GMT

WARNING: Starlink satellites are starting to rain down on earth. I spoke w/astronomer Samantha Lawler - @nprofile…kyj5 - on https://techtonic.fm about their effects on the atmosphere, and who you should call if space junk lands in your yard.
Listen: https://wfmu.org/archiveplayer/?show=146229&archive=261820&starttime=0:7:42
Episode links: https://www.wfmu.org/playlists/shows/146229
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/510/535/595/608/064/original/0e87d4f0d5fa0296.png

2024-11-15 17:15:28 GMT

I spoke with three members of the Luddite Club, a group of teenagers who avoid digital devices and social media.
There's reason for hope:
https://buttondown.com/creativegood/archive/a-gleam-of-hope-meet-the-luddite-club/

2024-07-16 17:05:24 GMT

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@npub1uw8…88kr ready to feature the book on https://techtonic.fm !

2024-05-28 19:52:08 GMT

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@npub1yhj…3h3t nice work

2024-05-23 15:58:47 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn 👍

2024-05-09 22:52:15 GMT

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@npub1uw8…88kr that is BANANAS

2024-05-03 14:48:02 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn remind me to tell you a story...

2024-04-30 18:53:04 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn I have so many comments

2024-04-25 18:21:11 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn ASCII forever!

2024-01-22 18:10:39 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn but your call is important to ALL of them

2024-01-15 22:20:43 GMT

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@npub1typ…c8hh Resisting Big Tech

2023-12-30 14:39:10 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn bingo

2023-12-10 20:41:00 GMT

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@npub1typ…c8hh @npub1wqh…wwzl I'm a little bit older but this story resonates with me and my career quite a bit.

2023-11-18 17:32:04 GMT

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@npub1wc7…gyhe @npub1typ…c8hh I particularly like that one :)

2023-11-08 00:51:05 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn what?? that is not a good precedent. (ads for laundry)

2023-10-25 15:25:24 GMT

"The Luddites were right. The concentration of money and power is a perverting force. Google’s corruption exemplifies the problem. I’ll join Brian Merchant in saying: I’m a Luddite. You should be one, too."
My new column, "The Luddites warned us about Google" - featuring @npub143c…59ma and @npub1hyk…3p33
https://creativegood.com/blog/23/luddites-warned-us-about-google.html
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/111/296/346/302/104/151/original/94d9584c301ca5ab.jpg

2023-09-22 18:48:39 GMT

I like how @npub1typ…c8hh describes what's changed in search UX:
"For their first 25 years of existence, Internet search engines functioned as librarians. Their goal was to point us to a resource that we could ourselves ingest and learn from.
"But now, Ellandorff observes, search is becoming more like a doctor [meaning, it just gives an answer without pointers to further context]."
Read the whole piece in section 7 of Clive's recent linkfest:
https://buttondown.email/clivethompson/archive/linkfest-11/

2023-09-01 21:37:41 GMT

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@npub17nv…96rn safe travels, break a leg, etc. etc.!

2023-09-01 20:48:32 GMT

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@npub1typ…c8hh Great piece. I'm working on an Auden poem

2023-07-28 21:19:23 GMT

" In the upside-down world of digital feudalism, anything that serves the customers’ needs without providing the company with rent, or surveillance, or control is likely to be removed."
My new column, "Why car companies (still) ignore customers":
https://creativegood.com/blog/23/why-car-companies-ignore-customers.html
h/t @npub1hyk…3p33 for several quotes from his piece this week!
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/110/793/793/731/894/497/original/7b670de831657f3e.jpg

2023-05-19 19:33:43 GMT

"The tech industry continues to push forward with chat bots, even though customers don’t want them – at least for customer service . . ."
https://creativegood.com/blog/23/why-customers-dont-want-chat-bots.html
My new column, "Why customers don’t want chat bots," mentions my @npub1j4j…7vxf conversation @npub17nv…96rn in opposition to what Sam Altman is selling.

2023-04-14 01:10:16 GMT

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#[0] another recommendation for Fastmail, *or* any of the other Gmail alternatives I list here - https://goodreports.com/post/email.html