Top Stories Daily
The latest thought-provoking Fediverse stories
Worth reading
Child’s Play, by Sam Kriss
harpers.org · Feb 19
Tech’s new generation and the end of thinking
Shared by @skinnylatte and
39 others.
Chris Smart
(@VE3RWJ) ·
Feb 21
🔁 @remixtures:
"By now Cluely had been listening in on our conversation for a while, and I suggested that we open it up and see what it thought I should say next. I clicked the button marked what should i say next? Cluely suggested that I say, “Yeah, let’s open up Cluely and see what it’s doing right now—can you share your screen or walk me through what you’re seeing?” I’d already said pretty much exactly this, but since it had shown up onscreen I read it out loud. Cluely helpfully transcribed my repeating its suggestion, and then suggested that I say, “Alright, I’ve got Cluely open—here’s what I’m looking at right now.” I’m not sure who exactly I was supposed to be saying this to—possibly myself. Somehow our conversation seemed to have gotten stuck on the process of opening Cluely, despite the fact that Cluely was, in fact, already open. But I said it anyway, since I was now just repeating everything that came up on the screen. Cluely then told me to respond—to either it or myself; it was getting hard to tell at this point—by saying, “Great, I’m ready—just let me know what you want Cluely to check or help with next.” I started to worry that I would be trapped in this conversation forever, constantly repeating the machine’s words back to it as it pretended to be me. I told Roy that I wasn’t sure this was particularly useful. This seemed to confuse him. He asked, “I mean, what would you have wanted it to say?”
Ifound it strange that Roy couldn’t see the glaring contradiction in his own project. Here was someone who reacted very violently to anyone who tried to tell him what to do. At the same time, his grand contribution to the world was a piece of software that told people what to do."
https://harpers.org/archive/2026/03/childs-play-sam-kriss-ai-startup-roy-lee/
#AI #GenerativeAI #AIAgents #AGI #SanFrancisco #Startups #Cluely
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks
theguardian.com · Feb 21
Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone’
Shared by @kimcrawley and
318 others.
divya
(@divya) ·
Feb 21
Imagine Keir Starmer being THIS much of a coward.
`Both Karen and Bill separately tried to contact the British consulate. After weeks of effort, Karen managed to speak to someone, but the consular official told her they couldn’t interfere.`
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/feb/21/karen-newton-valid-visa-detained-ice
‘Don’t go to the US – not with Trump in charge’: the UK tourist with a valid visa detained by ICE for six weeks
theguardian.com · Feb 21
Karen Newton was in America on the trip of a lifetime when she was shackled, transported and held for weeks on end. With tourism to the US under increasing strain, she says, ‘If it can happen to me, it can happen to anyone’
Shared by @RunRichRun and
37 others.
Hold on to Your Hardware
xn--gckvb8fzb.com · Feb 20
A warning about rising prices, vanishing consumer choice, and a future where owning a computer may matter more than ever as hardware, power, and control drift toward data centers and away from people.
Shared by @otfrom and
37 others.
mos_8502 :verified: 🇨🇦
(@mos_8502) ·
Feb 21
🔁 @cstanhope:
Probably a pragmatic way to be anyway:
"The reason I’m writing all of this isn’t to create panic, but to help put things into perspective. You don’t need to scavenger-hunt for legacy parts in your local landfill (yet) or swear off upgrades forever, but you do need to recognize that the rules have changed. The market that once catered to enthusiasts and everyday users is turning its back. So take care of your hardware, stretch its lifespan, upgrade thoughtfully, and don’t assume replacement will always be easy or affordable."
From this analysis on the impact hyperscalers are having on the near future (at least) of personal electronics "Hold on to Your Hardware":
https://マリウス.com/hold-on-to-your-hardware/
This part is dark:
Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis?
theguardian.com · Feb 21
Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for the rolling back of environmental rules have grown louder and more influential
Shared by @paka and
28 others.
Tadzio Mueller
(@muellertadzio) ·
Feb 22
2. "Under water, in denial: is Europe drowning out the climate crisis? Even as weather extremes worsen, the voices calling for rolling back environmental rules have grown louder and more influential."
I wonder about the question mark in the headline... 🤦♂️
Anyway: told you so.
https://www.theguardian.com/news/ng-interactive/2026/feb/21/under-water-in-denial-is-europe-drowning-out-the-climate-crisis
UN declares Earth has entered a period of 'water bankruptcy' that is likely impossible to reverse
earth.com · Feb 19
Rivers are shrinking and aquifers are falling, raising fears of “water bankruptcy” as billions experience increasing water shortages.
Shared by @libramoon and
44 others.
Patrick Hadfield
(@patrickhadfield) ·
Feb 21
🔁 @dallo:
UN declares Earth has entered a period of 'water bankruptcy' that is likely impossible to reverse
https://www.earth.com/news/un-declares-water-bankruptcy-era-as-major-rivers-and-aquifers-dry-up/
> Rivers are shrinking and aquifers are falling, raising fears of “water bankruptcy” as billions experience increasing water shortages.
Reminder that llm data centres waste dozens of gallons of potable water every minute of every day
darktable.info – Mastering Darktable
darktable.info · Feb 21
Why pay for Lightroom or Luminar? Darktable is better, faster, and completely free. The ultimate professional alternative for RAW editing. Get started here.
Shared by @macmanx and
26 others.
Whale Fall
nesbitt.io · Feb 21
What happens when a large open source project dies.
Worth reading
How far back in time can you understand English?
deadlanguagesociety.com · Feb 21
An experiment in language change
There are no more posts at this time, but we are constantly looking for new ones.