Today's threads (a thread)
Inside: Reverse centaurs are the answer to the AI paradox; and more!
Archived at: https://pluralistic.net/2025/09/11/vulgar-thatcherism/
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@pluralistic realise this is far from the main point, but as I'm just now replaying Universal Paperclips, I really enjoyed the paperclip reference 🖇️🖇️
That article also made me think I should revisit the podcast on Weizenbaum's "Computer power and human reason" that I have bookmarked somewhere...
@pluralistic Did anyone else who is subscribed to the email get this email?
![[2] [Plura-list] Reverse centaurs are the answer to the AI paradox
Cory Doctorow WE Yesterday
°
From B Melissa Raulston <melissa@platowynne.com> wr 8:55AM
To Ed, plura-list@pluralistic.net v
A\ This email has failed its domain's authentication requirements. It may be spoofed or improperly forwarded. Learn more
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@EdBruce It was my fatfinger. Sorry!
@pluralistic love this, and also, not looking forward to another crash. Trying to insulate myself and hedge, but we’re all connected
@pluralistic When I started coding, mainframes had compilers. You didn't "rent", "lease" or "subscribe" to the compilers, editors, OS, and whatnot. Then, for a brief time, I suffered the whims of Microsoft et al, before moving to Linux, where I once again have tools that are either gratis/libre or one-one time purchases.
I don't see that happening with AI... And it seems one must use multiple AIs. So, for me, not yet...
#Ithaca and #NYC! I'm heading your way for a zillion events from Sept 11-17. Here's a list of open-to-all #Cornell activities including two major keynotes; a movie night with dinner and discussion; and a public event at Cornell Tech in NYC:
https://adwhiteprofessors.cornell.edu/visits/cory-doctorow/
I'm also appearing at Buffalo Street Books on Sept 11:
https://buffalostreetbooks.com/event/2025-09-11/cory-doctorow-tcpl-librarian-judd-karlman
and at Autumn Leaves Books on Sept 13:
https://www.autumnleavesithaca.com/event-details/enshittification-why-everything-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it
I'll also be at the #Brooklyn Book Festival on Sept 21:
https://brooklynbookfestival.org/event/big-techs-big-heist-cory-doctorow-in-conversation-with-adam-becker/
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Reverse centaurs are the answer to the AI paradox: Not what the machine does, but who it does it to.
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115186335896408611
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Hey look at this
* Flush door handles are the car industry’s latest safety problem https://arstechnica.com/cars/2025/09/flush-door-handles-are-the-car-industrys-latest-safety-problem/
* The Great Space Race(ism): How Science Fiction Predicted the Future--and How Afrofuturism Could Negate It https://escholarship.org/uc/item/3gv8r1r5 (h/t Samuel Delany)
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#20yrago Themepunks (AKA Makers) serialized for next ten weeks on Salon https://web.archive.org/web/20050914060107/http://www.salon.com/tech/feature/2005/09/12/themepunks_1/index_np.html
#10yrsago Data is a liability, not an asset https://web.archive.org/web/20150911201818/https://richie.fi/blog/data-is-a-liability.html
#10yrsago Missing from the computer science curriculum https://prog21.dadgum.com/210.html
#5yrsago Alexa for landlords https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#landlord-alexa
#5yrsago Security Engineering, 3d edition https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#security-engineering-v3
#5yrsago America's pandemic spiral https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#doom-loops
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#5yrsago EFF vs filternet https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#no-filternet
#5yrsago Qanon is basically the Protocols of the Elders of Zion https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#godwins-qanon
#5yrsago Life as a precriminal https://pluralistic.net/2020/09/11/protocols-of-qanon/#chris-nocco
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Yesterday's threads: Hate the player AND the game; and more!
https://mamot.fr/@pluralistic/115181315700992088
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My latest novel is "Picks and Shovels," a historical technothriller set in the Weird Era of the PC, about Ponzi schemes, techbros, and the dawn of enshittification:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250865908/picksandshovels
--
My next nonfiction book is "Enshittification: Why Everything Suddenly Got Worse and What to Do About It," out from MCD/Farrar, Straus and Giroux on October 7:
https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374619329/enshittification/
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My ebooks and audiobooks (from Tor Books, Head of Zeus, McSweeneys, Beacon, Verso and others) are for sale all over the net, but I sell 'em too, and when you buy 'em from me, I earn twice as much and you get books with no DRM and no license "agreements."
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Upcoming appearances:
* #Ithaca: Enshittification at Buffalo Street Books, Sept 11
https://buffalostreetbooks.com/event/2025-09-11/cory-doctorow-tcpl-librarian-judd-karlman
* #Ithaca: AD White keynote (Cornell), Sep 12
https://deanoffaculty.cornell.edu/events/keynote-cory-doctorow-professor-at-large/
* #Ithaca: Enshittification at Autumn Leaves Books, Sept 13
https://www.autumnleavesithaca.com/event-details/enshittification-why-everything-got-worse-and-what-to-do-about-it
* #Ithaca: Radicalized Q&A (Cornell), Sept 16
https://events.cornell.edu/event/radicalized-qa-with-author-cory-doctorow
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* #Ithaca: Communication Power, Policy, and Practice (Cornell), Sept 18
https://events.cornell.edu/event/policy-provocations-a-conversation-about-communication-power-policy-and-practice
* #Ithaca: A Reverse-Centaur's Guide to Being a Better AI Critic (Cornell), Sept 18
https://events.cornell.edu/event/2025-nordlander-lecture-in-science-public-policy
* #NYC: Enshittification and Renewal (Cornell Tech), Sept 19
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/enshittification-and-renewal-a-conversation-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1563948454929
* #NYC: Brooklyn Book Fair, Sept 21
https://brooklynbookfestival.org/event/big-techs-big-heist-cory-doctorow-in-conversation-with-adam-becker/
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* #DC: Enshittification at Politics and Prose, with Rohit Chopra, Oct 8
https://politics-prose.com/cory-doctorow-10825
* #NYC: Enshittification at the Brooklyn Public Library, with Lina Khan, Oct 9
https://www.bklynlibrary.org/calendar/cory-doctorow-discusses-central-library-dweck-20251009-0700pm
* #NewOrleans: DeepSouthCon63, Oct 10-12
http://www.contraflowscifi.org/
* #Chicago: Enshittification with Anand Giridharadas (Chicago Humanities), Oct 15
https://www.oldtownschool.org/concerts/2025/10-15-2025-kara-swisher-and-cory-doctorow-on-enshittification/
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Upcoming appearances (cont'd):
* #SanFrancisco: Enshittification at Public Works (The Booksmith), Oct 20
https://app.gopassage.com/events/doctorow25
* #Seattle: Enshittification and the Rot Economy, with Ed Zitron (Clarion West), Oct 22
https://www.clarionwest.org/event/2025-deep-dives-cory-doctorow/
* #Madrid: Conferencia EUROPEA 4D (Virtual), Oct 28
https://4d.cat/es/conferencia/
* #Miami: Enshittification at Books & Books, Nov 5
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening-with-cory-doctorow-tickets-1504647263469
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