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Matthew Hughes

@matthewhughes.bsky.social

1.8K followers 1.6K following 1.1K posts

Journalist (ex The Register, The Next Web, HowToGeek). Writer. Software developer. Dog owner (x3). Scouser. I have a newsletter about how tech companies are ruining our lives. https://whatwelost.substack.com/

whatwelost.substack.com

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 7d

My latest newsletter is about how generative AI doesn't just need money to survive, but faith.

Every time we see another big genAI foul-up, that faith will waver, and its end becomes all the more likely.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/generative...

Generative AI’s Impending Death By A Thousand Rake-Smacks

Give it enough rope...

whatwelost.substack.com

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 21h

It's probably dumber tbh. Who knows!

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 21h

(TBH, I'm not even complaining about people not reading! It's just... weird for people to say "this is dumb" about something they haven't read!)

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 21h

I usually do a lengthy thread with screenshots of the piece and a commentary. I didn't have time or energy today.

To be clear, I'm not complaining about people not reading an article. It's just a bit silly for people to get outraged about an argument I didn't make, and only exists in their head.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 21h

To be clear, I *don't* expect that. But if people are critiquing an argument, it's helpful if they've read said argument and not the first couple of hundred words of a 3,000-or-so word piece.

Reposted by Matthew Hughes

Unbiased Science @unbiasedscipod.bsky.social · 1d

ADHD is not a modern invention, nor a behavioral choice — it’s a neurodevelopmental condition with strong genetic and neurobiological foundations. This October, let’s turn awareness into acceptance, access, understanding, and support for brains that operate on different rhythms.

ADHD Is Not a Modern Invention—It’s Real, Heritable, and Biologically Grounded

Marking ADHD Awareness Month with Science Over Stigma

open.substack.com

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Brian is excellent! My argument is that the term doesn't quite capture the urgency of the need to resist the excesses of tech, and has a pejorative connotation that can be unhelpful when arguing against said excesses of the tech industry!

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Pressing F to doubt on that one.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Anyway, it's times like this I'm very sad I'm medically unable to drink, as I imagine it'd come in pretty handy right now.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

My brothers and sisters in Christ, I beg you.

It's okay to not have a knee-jerk reaction to something. You don't have to have an opinion on everything. It's okay to ask questions like: "Did you talk about X?" or "Did you address Y?"

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Funniest part was when someone just lied and said they had read it (they hadn't! It's paywalled and I haven't set up free trials yet) and then wrote a summary of my arguments that...

Well, did not exactly bear much resemblance to reality.

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

I'm glad to see that people getting upset about stuff they didn't read isn't confined to just the bad parts of the Internet.

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

"Dude doesn't even explain this thing..."

Did you read it?

"... No."

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

"This article is dumb!"

Did... you read it?

".... No."

Okay then.

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

I didn't have time to do my usual breakdown of this article and boy, did I pay the price.

Lots of people outraged about arguments that I didn't make and that were completely imagined on their part, because they didn't read below the paywall.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

New premium newsletter alert: The word "luddite" is being used to describe attitudes to tech that are perfectly rational and reasonable.

We need a new term to encompass the rightful rejection of big tech's excesses and abuses.

whatwelost.substack.com/p/we-need-a-...

We Need A Better Word Than Luddite

It's not irrational to be skeptical of tech

whatwelost.substack.com

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Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Works for me!

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

I mean, you can see the percentages and the total MW being generated…

If you look during the daytime, gas’s share is even less, amounting to just 2% versus solar’s 20%!

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Also, France is a net exporter of energy, almost all of it generated by nuclear and renewables!

www.enerdata.net/publications...

France exported a record level of electricity in 2024

In 2024, France exported a record level of electricity, thanks to abundant decarbonised power generation, according to a report published by the French power transmission system operator (TSO) RTE. It...

www.enerdata.net

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Germany’s stance on nuclear was fucking idiotic on both climate and security levels, and I don’t think anyone would argue against that.

France’s closing of stations is down to the fact that a lot are really, really old. Renewables more than make up the difference.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

If you don’t think that the term is also commonly used to describe people who irrationally distrust even the most benign of technological advances, and thus has pejorative connotations, I genuinely don’t know what to tell you.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Perhaps in the US that’s true — I’m not from there, so I’ll have to take your word for it — but I wouldn’t say that’s the case in any of the European countries I’ve lived in.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Regardless of where we are, there’s still that broad bipartisan acceptance of climate change. And I’d argue that the usage of the term “climate change” played a role in that.

Source on the renewables figure btw:

iea.blob.core.windows.net/assets/5b169...

iea.blob.core.windows.net

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Well, yeah. This shit takes time.

But there’s progress. Ambitious targets for heat pumps, mass transit electrification, vehicle electrification, massive investment in renewables, etc…

Last year, half of all electricity generated in the EU came from renewables! Nuclear was another 25% or so.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

Climate action has broad bipartisan support in most Western countries — with the US and perhaps Australia being outliers.

Climate denial or minimalism is seen as fringe over here, and I’d argue that it’s because people make the connection between co2 emissions and flooding/fires/etc.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

I’d argue that the adoption of climate change over global warming *was* successful. Perhaps not in the US, but certainly in Europe.

The latter only describes the cause. The former the cause and the symptoms, and so people can make the connection between extreme weather events and CO2 emissions.

Matthew Hughes @matthewhughes.bsky.social · 1d

That’s fine! I look forward to reading more of your criticisms of articles that you haven’t read!