Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 24m

Again, what is your point here?

2

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 1h

That sounds almost exactly like Enron.

And the Tech Bubble.

And 2008.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 1h

I'm not sure what your point is here, if you're going for some kind of, "no true capitalism" gotcha thing then you're on the wrong timeline and running in the wrong direction.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 4h

Before anyone says it:

Yes, I know ChatGPT has subscribers.

OpenAI, like every other AI outfit out there, has no pathway to profitability, isn't "solving" the problem it has promised to address, provides no value add, & what it can do doesn't justify the exorbitant cost.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 4h

If you ever wanted a sure sign that Altman's digital parrot is out of road, it's how he's been going from market to market looking for buyers, has found none, & is looping back to options he previously shunned. The money isn't there, the public isn't there, & the tech can't get there.
#AI #EconSky

Rebecca Solnit @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social · 6h

So much for all the noble missions and transformations; Altman's AI is down to talking dirty now. Pretty sure it's a massive lie that they've "mitigated the serious mental health issues" and seems likely this new porn feature will generate lots more of them. Bubble, please pop.

Sam Altman

@sama
·
7h
We made ChatGPT pretty restrictive to make sure we were being careful with mental health issues. We realize this made it less useful/enjoyable to many users who had no mental health problems, but given the seriousness of the issue we wanted to get this right.

Now that we have been able to mitigate the serious mental health issues and have new tools, we are going to be able to safely relax the restrictions in most cases.

In a few weeks, we plan to put out a new version of ChatGPT that allows people to have a personality that behaves more like what people liked about 4o (we hope it will be better!). If you want your ChatGPT to respond in a very human-like way, or use a ton of emoji, or act like a friend, ChatGPT should do it (but only if you want it, not because we are usage-maxxing).

In December, as we roll out age-gating more fully and as part of our “treat adult users like adults” principle, we will allow even more, like erotica for verified adults.

Christopher Hale
@chrisjollyhale
I'm asking in good faith here as a premium user — what's the difference between adult erotica and the sexbots you said you wouldn't introduce to the platform this past July?

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 6h

Consumption is key in every form of economics & what you're describing is a misrepresentation of how strategic investments work. Funding infant industries has always required interventions to ensure there is a public & market that can buy the products of those industries. That's just capitalism.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 9h

I'm hoping for sooner rather than later, mostly because letting it go on too long will make the eventual implosion much worse before going into the negative impacts of this specific bubble.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 9h

That fits with what the Bank of England concluded and all of @edzitron.com's reporting on AI. This bubble is looking close to bursting.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 9h

If those three banks, along with the Bank of England, all think AI is a bubble, then I think it is safe to call it a bubble. What raises particular concern is how the snake of investment in AI is eating its own tail with no new outside inputs of cash.
#EconSky #AI

Nick Cunningham @nickcunningham.bsky.social · 11h

Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi CEOs warn on markets reaching bubble territory
www.ft.com/content/1cc6...

Bank results live: Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Citi CEOs warn on markets reaching bubble territory

www.ft.com

1 1 3

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Yale Climate Connections @climateconnections.bsky.social · 10h

Trump’s Department of Energy misleadingly suggests that higher CO2 levels are beneficial for agriculture. Top scientists – and decades of research – say that’s wrong.

The reality: Extreme weather caused by rising CO2 damages harvests and could drive up food prices worldwide.

Fact-checking a Trump administration claim about climate change and crops » Yale Climate Connections

A recent Department of Energy report falsely states that rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere will boost agricultural yields. In fact, climate change is much more likely to make food scarcer and more expensive.

yaleclimateconnections.org

1 15 25

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 11h

That sounds very Roman.

In a bad way.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 11h

Trump: "I had a very wealthy person who called -- a donor, a great gentleman -- and he said, 'if there's any money necessary, shortfall, for the paying of the troops, then I will pay it.' Meaning he will pay it. How about that?"

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 12h

When even the Federal Reserve is saying that Trump's "labor" policy is hurting the supply of workers in the US economy, you know it is making a serious dent.

Which is very bad. Construction, agriculture, and hospitality are just three of the many sectors hit hard by ICE's war.
#EconSky

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13h

Powell on Trump's immigration policies: "Stronger policy than most people had expected. We've seen a very sharp decline in growth of the labor force and in and people entering the country ... new people that come into the workforce create supply but they also create their own demand."

1 14

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 13h

That sounds like the math behind the unemployment rate should be checked. Those conditions sound like the job market is cooling off, which fits with all the layoff notices at big companies, the mess that is job-seeking, and the plunge in consumer spending.
#EconSky

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 13h

Powell: "Both supply and demand in the labor market have come down so sharply so quickly. The fact that the unemployment rate has barely moved is kind of remarkable."

1 1 3

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Jacob Silverman @jacobsilverman.com · 7d

It's pub day for my book, "Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley," which chronicles the rise of the tech right and their role in the 2024 election. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way.
linktr.ee/gildedrage

Gilded Rage | Linktree

A searing look at the rise of Silicon Valley's far right. Out October 2025.

linktr.ee

13 140 610

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 13h

This is some encouraging stuff and reminds us of one crucial reason why renewables are unstoppable:

The tech is already well out of the bag and easy to replicate. Trump trying to halt that flow is even more futile than early modern European monarchs trying to ban the printing press.
#Greensky

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 13h

As federal funding for clean technologies collapses, some organizations major organizations seek to fill the gaps. 1/
@heatmap.news @katiebrigham.bsky.social heatmap.news/climate-tech...

The Climate Tech Coalition Boom

Some of the industry’s biggest names are joining forces to keep the momentum moving forward.

heatmap.news

3 3

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Ross Macfarlane @rossmacfarlane.bsky.social · 4d

Waiting for oil and gas majors to lead the "pivot" to clean energy? Don't hold your breath. New @nature.com study shows that fossil fuel companies have only accounted for marginal share of renewable energy generation, decades after promising to lead. 1/

www.exxonknews.org/p/study-oil-...

Study: Oil companies are not ‘part of the solution’

New research in the journal Nature reveals oil and gas companies own a “marginal” share of global renewable capacity, years after claiming they would lead the energy transition.

www.exxonknews.org

1 11 26

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Brendan Nyhan @brendannyhan.bsky.social · 1d

www.instagram.com/p/DPm507ljBJ...

4 49 160

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Ketan Joshi @ketanjoshi.co · 1d

"Geoengineering is inevitable; we better start preparing for it" and "AI is inevitable, we better start preparing for it" seem to both have extremely similar vibes.

In both cases, it *does not matter* whether something is inevitable. What matters is how its controlled, minimised and regulated

5 35 110

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 1d

A great example of doing climate adaptation equitably!
#Greensky #ClimateSky

Stefan C. Aykut @stefanaykut.bsky.social · 2d

Hamburg just said YES in the climate referendum! ♥️
Thanks to everyone who fought for it.
This vote matters for Hamburg – and sends a strong signal far beyond.
The climate issue is alive: we can set the agenda and win!

Another lesson: climate action must go hand in hand with social justice.

1

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 1d

I see that the copy editors were the first to get the axe at Bari Weiss' new CBS.

@NewsJennifer (Jennifer Schulze) @newsjennifer.bsky.social · 1d

CBS News would never put a thinly sourced 'story' by a rookie blogger like this on it's air. Until now. The Free Press isn't a journalism outlet, it's bloggers aren't reporters. This piece is more NYPost than Tiffany Network but I guess that's the goal.

www.cbsnews.com/video/some-n...

Some NYPD officers worry about Mandani becoming the NYC mayor, The Free Press reports

The Free Press spoke to several New York City Police Department officers who are worried about Zohran Mamdani becoming mayor. Olivia Reingold joins CBS News with more.

www.cbsnews.com

1 9 40

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Dave Vetter @davidrvetter.bsky.social · 2d

Every day is a good day to point out that 92% of Reform's donations were found to come from figures and groups linked to the fossil fuel industry. @desmog.com

Nigel Farage’s Reform Party Has Accepted £2.3 Million from Fossil Fuel Interests, Climate Deniers, and Polluters Since 2019 Election

Reform UK has received more than £2.3 million from oil and gas interests, highly polluting industries, and climate science deniers since December 2019, amounting to 92 percent of the party’s donations...

www.desmog.com

24 510 890

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Saikat for Congress @saikatforcongress.bsky.social · 2d

Meanwhile, electricity prices be like

4 19 83

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 2d

Lest we forget, Marc Andreessen has gone on record that the reason tech turned on Biden was because they thought Biden wasn't being sufficiently grateful to them. These guys are deeply petty, insecure people who seem to see fascism as a chance to settle those scores.

It's the Biden Administration's Fault That Big Tech Embraced Trump, Says Marc Andreessen

This all feels like a political merry-go-round we've been on for too long, but as the post-election analyses continue to roll in, the New York Times podcast 'The Daily' is looking into why so many Sil...

sfist.com

Ryan C. Smith @rcsmitheco.bsky.social · 2d

What's really wild is they have their man in the Mayor's Office. I feel like a big part of this posturing is the fact that a significant chunk of San Franciscans do not like what Musk et al have done to our city & country and they want to make us love them, or else.

San Francisco Chronicle @sfchronicle.com · 2d

The remarks from the tech leaders come as city officials tout falling crime rates even as overdose deaths continue to climb.

‘The only solution’: Elon Musk backs call to deploy federal troops to San Francisco

The remarks from the tech leaders come as city officials tout falling crime rates even as overdose deaths continue to climb.

bit.ly

1 2

Reposted by Ryan C. Smith

Brent Toderian @brenttoderian.bsky.social · 2d

NEW: “Toderian says it’s easy to be distracted by futuristic innovations like electric cars, drone delivery networks & hyperloops. ‘The real solutions are a lot less sexy and a lot more common sense… Tech won’t save us if we get the fundamentals wrong.”

I was 1 of 3 urban experts asked to weigh in.

A world without traffic? Three urban experts rethink how cities move

Gridlock is costing us billions, but bold solutions like bus-only lanes, congestion charges and flexible work hours could get cities moving again

www.theglobeandmail.com

7 74 250