Baldur Bjarnason
@baldurbjarnason.com
Writer, web developer and consultant based in Hveragerði, Iceland. Lapsed Interactive Media Academic. Webby Tech Stuff and webby book stuff.
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/
https://softwarecrisis.dev/
https://www.baldurbjarnason.com/
https://softwarecrisis.dev/
Pinned
Baldur Bjarnason
@baldurbjarnason.com
· Oct 27
I figure since there's been a recent influx of people here on Bluesky, it might be worthwhile to do "highlights reels" of sorts for my newsletter, which is at www.baldurbjarnason.com
The biggest topic on my newsletter is software and web development, usually from a bit of a systemic perspective.
The biggest topic on my newsletter is software and web development, usually from a bit of a systemic perspective.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Our indy web agencies are struggling. I know first hand the incredible quality of Set Studio’s work and I’d urge anyone who needs a bit of website love (or indeed a new one) to hit them up.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
A bit of a vulnerable post by me but we need your help to get us through what has been a more difficult period than 2020.
It would be really appreciated if you could read and share in your networks too 💛
bell.bz/its-been-a-v...
It would be really appreciated if you could read and share in your networks too 💛
bell.bz/its-been-a-v...
It’s been a very hard year - Andy Bell
Unlike a lot of places in tech, my company, Set Studio/Piccalilli has no outside funding. Bootstrapped is what the LinkedIn people say, I think. It’s been a hard year this year. A very hard year...
bell.bz
November 29, 2025 at 11:08 AM
Our indy web agencies are struggling. I know first hand the incredible quality of Set Studio’s work and I’d urge anyone who needs a bit of website love (or indeed a new one) to hit them up.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Likewise, if you’ve got a bit of learning budget kicking about, get yourself a piccalilli course.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
this is an essay on this fucking stupid idea, just hitting the technical issues
it's time to cover this one. what are *your* favourite writeups on why data centres in space are just fucking stupid?
this is an essay on this fucking stupid idea, just hitting the technical issues
it's time to cover this one. what are *your* favourite writeups on why data centres in space are just fucking stupid?
Datacenters in space are a terrible, horrible, no good idea.
There is a rush for AI companies to team up with space launch/satellite companies to build datacenters in space. TL;DR: It's not going to work.
taranis.ie
November 29, 2025 at 11:39 AM
taranis.ie/datacenters-...
this is an essay on this fucking stupid idea, just hitting the technical issues
it's time to cover this one. what are *your* favourite writeups on why data centres in space are just fucking stupid?
this is an essay on this fucking stupid idea, just hitting the technical issues
it's time to cover this one. what are *your* favourite writeups on why data centres in space are just fucking stupid?
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
This is seriously worrying - do read the whole thread
An issue we're seeing at all levels of university is that many students are simply refusing to do *anything*. They aren't reading the syllabus, aren't following assignment guidelines, aren't engaging with material, ignoring deadlines. And this might seem like old news, but it truly has ramped up.
November 29, 2025 at 10:23 AM
This is seriously worrying - do read the whole thread
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
And I don't know if the answer is: everyone is too traumatized to do work and we need to reinvent society. Or if it's more like: generations are losing their cognitive abilities and willpower due to destructive technologies. Or: we all have post-viral brain damage. Or: all of the above.
November 28, 2025 at 11:34 PM
And I don't know if the answer is: everyone is too traumatized to do work and we need to reinvent society. Or if it's more like: generations are losing their cognitive abilities and willpower due to destructive technologies. Or: we all have post-viral brain damage. Or: all of the above.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
November 28, 2025 at 11:33 PM
Admin are continually pressuring us to make the course "more accessible," by which they mean "devastatingly easy to complete," but it's not about access. Many students refuse to read or write in any capacity that isn't tech-aided, no matter how simple the assignment, no matter how process-based.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
November 28, 2025 at 11:31 PM
At this point, our intro comp/first-year English course has been so heavily revised, it no longer includes a novel, or "extended reading" of any kind, no "specialized" or "historical" reading, mostly in-class assignments, no research essay...and we are still seeing a 40-50% rate of AI misconduct.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
This pains me because there are real genuine powerful use cases for data science that don’t involve burning the planet, stealing all the water, robbing people’s creative property, or displacing jobs. I’ve spent my career doing this work and there’s plenty of amazing stuff to build.
November 29, 2025 at 12:07 PM
This pains me because there are real genuine powerful use cases for data science that don’t involve burning the planet, stealing all the water, robbing people’s creative property, or displacing jobs. I’ve spent my career doing this work and there’s plenty of amazing stuff to build.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
One of the things that became really truly incredibly clear to me is that the entire AI bubble is built on CEOs who don’t know a single thing they are talking about gassing up all their CEO buddies who also don’t know what they are talking about and the entire system is built on this BS.
November 29, 2025 at 12:05 PM
One of the things that became really truly incredibly clear to me is that the entire AI bubble is built on CEOs who don’t know a single thing they are talking about gassing up all their CEO buddies who also don’t know what they are talking about and the entire system is built on this BS.
Fun fact: most of our memories are reconstructed on retrieval which makes episodic memory extra fallible as retrieving them the wrong way, through manipulation, context, or fallibility, can modify the memory going forward
Which is to say that we’re going to see more of this.
Which is to say that we’re going to see more of this.
Wake up babe, a new way to be horrified by AI just dropped.
Talking to a librarian friend back home, she mentions a patron looking for help finding a book she liked as a kid. Super common request.
Lady is adamant the title is “something like XYZ and there’s a picture of a rabbit on it.”
Talking to a librarian friend back home, she mentions a patron looking for help finding a book she liked as a kid. Super common request.
Lady is adamant the title is “something like XYZ and there’s a picture of a rabbit on it.”
November 29, 2025 at 9:57 AM
Fun fact: most of our memories are reconstructed on retrieval which makes episodic memory extra fallible as retrieving them the wrong way, through manipulation, context, or fallibility, can modify the memory going forward
Which is to say that we’re going to see more of this.
Which is to say that we’re going to see more of this.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
"In recent history, the Doctor Who actor has repeatedly made headlines thanks to his allyship towards trans and gender non-conforming people – most notably with a subtle gesture during a TV interview that wound up helping to raise £18,000 for the LGBTQ+ youth charity AKT."
'F*** Off And Let People Be': David Tennant Doubles Down On Support For Trans People
"People are trying to create division... and it's so f***ing unnecessary."
www.huffingtonpost.co.uk
November 29, 2025 at 12:44 AM
"In recent history, the Doctor Who actor has repeatedly made headlines thanks to his allyship towards trans and gender non-conforming people – most notably with a subtle gesture during a TV interview that wound up helping to raise £18,000 for the LGBTQ+ youth charity AKT."
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
November 28, 2025 at 10:36 PM
Universities are assembling larger and larger teams to deal with academic integrity issues--mostly focused on AI--while simultaneously holding AI "writing" contests, AI-themed events, "hey, come play with these fun tools!" The messages are so mixed, it's criminal. Because AI is bloated with money.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Think about how much easier it would be to prosecute Hegseth for war crimes if Kissinger or Cheney and Rumsfield had been.
Can you even imagine how different the last few decades would be if Kissinger had faced literally any form of justice for his crimes.
Can you even imagine how different the last few decades would be if Kissinger had faced literally any form of justice for his crimes.
November 29, 2025 at 6:01 AM
Think about how much easier it would be to prosecute Hegseth for war crimes if Kissinger or Cheney and Rumsfield had been.
Can you even imagine how different the last few decades would be if Kissinger had faced literally any form of justice for his crimes.
Can you even imagine how different the last few decades would be if Kissinger had faced literally any form of justice for his crimes.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
You're not seeing the defense and international conflict experts disagreeing because if the facts are true, it's one of the most basic things in the law of armed conflict: You cannot kill people who are "hors de combat," taken out of the game by injury or attack. This is Geneva 101 stuff.
I follower a few defense experts.
Seeing them all straight-up declare this a war crime without any him-and-hawing is uhm
Disconcerting.
Pete Hegseth must resign, as does Stephen Miller. Donald Trump should be subpoenaed before Congress to answer for HIS policy.
Seeing them all straight-up declare this a war crime without any him-and-hawing is uhm
Disconcerting.
Pete Hegseth must resign, as does Stephen Miller. Donald Trump should be subpoenaed before Congress to answer for HIS policy.
November 29, 2025 at 2:01 AM
You're not seeing the defense and international conflict experts disagreeing because if the facts are true, it's one of the most basic things in the law of armed conflict: You cannot kill people who are "hors de combat," taken out of the game by injury or attack. This is Geneva 101 stuff.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Straight up war crime
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
November 28, 2025 at 8:21 PM
Straight up war crime
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
This is why folks call it a tool of fascism. It generates fear and distrust, which benefits fascist liars.
one insidious thing about gen AI is it's not just causing us to mistrust dodgy images, it's also making us mistrust images that look perfectly normal. this is gaslighting in a very literal sense bc the technology is undermining the trust we have in our own ability to perceive reality!
November 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
This is why folks call it a tool of fascism. It generates fear and distrust, which benefits fascist liars.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Yyyeah that’s not good.
'Vast swathes of Europe’s water reserves are drying up, a new analysis using two decades of satellite data reveals, with freshwater storage shrinking across southern and central Europe, from Spain and Italy to Poland and parts of the UK.'
Revealed: Europe’s water reserves drying up due to climate breakdown
Exclusive: UCL scientists find large swathes of southern Europe are drying up, with ‘far-reaching’ implications
www.theguardian.com
November 29, 2025 at 8:21 AM
Yyyeah that’s not good.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
“Reflecting on the harms of AI is not itself harm reduction. It may even contribute to rationalizing, normalizing, and enabling harm. Critical reflection without appropriate action is thus quintessentially critical washing.”
Suarez [et al. (2025, par. 7)]
zenodo.org/records/1567...
Suarez [et al. (2025, par. 7)]
zenodo.org/records/1567...
Critical AI Literacy: Beyond hegemonic perspectives on sustainability
How can universities resist being coopted and corrupted by the AI industries’ agendas? Originally published here: https://rcsc.substack.com/p/critical-ai-literacy-beyond-hegemonic
zenodo.org
November 27, 2025 at 11:54 PM
“Reflecting on the harms of AI is not itself harm reduction. It may even contribute to rationalizing, normalizing, and enabling harm. Critical reflection without appropriate action is thus quintessentially critical washing.”
Suarez [et al. (2025, par. 7)]
zenodo.org/records/1567...
Suarez [et al. (2025, par. 7)]
zenodo.org/records/1567...
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Last rusty object for now. Have a nice weekend!
#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay #rust #grass #plants
#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay #rust #grass #plants
November 28, 2025 at 10:08 PM
Last rusty object for now. Have a nice weekend!
#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay #rust #grass #plants
#Iceland #Reykjavik #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #abandoned #decay #rust #grass #plants
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
These washing line poles are clearly no longer in use.
#Iceland #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #decay #rust #grass #plants #trees
#Iceland #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #decay #rust #grass #plants #trees
November 27, 2025 at 9:58 PM
These washing line poles are clearly no longer in use.
#Iceland #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #decay #rust #grass #plants #trees
#Iceland #photography #naturephotography #nature #landscape #landscapephotography #decay #rust #grass #plants #trees
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
For this "Black Friday" I'm bringing the "everything bundle" back out of retirement one last time, which lets you buy all four of my ebooks at a 60% discount.
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
The ‘Everything Bundle’
You can get all four ebooks, in both EPUB and PDF formats, in a single bundle, at a 60% discount off the combined price.It includes:Out of the Software Crisis: Systems-Thinking for Software Projects, ...
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:40 AM
For this "Black Friday" I'm bringing the "everything bundle" back out of retirement one last time, which lets you buy all four of my ebooks at a 60% discount.
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
✏️ Who wins when we filter the open web through an opaque system? hidde.blog/filtered-ope...
new blog post… I remembered @baldurbjarnason.com's many warnings over recent years and tried put them into the 'open web'/LLMs context.
new blog post… I remembered @baldurbjarnason.com's many warnings over recent years and tried put them into the 'open web'/LLMs context.
November 28, 2025 at 12:48 PM
✏️ Who wins when we filter the open web through an opaque system? hidde.blog/filtered-ope...
new blog post… I remembered @baldurbjarnason.com's many warnings over recent years and tried put them into the 'open web'/LLMs context.
new blog post… I remembered @baldurbjarnason.com's many warnings over recent years and tried put them into the 'open web'/LLMs context.
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Help Pivot to AI — send $5 to keep the daily stories coming
Hello, new readers!
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/27/h...
Hello, new readers!
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/27/h...
Help Pivot to AI — send $5 to keep the daily stories coming
Hello, new readers! It’s that time when I ask you to send money to help keep Pivot to AI running! The Patreon is here. Sign up for $5 a month today! Less than a beer! If you prefer YouTube, hit the…
pivot-to-ai.com
November 27, 2025 at 10:36 AM
Help Pivot to AI — send $5 to keep the daily stories coming
Hello, new readers!
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/27/h...
Hello, new readers!
pivot-to-ai.com/2025/11/27/h...
Reposted by Baldur Bjarnason
Arguably more important this year than any other. Bezos won't miss your money, but independents *will*
Remember - if you're financially in a position to do so, skip the #BlackFriday deals online from big companies and shop instead from small and local businesses.
The big guns don't need your money, but for small traders it can be what keeps them going into 2026, so support your community instead.
The big guns don't need your money, but for small traders it can be what keeps them going into 2026, so support your community instead.
November 28, 2025 at 11:41 AM
Arguably more important this year than any other. Bezos won't miss your money, but independents *will*
For this "Black Friday" I'm bringing the "everything bundle" back out of retirement one last time, which lets you buy all four of my ebooks at a 60% discount.
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
The ‘Everything Bundle’
You can get all four ebooks, in both EPUB and PDF formats, in a single bundle, at a 60% discount off the combined price.It includes:Out of the Software Crisis: Systems-Thinking for Software Projects, ...
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com
November 28, 2025 at 11:40 AM
For this "Black Friday" I'm bringing the "everything bundle" back out of retirement one last time, which lets you buy all four of my ebooks at a 60% discount.
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP
payhip.baldurbjarnason.com/b/UwFnP