James Aylett
@james.tartarus.org
He/him. Working on privacy and responsible AI; usually worried about both. The pandemic isn't over. If I don't follow you it doesn't mean I don't like you. I've built things you've forgotten.
Reposted by James Aylett
Techno fascism has been here for a while but it’s at risk of becoming hyper prevalent in societies across the world. Interestingly, Apple just purchased a technology that can read micro movements of your lips after it was shown that while using their internal voice people’s mouths moved slightly
“Allowing staff to act before a crime has been committed”
Minority Report is here
apple.news/AlFFTT98vRBK...
Minority Report is here
apple.news/AlFFTT98vRBK...
Man ‘publicly humiliated’ after shop staff using facial recognition cameras mistake him for thief — Metro
'It was the most humiliating moment of my life, being escorted out the place I have shopped in for 10 years in front of my community.'
apple.news
February 2, 2026 at 11:09 AM
Techno fascism has been here for a while but it’s at risk of becoming hyper prevalent in societies across the world. Interestingly, Apple just purchased a technology that can read micro movements of your lips after it was shown that while using their internal voice people’s mouths moved slightly
Reposted by James Aylett
who do *you* think should investigate Peter Mandelson?
1) the parliamentary authorities
2) Peter Mandelson
3) the police
4) the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein
1) the parliamentary authorities
2) Peter Mandelson
3) the police
4) the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein
February 2, 2026 at 7:19 AM
who do *you* think should investigate Peter Mandelson?
1) the parliamentary authorities
2) Peter Mandelson
3) the police
4) the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein
1) the parliamentary authorities
2) Peter Mandelson
3) the police
4) the ghost of Jeffrey Epstein
Reposted by James Aylett
For me to read when I'm awake.
Today is Groundhog Day!
That means it's time for you to (re-)read @sirosenbaum.bsky.social's delightful profile of the writer of GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)!!!!
The piece is a complete banger and it will cheer you up, guaranteed!!!!
That means it's time for you to (re-)read @sirosenbaum.bsky.social's delightful profile of the writer of GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)!!!!
The piece is a complete banger and it will cheer you up, guaranteed!!!!
The Writer of Groundhog Day Has Been Living His Movie for the Past 24 Years
For Danny Rubin, who wrote the beloved movie and the new musical, every day is Groundhog Day.
web.archive.org
February 2, 2026 at 10:58 AM
For me to read when I'm awake.
Reposted by James Aylett
DOCTOR: I told him he needed to get out to a show, that was how he would cure his depression.
CHOTINER: So you learned this technique in school?
DR: No, not— listen it was good advice. Pagliacci was in town.
C: Right. Is it standard to give advice before learning a patient’s name?
DR: Now look
CHOTINER: So you learned this technique in school?
DR: No, not— listen it was good advice. Pagliacci was in town.
C: Right. Is it standard to give advice before learning a patient’s name?
DR: Now look
February 2, 2026 at 3:58 AM
DOCTOR: I told him he needed to get out to a show, that was how he would cure his depression.
CHOTINER: So you learned this technique in school?
DR: No, not— listen it was good advice. Pagliacci was in town.
C: Right. Is it standard to give advice before learning a patient’s name?
DR: Now look
CHOTINER: So you learned this technique in school?
DR: No, not— listen it was good advice. Pagliacci was in town.
C: Right. Is it standard to give advice before learning a patient’s name?
DR: Now look
Reposted by James Aylett
Another day, another Ipsos survey that uses gender as a lens on public attitudes to science without taking into consideration that 1 in 8 British men think they could win a tennis point against Serena Williams www.britishscienceassociation.org/News/public-...
February 2, 2026 at 8:54 AM
Another day, another Ipsos survey that uses gender as a lens on public attitudes to science without taking into consideration that 1 in 8 British men think they could win a tennis point against Serena Williams www.britishscienceassociation.org/News/public-...
Reposted by James Aylett
No one will ever succeed in convincing me that this comes from any kind of concern about reducing other human beings' pain. It's about reducing your down time from work, and/or making you "more effective" (substitute "useful to your boss"). All I can say, as gently as possible, is: "Fuck that shit."
AI “deadbots” aim to replace the dead—and raise plenty of ethical issues, Charley Burlock argues. “Perhaps the biggest question is how such a product might shift our experience of personal grief and collective memory.”
The AI Companies Trying to Make Grief Obsolete
You can buy an AI version of your lost loved one. But should you?
bit.ly
February 1, 2026 at 10:10 PM
No one will ever succeed in convincing me that this comes from any kind of concern about reducing other human beings' pain. It's about reducing your down time from work, and/or making you "more effective" (substitute "useful to your boss"). All I can say, as gently as possible, is: "Fuck that shit."
Reposted by James Aylett
From: Jeffrey Epstein
To: Cain From The Bible
Date: March 7th, 3000BC
Subject: Re: Thinking of killing my brother? 👀👀
go for it it wouljld be extremlry sexy to invenf thr cornvept of murder snd yherefore curse mankind fur eternkity ;) ;)
To: Cain From The Bible
Date: March 7th, 3000BC
Subject: Re: Thinking of killing my brother? 👀👀
go for it it wouljld be extremlry sexy to invenf thr cornvept of murder snd yherefore curse mankind fur eternkity ;) ;)
January 31, 2026 at 2:18 PM
From: Jeffrey Epstein
To: Cain From The Bible
Date: March 7th, 3000BC
Subject: Re: Thinking of killing my brother? 👀👀
go for it it wouljld be extremlry sexy to invenf thr cornvept of murder snd yherefore curse mankind fur eternkity ;) ;)
To: Cain From The Bible
Date: March 7th, 3000BC
Subject: Re: Thinking of killing my brother? 👀👀
go for it it wouljld be extremlry sexy to invenf thr cornvept of murder snd yherefore curse mankind fur eternkity ;) ;)
Reposted by James Aylett
American goldfinch, unexpected stretch showing off its beautiful tail feathers! 🪶
January 31, 2026 at 10:41 PM
American goldfinch, unexpected stretch showing off its beautiful tail feathers! 🪶
Reposted by James Aylett
This year, I assigned them Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-Reum, and it seems to have provoked many students' sense of how to read, and when to read. What was really intriguing in the discussion was how many students said they used to read, but are actually too tired, overworked or afraid to read now.
One of my most cherished classes is my 18th century novels course where the primary learning objective is "learn how read long novels." We did a "couch to 5k" approach to attention span and note-taking.
My hot take about the “students cannot read whole novels / watch whole films / etc.” is that they can learn to do it. None of us are born with attention spans suited for long media. It is a learned skill and can be developed with practice.
January 31, 2026 at 5:50 PM
This year, I assigned them Every Day I Read by Hwang Bo-Reum, and it seems to have provoked many students' sense of how to read, and when to read. What was really intriguing in the discussion was how many students said they used to read, but are actually too tired, overworked or afraid to read now.
Reposted by James Aylett
For context, this man told them that he wasn't 100% certain that they were sentient. And they were the condescending ones...
It's wild and not surprising that on Twitter, this man's defenders think that we were condescending to him.
For the most part, @alexhanna.bsky.social and I have managed to pick good podcasts to be intereviewed on, and accordingly, for the most part, it seems like the interviewer is interested in learning from us.
This one was not like that at all.
This one was not like that at all.
January 29, 2026 at 10:48 PM
For context, this man told them that he wasn't 100% certain that they were sentient. And they were the condescending ones...
We might need to just burn down the internet and build a new one. It's fine. Fire is a perfectly normally part of the lifecycle of important infrastructure.
January 31, 2026 at 1:08 PM
We might need to just burn down the internet and build a new one. It's fine. Fire is a perfectly normally part of the lifecycle of important infrastructure.
Reposted by James Aylett
Dare to dream of a better wherever you are
January 31, 2026 at 10:15 AM
Dare to dream of a better wherever you are
Reposted by James Aylett
My favourite way of saying “we’re on it” or “we’ll take care of that for you” is the Dutch we zullen dat varkentje wel even wassen. It means “we will certainly get that piglet washed.”
January 30, 2026 at 10:59 AM
My favourite way of saying “we’re on it” or “we’ll take care of that for you” is the Dutch we zullen dat varkentje wel even wassen. It means “we will certainly get that piglet washed.”
Reposted by James Aylett
I love everything about this story, not least the care and interest shown by the lorry driver.
In a remarkable story from Slovenia, a breeding pair of White Wagtails travelled all over the country in a lorry last summer, successfully raising young:
Nesting on the go: incubating White Wagtail travels 2,000 km
A breeding pair of White Wagtails travelled all over Slovenia in a lorry in June 2025.
bit.ly
January 31, 2026 at 10:01 AM
I love everything about this story, not least the care and interest shown by the lorry driver.
"We normally expect to deliver to your address between <times>" says the Royal Mail tracking site, making me wonder how normal it is to be able to deliver any item to an address in London when it has yet to leave Coventry.
January 31, 2026 at 12:46 PM
"We normally expect to deliver to your address between <times>" says the Royal Mail tracking site, making me wonder how normal it is to be able to deliver any item to an address in London when it has yet to leave Coventry.
RAG does not prevent hallucinations. Drives me crazy that anyone still believes it does given all the evidence, but if you actually think about how LLMs and RAG work it's not hard to see that while in some cases it will reduce problems it can never prevent them.
So, to help illustrate why this thread is so horrifying, Stanford did a study on Lexis+ AI, Westlaw AI-Assisted Research, and Thomson-Reuters Ask Practical Law AI, and found between 17% and 33% hallucinations even though these are supposed to be the retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) tools.
January 31, 2026 at 12:26 PM
RAG does not prevent hallucinations. Drives me crazy that anyone still believes it does given all the evidence, but if you actually think about how LLMs and RAG work it's not hard to see that while in some cases it will reduce problems it can never prevent them.
Reposted by James Aylett
As winner of the FIFA Prize for Literature I demand $60 an hour
X is hiring a creative writing specialist at $40 an hour to make Grok better at writing and a true LOL at the qualifications
January 31, 2026 at 11:53 AM
As winner of the FIFA Prize for Literature I demand $60 an hour
Reposted by James Aylett
Last night, Automatic Noodle won the Octavia Butler Award!! I'm so honored and happy!!! 🤖❤️🎉 www.instagram.com/p/DUI5pCokno...
January 30, 2026 at 5:28 PM
Last night, Automatic Noodle won the Octavia Butler Award!! I'm so honored and happy!!! 🤖❤️🎉 www.instagram.com/p/DUI5pCokno...
Reposted by James Aylett
I offer an alternative. The current vibe is take your meds, try to stretch so you don't eff up your joints, don't work too much because that is dweeb shit, get some movement in, have some hobbies, hang out with entertaining people, eat something delicious, take a nap, maybe key the car of fascists.
January 29, 2026 at 9:51 AM
I offer an alternative. The current vibe is take your meds, try to stretch so you don't eff up your joints, don't work too much because that is dweeb shit, get some movement in, have some hobbies, hang out with entertaining people, eat something delicious, take a nap, maybe key the car of fascists.
We should normalise advent calendars for anything as a countdown to something you're looking forward to. Advent calendars for your nice holiday. Your birthday. Your new job. The release of a game or book or film. Seeing your favourite band live. The end of January. Getting a new advent calendar.
A customer messaged today to tell us she is enjoying her pencil advent calendar that she ordered from us in November. Saved for January, because it’s January.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
January 29, 2026 at 10:48 AM
We should normalise advent calendars for anything as a countdown to something you're looking forward to. Advent calendars for your nice holiday. Your birthday. Your new job. The release of a game or book or film. Seeing your favourite band live. The end of January. Getting a new advent calendar.
Reposted by James Aylett
A customer messaged today to tell us she is enjoying her pencil advent calendar that she ordered from us in November. Saved for January, because it’s January.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
January 12, 2026 at 6:11 PM
A customer messaged today to tell us she is enjoying her pencil advent calendar that she ordered from us in November. Saved for January, because it’s January.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
Normalise advent calendars for this month.
Reposted by James Aylett
On 29th January 1996, "Threshold", the Star Trek: Voyager episode where Captain Janeway and Tom Paris turned into giant space newts and had babies first aired. Since it's #ThresholdDay we aim to answer a burning question: did Paris and Janeway fuck? If so, how did they fuck?
January 29, 2026 at 10:26 AM
On 29th January 1996, "Threshold", the Star Trek: Voyager episode where Captain Janeway and Tom Paris turned into giant space newts and had babies first aired. Since it's #ThresholdDay we aim to answer a burning question: did Paris and Janeway fuck? If so, how did they fuck?
Bluesky seems to have updated its thread interface to be marginally less awful but still really annoying, and I am once more struck by the thought that we just shouldn't be trying to write essays on a microblogging platform but then microblogging platforms would need to do transclusion properly 🤷
January 29, 2026 at 10:42 AM
Bluesky seems to have updated its thread interface to be marginally less awful but still really annoying, and I am once more struck by the thought that we just shouldn't be trying to write essays on a microblogging platform but then microblogging platforms would need to do transclusion properly 🤷
Reposted by James Aylett
He lasted for just about a single Scaramucci, and it's good to see that unit of time have some relevance once more
wapo.st/4t1U4IJ
wapo.st/4t1U4IJ
Kennedy Center’s new programming head resigns days after hire was announced
Kevin Couch, appointed the Kennedy Center’s senior vice president of artistic programming, resigned less than two weeks after his hire was announced.
wapo.st
January 29, 2026 at 10:20 AM
He lasted for just about a single Scaramucci, and it's good to see that unit of time have some relevance once more
wapo.st/4t1U4IJ
wapo.st/4t1U4IJ
I've recently seen 2 women playing word anagram games by literally trying anything that might be a word and seeing if the computer accepts it. Which both seems pointless (it's likely not engaging your brain in a way that is brain health positive) and dull (isn't the fun from challenging yourself)?
January 29, 2026 at 10:32 AM
I've recently seen 2 women playing word anagram games by literally trying anything that might be a word and seeing if the computer accepts it. Which both seems pointless (it's likely not engaging your brain in a way that is brain health positive) and dull (isn't the fun from challenging yourself)?