Jules Roscoe
@julesaroscoe.bsky.social
Writer. Independent journalist. Words @404media.co @wired.com @matternews.bsky.social @motherboard.bsky.social | Something I should know? julesroscoe . news @ gmail | signal: julesaroscoe.07
Guess who's now writing the Local Politics column for @matternews.bsky.social ! My first this month is about the Columbus Ohio school board elections next week— but it's actually a lot more than that. If you have city politics tips for Columbus, please find me :)
matternews.org/voices/local...
matternews.org/voices/local...
Local Politics: What the federal government has to do with your school board vote – Matter News
With the U.S. Department of Education being stripped, local reinforcements to support students are more critical than ever.
matternews.org
October 30, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Guess who's now writing the Local Politics column for @matternews.bsky.social ! My first this month is about the Columbus Ohio school board elections next week— but it's actually a lot more than that. If you have city politics tips for Columbus, please find me :)
matternews.org/voices/local...
matternews.org/voices/local...
A long time coming for @404media.co: @jasonkoebler.bsky.social and I looked at hundreds of pages of court docs to see what lawyers say when they're caught using AI. Some good ones include being a lawyer is hard, good advertising, and "I didn't mess up actually":
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
www.404media.co
September 30, 2025 at 1:15 PM
A long time coming for @404media.co: @jasonkoebler.bsky.social and I looked at hundreds of pages of court docs to see what lawyers say when they're caught using AI. Some good ones include being a lawyer is hard, good advertising, and "I didn't mess up actually":
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
Spent many (many!) hours pulling legal explanations and apologies from lawyers who were caught using AI that hallucinated in which they explained to a judge why they used AI. The explanations are astonishing and extremely good:
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
18 Lawyers Caught Using AI Explain Why They Did It
Lawyers blame IT, family emergencies, their own poor judgment, their assistants, illness, and more.
www.404media.co
September 30, 2025 at 1:09 PM
Spent many (many!) hours pulling legal explanations and apologies from lawyers who were caught using AI that hallucinated in which they explained to a judge why they used AI. The explanations are astonishing and extremely good:
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
www.404media.co/18-lawyers-c...
Today for @wired.com (!): You're not ready for the next generation of scammers. What happens when AI tools get so sophisticated that even real-time video calls can't be trusted? www.wired.com/story/youre-...
Deepfake Scams Are Distorting Reality Itself
The easy access that scammers have to sophisticated AI tools means everything from emails to video calls can’t be trusted.
www.wired.com
June 4, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Today for @wired.com (!): You're not ready for the next generation of scammers. What happens when AI tools get so sophisticated that even real-time video calls can't be trusted? www.wired.com/story/youre-...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
Really heartbreaking, visceral piece from @julesaroscoe.bsky.social:
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
'They Sometimes Worry That I’m Dead Already:' Deep-Sea Fishers Fight for Wi-Fi
Distant-water fishers are out on the ocean for up to 10 months at a time, with no contact to the outside world.
www.404media.co
April 23, 2025 at 2:27 PM
Really heartbreaking, visceral piece from @julesaroscoe.bsky.social:
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
powerful story from @julesaroscoe.bsky.social about deep sea fishers organizing for basic internet connection while they're on expeditions www.404media.co/they-sometim...
'They Sometimes Worry That I’m Dead Already:' Deep-Sea Fishers Fight for Wi-Fi
Distant-water fishers are out on the ocean for up to 10 months at a time, with no contact to the outside world.
www.404media.co
April 23, 2025 at 1:24 PM
powerful story from @julesaroscoe.bsky.social about deep sea fishers organizing for basic internet connection while they're on expeditions www.404media.co/they-sometim...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
New from 404 Media: deep-sea fishers can spend 10 months at sea, but they're not allowed to use the ship's Wi-Fi, meaning they can't talk to their families back home. Now they're fighting back for change.
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
'They Sometimes Worry That I’m Dead Already:' Deep-Sea Fishers Fight for Wi-Fi
Distant-water fishers are out on the ocean for up to 10 months at a time, with no contact to the outside world.
www.404media.co
April 23, 2025 at 1:27 PM
New from 404 Media: deep-sea fishers can spend 10 months at sea, but they're not allowed to use the ship's Wi-Fi, meaning they can't talk to their families back home. Now they're fighting back for change.
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
Crazy story today: this group of distant water fishermen is fighting for Wi-Fi on their boats so they can talk to their families (or anyone else in the outside world) for the ten months a year they're out at sea.
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
'They Sometimes Worry That I’m Dead Already:' Deep-Sea Fishers Fight for Wi-Fi
Distant-water fishers are out on the ocean for up to 10 months at a time, with no contact to the outside world.
www.404media.co
April 23, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Crazy story today: this group of distant water fishermen is fighting for Wi-Fi on their boats so they can talk to their families (or anyone else in the outside world) for the ten months a year they're out at sea.
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
www.404media.co/they-sometim...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
me and @jasonkoebler.bsky.social got to experience the Wikiportraits project firsthand yesterday – awesome work by the coolest people
March 11, 2025 at 4:36 PM
me and @jasonkoebler.bsky.social got to experience the Wikiportraits project firsthand yesterday – awesome work by the coolest people
TODAY for @404media.co: Photos of famous people on Wikipedia are famously, famously, tragically bad. These volunteer photographers are trying to change that:
www.404media.co/photographer...
www.404media.co/photographer...
Photographers Are on a Mission to Fix Wikipedia's Famously Bad Celebrity Portraits
WikiPortraits, a group of volunteer photographers, has been covering festivals and shooting celebrities specifically to improve images in the public domain.
www.404media.co
March 10, 2025 at 7:16 PM
TODAY for @404media.co: Photos of famous people on Wikipedia are famously, famously, tragically bad. These volunteer photographers are trying to change that:
www.404media.co/photographer...
www.404media.co/photographer...
I don't post much about this because it's a paper-first news org, but I've been covering some pretty drama-filled news for the Boston Guardian. e.g.:
The city is pausing a new zoning plan after getting over 500 letters of opposition. But it gets better. 1/
read.thebostonguardian.com/the-boston-g...
The city is pausing a new zoning plan after getting over 500 letters of opposition. But it gets better. 1/
read.thebostonguardian.com/the-boston-g...
February 20, 2025 at 7:43 PM
I don't post much about this because it's a paper-first news org, but I've been covering some pretty drama-filled news for the Boston Guardian. e.g.:
The city is pausing a new zoning plan after getting over 500 letters of opposition. But it gets better. 1/
read.thebostonguardian.com/the-boston-g...
The city is pausing a new zoning plan after getting over 500 letters of opposition. But it gets better. 1/
read.thebostonguardian.com/the-boston-g...
New: The $2 billion media conglomerate that owns sites like IGN and CNET is quietly taking DEI information off its website: www.404media.co/ziff-davis-d...
Ziff Davis, Owner of Sites Including IGN and CNET, Quietly Removed DEI Language From Its Website
The company, which owns IGN, CNET, PCMag, and dozens more outlets and properties, took down specific information about its diversity commitment on multiple pages on its website over the past several w...
www.404media.co
February 20, 2025 at 6:20 PM
New: The $2 billion media conglomerate that owns sites like IGN and CNET is quietly taking DEI information off its website: www.404media.co/ziff-davis-d...
NEW: Amazon delivery drivers are delivering packages in the Los Angeles wildfires. Amazon says drivers are told not to deliver in mandatory evac zones, but one resident's last photo of her home was a delivery confirmation picture taken after she evacuated: www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
An Amazon Delivery Confirmation Photo Is the Last Time a Palisades Resident Saw Her Burnt Down House
Amazon drivers have continued delivering packages in some areas of Los Angeles affected by ongoing wildfires in a constantly changing situation.
www.404media.co
January 13, 2025 at 4:07 PM
NEW: Amazon delivery drivers are delivering packages in the Los Angeles wildfires. Amazon says drivers are told not to deliver in mandatory evac zones, but one resident's last photo of her home was a delivery confirmation picture taken after she evacuated: www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
An Amazon delivery confirmation photo is the last time a Palisades resident saw her house standing. Amazon drivers say they have been delivering in neighborhoods that were evacuated soon after they left, are delivering in adjacent neighborhoods. Scary situation
www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
An Amazon Delivery Confirmation Is the Last Photo a Palisades Resident Has of Her Burnt Down House
Amazon drivers have continued delivering packages in some areas of Los Angeles affected by ongoing wildfires in a constantly changing situation.
www.404media.co
January 13, 2025 at 4:00 PM
An Amazon delivery confirmation photo is the last time a Palisades resident saw her house standing. Amazon drivers say they have been delivering in neighborhoods that were evacuated soon after they left, are delivering in adjacent neighborhoods. Scary situation
www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
www.404media.co/an-amazon-de...
TODAY: Amazon is arguing to the NLRB that its union-busting tactics are "protected by the First Amendment," and that requiring it to put up NLRB posters on workers' rights violates that amendment. www.404media.co/amazon-says-...
Amazon Says It Has a First Amendment Right to Union Bust
In response to an NLRB complaint, Amazon argues that preventing it from holding captive-audience meetings violates the U.S. Constitution.
www.404media.co
October 22, 2024 at 3:35 PM
TODAY: Amazon is arguing to the NLRB that its union-busting tactics are "protected by the First Amendment," and that requiring it to put up NLRB posters on workers' rights violates that amendment. www.404media.co/amazon-says-...
TODAY: Everything you need to know about the Friend AI necklace diss track beef on Twitter: www.404media.co/ai-companion...
AI Companion Device Releases Diss Track Against ‘Friend’
The maker of Friend said he had “no relation” to the person who released the diss track.
www.404media.co
July 31, 2024 at 6:28 PM
TODAY: Everything you need to know about the Friend AI necklace diss track beef on Twitter: www.404media.co/ai-companion...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
New from 404 Media: a new report dives into how a Microsoft app is powering employee surveillance
- AI-generated performance metrics
- singles out workers in estimates of how long a task will take
- uses Copilot
www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
- AI-generated performance metrics
- singles out workers in estimates of how long a task will take
- uses Copilot
www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
How a Microsoft App is Powering Employee Surveillance
Microsoft Dynamics 365 uses AI-generated performance metrics to single out individual workers, a new report has found.
www.404media.co
July 30, 2024 at 1:04 PM
New from 404 Media: a new report dives into how a Microsoft app is powering employee surveillance
- AI-generated performance metrics
- singles out workers in estimates of how long a task will take
- uses Copilot
www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
- AI-generated performance metrics
- singles out workers in estimates of how long a task will take
- uses Copilot
www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
TODAY: A new report says that Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Field Service technology uses AI to single out workers and closely monitor their performance. Microsoft says it's on the customer to use this tool legally: www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
How a Microsoft App is Powering Employee Surveillance
Microsoft Dynamics 365 uses AI-generated performance metrics to single out individual workers, a new report has found.
www.404media.co
July 30, 2024 at 1:05 PM
TODAY: A new report says that Microsoft's Dynamics 365 Field Service technology uses AI to single out workers and closely monitor their performance. Microsoft says it's on the customer to use this tool legally: www.404media.co/how-a-micros...
TODAY: Are you sick and tired of your gig work job? Here's some free advice from a Navy-sponsored ad. Join a Navy manufacturing plant: www.404media.co/navy-ad-gig-...
Navy Ad: Gig Work Is a Dystopian, Unregulated Hellscape, Build Submarines Instead
The same government that has failed to regulate gig work has simply opted to agree that it is bad and to use those working conditions to recruit for the military.
www.404media.co
July 25, 2024 at 2:20 PM
TODAY: Are you sick and tired of your gig work job? Here's some free advice from a Navy-sponsored ad. Join a Navy manufacturing plant: www.404media.co/navy-ad-gig-...
HR company announces, then gets rid of, a plan to give AI bots employment records and treat them "just as any person would be" after everyone on the internet agrees that is a bad idea:
www.404media.co/ai-employees...
www.404media.co/ai-employees...
'AI Employees' Managed Through HR Software Is a Capitalist Fever Dream
Lattice’s now-canceled software would have allowed AI bots to be onboarded, trained, and evaluated “just as any person would be.”
www.404media.co
July 16, 2024 at 1:53 PM
HR company announces, then gets rid of, a plan to give AI bots employment records and treat them "just as any person would be" after everyone on the internet agrees that is a bad idea:
www.404media.co/ai-employees...
www.404media.co/ai-employees...
TODAY: Google Cloud was briefly listed as a sponsor of an Israeli military tech conference. Organizers say Google was not a sponsor this year, but workers are concerned about the company's links to an Israeli military conference: www.404media.co/google-cloud...
Google Cloud Listed, Then Removed as Sponsor of Israeli Military Tech Conference
Google’s logo was removed from the sponsor list of “IT for IDF 2024,” but is still listed as a client of the conference organizer.
www.404media.co
July 11, 2024 at 1:53 PM
TODAY: Google Cloud was briefly listed as a sponsor of an Israeli military tech conference. Organizers say Google was not a sponsor this year, but workers are concerned about the company's links to an Israeli military conference: www.404media.co/google-cloud...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
New: Google Cloud listed, and then removed, as a sponsor of an Israeli military tech conference. Conference says Google not sponsoring so may have been a mistake. Regardless, workers are concerned at Google's links to the conference, Google not commenting www.404media.co/google-cloud...
Google Cloud Listed, Then Removed as Sponsor of Israeli Military Tech Conference
Google’s logo was removed from the sponsor list of “IT for IDF 2024,” but is still listed as a client of the conference organizer.
www.404media.co
July 11, 2024 at 1:48 PM
New: Google Cloud listed, and then removed, as a sponsor of an Israeli military tech conference. Conference says Google not sponsoring so may have been a mistake. Regardless, workers are concerned at Google's links to the conference, Google not commenting www.404media.co/google-cloud...
Reposted by Jules Roscoe
A car rental service in Charlotte has replaced their agents with remote workers on video chat. If you need to speak to a manager you go into an office where you talk to another screen sitting at a big executive desk
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
July 1, 2024 at 2:12 PM
A car rental service in Charlotte has replaced their agents with remote workers on video chat. If you need to speak to a manager you go into an office where you talk to another screen sitting at a big executive desk
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
Oh would you like to speak to a manager instead of this person on video chat? Sure, just step into this office where there is another video chat screen so you can talk to someone else:
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
Car Rental Service Replaces Desk Agents With People On Video Chat
A Nu Car Rentals office in Charlotte, North Carolina offers only "virtual assistance" to customers.
www.404media.co
July 1, 2024 at 2:14 PM
Oh would you like to speak to a manager instead of this person on video chat? Sure, just step into this office where there is another video chat screen so you can talk to someone else:
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
www.404media.co/car-rental-s...
TODAY: eBay took down the most expensive eBay listing I have ever seen (for what looks like a gadget from a 1980s spy film) for violating its policy on not selling electronic surveillance equipment. www.404media.co/ebay-removes...
eBay Removes Listing for StingRay Cellphone Spying Tech
The StingRay was listed at $100,000 before being removed for violating the platform’s policy on not selling electronic surveillance equipment.
www.404media.co
June 27, 2024 at 1:59 PM
TODAY: eBay took down the most expensive eBay listing I have ever seen (for what looks like a gadget from a 1980s spy film) for violating its policy on not selling electronic surveillance equipment. www.404media.co/ebay-removes...